Chapter 1. An Empty Road
In the simple village of the Two Rivers, Tam and his son, Rand al’Thor, travel to Emond’s Field for the festival, Bel Tine. Spring is late, crops haven’t started yet and wolves are hungry. Rand sees a strange, black-garbed, menacing stranger following them whose cloak is untouched by the wind; he vanishes when Rand looks away. At Emond’s Field, Wit Congar and Cenn Buie are complaining that Nynaeve al’Meara is too young to be the village Wisdom. Rand and his friend Mat Cauthon are excited when they hear that a Gleeman has come and there’s going to be fireworks. Rand learns that Mat has seen a black clad stranger as well.
Chapter 2. Strangers
Mat and a lad named Ewin tell Rand about the two strangers who have also come: a high-born lady named Moiraine and a soldier named Lan, whose cloak changes color and makes him hard to see. Mat and Rand notice a strange raven watching them, who doesn’t fly off until Moiraine comes. She asks Mat, Rand and Ewin to help her with some small tasks, and gives them each a silver penny--a lot of money. Rand and Mat decide to keep the coins instead of spending them.
Chapter 3. The Peddler
The peddler Padan Fain arrives with news from the outside world; there is war in Ghealdan, where another person claming to be the Dragon Reborn is being opposed and supported. After arguing over whether it is a false Dragon or not, Padan also reveals that this one can channel the Once Power. The Village Council holds a meeting, while Rand, Mat, and their friend, Perrin, wander off arguing if the Dragon is good or bad. The conversation changes to the Dark One, and Nynaeve overhears and scolds them. Rand learns that Egwene al’Vere, the girl he has a crush on, is training to be a Wisdom and might leave Two Rivers. Perrin tells them how Moiraine game him a coin too, and that he has also seen a black stranger on horseback.
Chapter 4. The Gleeman
Rand, Mat, Perrin and Egwene meet the Gleeman, Thom Merrilin. He impresses them with gleeman tricks, but seems upset when he sees Moiraine and Lan. The Council meeting ends and they reveal their verdict: Two Rivers is not in danger of the war, but patrols will be set up in case of refugees and thieves. Tam wants to go home and come back for the festival tomorrow. On the road, Tam tells his son that he believes him about the black rider; other young men have seen him too.
Chapter 5. Winternight
Back home, Rand does his chores and Tam makes supper. Feeling a need for protection, Tam actually locks the doors and reveals that he owns a sword: a beautiful one-edged sword with a heron on it. Suddenly someone knocks on the door, then breaks it open; a huge monster with spikes, chain mail, ram’s horns and a muzzle. Tam fights the "mythical" Trollocs so Rand can escape. He joins him in the woods but is injured and burning with fever, so Rand goes back for a cart and blankets. One Trolloc had stayed behind and tells him that the Myrddraal--that black rider--wants to talk to him. Rand kills the Trolloc and gets sheets and water, but the cart is smashed. He takes two boards to make a stretcher and goes back to Tam.
Chapter 6. The Westwood
Rand carries his father on the makeshift litter through the Westwood, hoping to get to Emond’s Field and Nynaeve in time. Tam mutters in his fever about strange things; Laman’s Sin, a sapling of Avendesora (the Tree of Life,) and battles on a mountain. Rand doesn’t think anything of the rambles until Tam speaks of finding a baby from one of the dead fighters... how Kari, Rand’s late mother, had no children, and how she named it Rand!
Chapter 7. Out of the Woods
Rand reaches the town only to discover that it has been attacked as well. Many houses are burned down, a few people are dead, and all are tired but determined. Nynaeve looks at Tam but can do nothing for him. Rand carries his father to the Inn, hoping somehow that mayor Bran al’Vere can help. Thom Merrilin and Bran put Tam in bed and tell Rand how Moiraine saved the village with lightning. She’s really an Aes Sedai, and Lan is her Warder! Even though Aes Sedai are always villains in stories, whose gifts always come with a price, Rand runs to her for help, hoping she can heal Tam magically.
Chapter 8. A Place of Safety
With the help of an angreal to magnify her powers, Moiraine Sedai heals the taint out of Tam. Lan tells Rand that a heron-mark sword is a symbol of a master swordsman. Moiraine reveals that only three farms were attacked; Rand’s, Mat’s, and Perrin’s... three friends who were born within weeks of each other. To protect the village, the three will have to leave secretly with Moiraine. They will only be safe at Tar Valon with the other Aes Sedai.
Chapter 9. Tellings of the Wheel
After nightmares about Trollocs, Myrddraal, a dagger-like mountain and a white tower, Rand awakens and talks to Tam. He tells his father what happened, minus the ramblings in the forest. Lan comes and tells him to hurry, and Tam gives the sword to Rand. Outside, the villagers accuse Moiraine of bringing the monsters and tell her to leave. Disgusted, she tells them about their heritage. The Two Rivers was once Manetheren, ruled over by King Aemon. When a great Trolloc army attacked, every last person defended their beautiful kingdom to the death. It was destroyed, but such a price had been paid that no one would leave it. Even now, when the memory was gone, Two Rivers folk almost never left.
Chapter 10. Leavetaking
Moiraine, Lan, Rand, Mat, and Perrin prepare to sneak out, but Egwene figures it out and joins them. Thom Merrilin was hiding in the loft and decides to join them as well. Egwene has to take Bela, Rand’s horse, and hopes it can keep up with the rest. Out in the forest, Rand notices a giant bat-like creature in the sky: a Draghkar. Lan realizes that speed is more important now than stealth, and they gallop to the North Road.
Chapter11. The Road to Taren Ferry
They gallop through the night, Rand silently willing his strength to Bela. They take a quick rest at Watch Hill while Moiraine removes the horse’s fatigue. Surprisingly, Bela was the only horse that didn’t need it. The Draghkar starts following them, screaming to sound off their position, so Moiraine raises a fog to hide them. They finally reach Taren Ferry and Lan wakes up the ferryman, offering a large sum if he will carry them across in the dark and fog.
Chapter 12. Across the Taren
They safely cross the Taren and the ferryman, Hightower, gets his money, but the ferry is inexplicably destroyed in a whirlpool. Moiraine lets the fog cover the river for a long ways to confuse the Myrddraal of which path they’re taking. They stop to rest in a strange ‘room’ make by fallen trees. Moiraine tells Egwene about the True Source, the One Power, and about saidin and saidar. Egwene is thrilled and Rand is horrified when she succeeds in making Moiraine’s jewel glow weakly, revealing that she has potential to become an Aes Sedai.
Chapter 13. Choices
As they travel, Lan teaches them to fight, Thom teaches them to juggle, and Moiraine teaches Egwene about channeling. At last they reach Baerlon, and the country folk are awed at the sight of such a "huge" city. Moiraine and Lan use fake names--Alys and Andra--and enter by a small side gate. The gatekeeper, Avin, knows the drill; he didn’t see anyone. He tells them that Children of the Light are in the city; haters of Darkfriends and Aes Sedai alike. They go in an Inn called Stag and Lion, also by a side door.
Chapter 14. The Stag and Lion
They all take nice hot baths, and Mat gets in trouble with Lan for almost saying too much to the bath attendant. They eat a small meal (a feast for this hanging winter) and talk briefly about Logain, the current false Dragon. They go to bed and Rand has a very real nightmare about talking to the Dark One himself. He said Rand would either follow him or dance on Aes Sedai strings.
Chapter 15. Strangers and Friends
Rand wakes up late and goes to the kitchen for breakfast. The cook tells him that rats have been found all over the inn with broken backs: in his dream, the Dark One, Ba’alzamon, had broken a rat’s back. Perrin is sick in bed; he had the same dream. Outside Rand meets Min, a woman who dresses like a boy and knows about Moiraine. She has the ability to see pieces of the Pattern and tells him some of the things she sees floating around them.
Chapter 16. The Wisdom
They join Nynaeve and Moiraine, who are having a stare down, but not before Min grabs Rand and tells him that Nynaeve is part of "it" too. The Wisdom reveals that she followed their trail, much to Lan’s surprise. He compliments her on the feat and she actually blushes. They leave the women alone to talk, and afterwards Rand asks Nynaeve what they talked about. Apparently what Moiraine really wanted to know was if any of the three boys were born outside Two Rivers. Rand tells her about Tam’s fever talk. She assures him that even though his mom was an outsider, he was her child.
Chapter 17. Watches and Hunters
They go to the common room and listen to Thom’s stories, then have a jolly night dancing. Rand and Mat notice a scar-faced man watching them: a Whitecloak spy. Lan tells them to get some sleep; they'll be leaving in the morning. Rand goes to get a mug of milk and meets... a Myrddraal! The Fade tells him he belongs to the Great Lord of the Dark and vanishes into the shadows before Lan bursts into the hall. They leave immediately. The Watchman opens the gates but Whitecloaks are on the other side. The one Rand smarted off to earlier, Bornhald, recognizes him. Moiraine pulls a trick to look like a giant and they escape. Looking back, they see a burning building: the Stag and Lion.
Chapter 18. The Caemlyn Road
After traveling the road for days, they hear a horn; troops are behind them. Lan reports that there may be 500 Trollocs behind them, and five Myrddraal. They hurry away, but the horns get closer. When the first ‘fist’ (a group of 100) reaches them, they stand and fight. Lan’s battle cry is for the Seven Towers, Rand and Perrin’s for Manetheren, but Mat shouts something in the Old Tongue. Carai an Caldazar! Carai an Ellisande! Al Ellisande! Lan ends the battle by killing the Fade; the Trollocs linked to him fall dead. They ride on until three more fists reach them; Moiraine creates an earthquake, a wall of fire, and a false scent trail. She translates Mat’s warcry for him: "For the honor of the Red Eagle! For the honor of the Rose of the Sun! The Rose of the Sun!" It is an old Manetheren warcry. Mat worries that it is he the Dark One is after. They travel to an abandoned castle the Trollocs will not enter. Once called Aridhol, the city is now called Shadar Logoth.
Chapter 19. Shadow’s Waiting
Although most of the city is in ruins, what is left is still enough to make the farm boys marvel. They set up camp in a building that doesn’t look about to fall down, then Mat convinces Rand and Perrin to sneak out with him to explore. Mat wants to find treasure. They meet a stranger named Mordeth who says he has lots of treasure; if they help him bring as much as they can carry to his horses, then they can have the rest. He leads them down to a deep basement with tons of gold and jewels, but Rand notices that he has no shadow. Mordeth suddenly expands to block all exits. They prepare themselves; Rand with Tam’s sword, Perrin with his ax, and Mat with a jeweled dagger from the treasure piles, but Mordeth disappears after pronouncing them all dead. They escape from the building but eyes watch them from every shadow. After reaching the rest of the group, getting yelled at and explaining their story, Moiraine explains that thousands of years ago, a man named Mordeth spread suspicion and hate through Aridhol until it destroyed itself. It was renamed Shadar Logoth, the Place Where the Shadow Waits. Mordeth lives on; his possessions taint mind and spirit, and he can steal souls. Lan returns, revealing that Myrddraal have driven Trollocs into the city, despite their fear. The group must leave... in the night, when the shadows can kill.
Chapter 20. Dust on the Wind
They travel timidly through the city, but when Lan and Moiraine get too far ahead, a tentacle of fog separates them from the others. It is Mashadar, the killing fog. After instructions to head to a red star, Rand, Mat, Perrin, Egwene, Nynaeve, and Thom travel on without Aes Sedai protection. When they run into Trollocs they get separated further. Perrin and Egwene make it outside and fall into the river. Perrin swims across the huge expanse of water, but there is no sign of Egwene. Rand, Mat and Thom run onto a trader’s boat. Rand is almost killed, but a swinging boom hits the Trolloc. The boat hastily sets sail and Captain Domon agrees to take them to Whitebridge when Mat and Rand give him the silver coins Moiraine gave them.
Chapter 21. Listen to the Wind
Nynaeve awakens, alone in the woods. She finds Moiraine and Lan and eavesdrops. They are wondering how a thousand Trollocs just appeared and then vanished. Moiraine senses the eavesdropper and informs her that she can use the One Power. Nynaeve is disbelieving until the Aes Sedai points out several things she’d noticed herself, like her healing abilities. She also mentions that untrained women who touch the True Source often die, and that Nynaeve could, with training, become even greater than Egwene, who looks to be one of the most powerful channelers in a long time. Moiraine reveals that the silver coins she gave the boys linked them to her: since two are missing, they are in the most danger. Nynaeve joins them, loathe as she is to leave Perrin lost.
Chapter 22. A Path Chosen
Perrin awakens, horseless, wet and hungry, and begins to search for anyone else. After following tracks of a horse with horseshoes, he finds Egwene’s camp. Bela had pulled her across the wide river. After eating, Perrin tells her his plan; instead of going to Whitebridge where the Fades and Trollocs will expect them, he suggests that they go to Caemlyn, away from the river and straight across.
Chapter 23. Wolfbrother
Perrin and Egwene travel through the forest for days. Egwene had lit a fire with the One Power the first day, but couldn’t after that. Finally they smell rabbit cooking and find the camp of a strange man with yellow eyes. His name is Elyas Machera, and he says he’s been watching them for two days. After informing them that they are way off to get to Caemlyn, his friends join them... wolves! He can talk to them in a fashion, and tells Perrin that he can too. The travelers tell Elyas a crazy lie about why they are going to Caemlyn, but the wolves tell him that they are lying. Finally they tell him the real story. Elyas doesn’t like Aes Sedai, especially the Red Ajah; they tried to ‘gentle’ him once because they thought he used the One Power. The wolves decide to help them on their way, and Perrin seems to feel the wolves’ thoughts.
Chapter 24. Flight Down the Arinelle
Rand has bad dreams of Ba’alzamon chasing him through a strange maze every night. By day, they entertain the crew of the Spray, who are muttering about traveling without stopping. Thom worries that they might mutiny. Mat is very solitary, only perking at the sound of treasure. One day Rand sits on top of the mast. Filled with joy, he lets go and just balances at the top. Thom comes up and convinces him to come down, which he does by sliding down a rope. When he lands by Mat he sees what he’s holding: the dagger from Shadar Logoth! Mat makes him promise not to tell. When Thom walks over and points out what he had done, Rand is in disbelief. Had he really done something so crazy?
Chapter 25. The Traveling People
They travel through the woods, Perrin realizing that he can feel the wolves’ locations. They come upon a camp of Tuatha’an, or Tinkers, and Elyas tames their giant mastiffs by whistling. The Madhi, or Seeker, an old friend of Elyas’s named Raen, invites them in for dinner. Egwene is quickly taken with a smooth talking, handsome Tinker named Aram. The Tinkers explain their beliefs to them, The Way of the Leaf: do no violence at all, just go with life like the leaves do. They are always looking for the "song," which they believe will return them to paradise. Tinkers are not welcome in cities because young people often run off to join them. Raen tells Elyas and Perrin of a recent story; a group of Tinkers were traveling through the Aiel Waste when they came upon a group of female Aiel warriors, all dead but one. She swallowed her loathing of the Tinkers to tell them something on her dying breath. "Leafblighter means to blind the Eye of the World, Lost One. He means to slay the Great Serpent. Warn the People, Lost One. Sightburner comes. Tell them to stand ready for He Who Comes With the Dawn." Elyas can’t figure it out either. Perrin goes to sleep and dreams of wolves.
Chapter 26. Whitebridge
At last the Spray reaches Whitebridge, a town overlooked by a magnificent, pale, delicate looking yet unbreakable bridge, perhaps a remnant from the Age of Legends. Gelb, the sailor who’d been asleep on watch the night the Trollocs came, is kicked off. Captain Domon gives Thom and company their money back (though not the same coins,) and begs them to stay with him to Illian to entertain the crew and keep their minds off mutiny. They decline and head to an Inn called the Wayfarers’ Rest. There they hear that the false Dragon, Logain, has been captured, that a small, crazy man asked for them once, and a dark, sinister man has asked for them everyday. They overhear Gelb yelling about Trollocs and "the Three Darkfriends" from the boat... they quietly sneak out before anyone puts it together. Outside, Thom puts on a disguise and they head for the streets. Immediately they run into the dark, sinister Myrddraal! Thom gets Rand and Mat to run for the gate while he fights the Fade. Outside the city they wait, but Thom never returns.
Chapter 27. Shelter from the Storm
Elyas insists that they travel with the Tuatha’an a while longer. The Tinker girls have great fun making Perrin blush when they dance seductively, and Aram is never far from Egwene. Finally, Perrin has another dream with the Dark One; he kills the wolf that always protected them in his dreams. When he awakes everyone can sense something evil coming, and one of the wolves is dead. Elyas, Perrin, and Egwene depart with Bela from the Tinkers, who leave to flee the coming evil.
Chapter 28. Footprints in Air
Nynaeve travels on, infuriated by Moiraine for her smugness and by Lan for just being there. An evil feeling hangs in the air. They reach Whitebridge to find that several buildings have been burned and the Queen’s guard is patrolling the streets. Moiraine finds the inn the boys stayed at two days before, but can’t tell where they are now. She decides to go after the boy who still has his coin.
Chapter 29. Eyes Without Pity
Perrin and company travel as fast as possible without being seen through open country, going around hills if they can, and only going over hills after Elyas is certain it is safe. The wolf man is worried about something, be he doesn’t know what. At last they see them; hundreds of ravens, eyes for the Dark One! The group travels as fast as they can, but the flock behind them keeps getting closer. Perrin at last admits that he can hear the wolves’ thoughts. Just before the flock gets close enough to see them, they reach a stedding: old Ogier grounds where the One Power can’t be touched and creatures of the Dark One won’t enter. After they set up camp they notice a large rock with an eye in it. It’s all that remains of the giant statue of Artur Hawkwing. Long ago that king had united all the land, but he hated Aes Sedai. When he died of a sickness only an Aes Sedai could have healed, his kingdom fell apart as everyone fought to claim it. His empire is all gone, and any descendents left would be on the ships that he once sent out to explore the Aryth Ocean.
Chapter 30. Children of Shadow
The wolves sense a strange people coming! Egwene, Perrin, and Bela hide in the hand of the old statue, and Perrin realizes that he can still see even though it’s pitch black outside. Elyas and the wolves attack the men and scatter the horses, but the men eventually find Perrin’s hiding place. It’s the Children of the Light! They kill Hopper the wolf, and Perrin snaps and attacks. He awakens to find that he and Egwene are tied down in the tent of the Lord Captain. The Captain seems kindly but Child Byar is cold. They determine that the two of them are obviously Darkfriends: they run with wolves, they associate with Aes Sedai and the ax is obviously a weapon. They decide to take them to Caemlyn to the Questioners, but Perrin will be killed for killing two Children.
Chapter 31. Play for Your Supper
Rand and Mat travel to Caemlyn, hiding from lone horseback riders and sleeping without fires. If a farmer didn’t immediately send the dogs after them, they would do chores in payment for food and lodging, even if only in the barn. Mat grows more and more suspicious of everyone. After playing the flute and juggling at one house, they realize they can stay at inns for free if they perform. So they travel from inn to inn, town to town.
Chapter 32. Four Kings in Shadow
Rand and Mat reach the town of Four Kings, a dirty, scruffy place. They search until they find the Dancing Cartman, the only inn without entertainment already. The innkeeper, Saml Hake, agrees to their terms but they can tell he is planning on robbing Rand of his sword. A strange, richly dressed man comes into the inn and keeps watching the boys and smiling. When they take a break to eat, Rand sneaks out to look at the stranger’s coach; it’s from Whitebridge, and says the man’s name is Howal Gode. After everyone has left and Mat and Rand are in their room, they try to escape, but the window has bars and the door is watched. Suddenly someone knocks; Gode. He tells them that they are marked by his master and it will be easier to come to the Dark One willingly. There is no way out... until lightning randomly strikes the window! Mat is blinded, but they gather their things and disappear into the storm.
Chapter 33. The Dark Waits
Mat’s vision slowly recovers and Rand gets a sudden sickness as they travel, sometimes getting rides in farmers’ wagons. Rand has another dream of the Dark One; he tells Rand "what protects you makes you vulnerable." In one inn they meet a young Darkfriend named Paitr: after a punch from Rand he shouts how the Shadow will swallow them up. He is overheard, starting a Darkfriend panic in that town. At the next town, at The Queen’s Man, Rand becomes violently ill. The innkeeper lets them stay in the stable, where Rand switches back and forth between chills and fever. By morning his fever breaks, but he is weak as a kitten. A richly dressed woman comes into the stable with feigned concern, then lunges at Mat with a poisoned dagger. Mat locks the Darkfriend in the tack room and they flee, but Rand can barely walk. A kindly farmer named Hyam Kinch lets them ride in his wagon.
Chapter 34. The Last Village
After a night in a haystack they continue on a rather busy road full of people coming to see the false Dragon. Rude strangers fly past on coaches, whipping anyone who gets in the way. After a hard day’s walk they pause at a town in the dark to rest their feet and notice a Myrddraal talking to a Darkfriend. They hear the Darkfriend tell the new story to another man, Almen Bunt. Supposedly the shady figure’s heron-mark sword was stolen by two young men, and he has issued a 200 crown reward for the pair. Bunt just laughs and continues on his way: he’s going to travel by night to avoid the rude merchants. He gives Rand and Mat a ride and talks all night, about Queen Morgase, her Aes Sedai adviser Elaida and how, according to tradition, Lady Elayne and Lord Gawyn were sent to Tar Valon to study with the Aes Sedai and Warders. At last Rand slept and awoke from nightmares to find that they had finally reached Caemlyn!
Chapter 35. Caemlyn
Rand and Mat can’t believe how huge and loud the city is. They wander lost among the strange people and Dragon merchandise. Rand buys a fashionable sword wrapping to hide the heron-mark as they search for The Queen’s Blessing, the inn Thom told them to go to before he died. When they tell the innkeeper, Basel Gill, that Thom sent them, he takes them out back to hear their story. He then tells them to keep quiet about Thom; some still remember him. When Rand and Mat are surprised, Master Gill tells them how Thom was once Court-bard in Caemlyn. He was close to the Queen--too close. They had a fight and Thom said some things you don’t say to a queen, especially Morgase. He left a step ahead of prison, if not death.
Chapter 36. Web of the Pattern
Rand tells Master Gill a simplified story of what their trouble is, and they discuss plans. Rand and Mat go to their room in the attic and Mat goes into a cold sulk. Rand enters the Inn’s library for some quiet and jumps out of his skin: a huge monster is in there! It introduces itself a Loial, an Ogier. Loial is young, only 90 years old, and technically doesn’t have permission to leave his stedding. He’s saddened how everything has changed: cities have different names, the Ogier groves are almost all ruined, memories are gone... why, he even thought Rand was an Aielman! Rand finds himself telling him everything, the real story, and Loial tells him he is Ta’veren: someone who pulls threads along with him in the Pattern of Life. Loial wants to travel with him, but Rand must decline (how do you hide a 10 foot Ogier?)
Chapter 37. The Long Chase
After following the invisible trail forever, Nynaeve, Moiraine and Lan reach the Whitecloak camp at night. Nynaeve sneaks down and cuts the picket-ropes of the horses. She finds Bela among them and holds onto another horse as well as Moiraine sends lighting crashing by the horses. The beasts break their lines and scatter, helped in all directions by the wolves.
Chapter 38. Rescue
Child Byar drags Perrin and Egwene from their tent. The Whitecloaks must travel far too slowly, but the Lord Captain has forbidden him to kill the captives. Byar throws them a sharp rock, saying that it would solve all their problems if the two of them frayed their ropes on it and escape. Perrin realizes it would solve the Whitecloak’s problems: it would give him an excuse to kill them! Suddenly Lan appears and knocks out the guards. They take the guard’s cloaks and, while Moiraine creates a storm, escape in the confusion. The group travels until dawn and set up camp, where Nynaeve tends to their bruises. Suddenly she notices something; Perrin has yellow wolf eyes! Moiraine recognizes what it means, but thinks it is the Dark One’s work. Lan doesn’t, and in fact has met Elyas before: he used to be a Warder as well.
Chapter 39. Weaving of the Web
At last the day comes to drag the prisoner Logain through the city and present him to the Queen. Rand goes to watch but a strange, dirty beggar sees him and begins to give chase. Running from the packed mob, he gets lost in the deserted inner city. Still hoping to get a chance to see, he climbs a high wall. Logain is locked in a cage as the parade passes by, but he still holds himself like a king; he hardly looked defeated. When Rand asks aloud why the Aes Sedai are watching Logain, a female voice tells him it’s to prevent him from touching the True Source. Startled, Rand falls from the wall and is knocked out.
Chapter 40. The Web Tightens
Rand awakens as a girl and boy climb down from the tree they were in. The girl, richly dressed and commanding, bandages his head and hands. The boy seems surprised when Rand says he is from the Two Rivers. Rand is shocked to learn that they are Lord Gawyn and the Daughter-Heir, Lady Elayne! Galad sees them and reports them to the castle guard; Elayne claims guest-right of Rand and they are escorted to the Queen. After a scolding for climbing trees by Morgase, Elaida Sedai notices Rand and says that he can’t be from Two Rivers: his skin is pale, his hair red, his eyes gray and his sword heron-marked. Suddenly Elaida has a Foretelling; pain and division come, the shadow darkens... and Rand stands at the heart of it. But Morgase believes Rand; she’s heard Two Rivers’ speech before. Elayne and Gawyn escort Rand to the gates, where Elayne tells him he’s handsome before leaving. Gawyn tells him something too--that he looks just like an Aielman.
Chapter 41. Old Friends and New Threats
Back at The Queen’s Blessing, Rand tells Loial and Master Gill almost everything. Some Whitecloaks come into the inn, looking for Darkfriends from Two Rivers. When they insult the Queen, Gill kicks them out. A serving girl tells them there is a lady in the kitchen asking for Rand and Mat by name. Rand rushes in and is tearfully reunited with Egwene, Nynaeve, and Perrin. Rand tells them that Mat is kind of sick, and they rush up to see him. Mat is curled up, feverish and suspicious. He makes them nervous; he knows that Perrin has changed somehow, that Nynaeve is frightened because she can’t forget that she’s a pretty woman, and that Egwene shares something with Nynaeve besides beauty. Moiraine and Lan come in and pull Nynaeve away. Watching Mat like a viper, she puts a hand on him, not even flinching when he tries to stab her with the ruby dagger, which was stopped by Lan. The evil of Mashadar and Shadar Logoth has poisoned Mat through the dagger. Trollocs and Myrddraal can sense it and are watching all exists to the city. If Moiraine doesn’t stop it now, the evil will take over Mat and spread like a plague.
Chapter 42. Remembrance of Dreams
The rest go to the library and meet Loial. At last Mat comes: he’s been healed and the evil momentarily contained, but he can’t get rid of the dagger or he’ll die. Rand tells Moiraine he’d promised Loial he could come, and about his adventures in the palace. Loial tells about a man who came to a stedding 20 years ago, saying the Dark One intended on blinding the Eye of the World, just like the Tinkers had told Perrin. The three boys at last tell Moiraine about their dreams with the Dark One, and how he told them the Eye of the World would not serve them. Moiraine realizes they must get to the Eye immediately and warn the Green Man. Loial realizes that all three of the boys are Ta’veren. There is only one way to leave the city and get there in time: the Ways. But Loial refuses to open the doors, saying that if they enter them, they will die!
Chapter 43. Decisions and Apparitions
After the Breaking of the World, a few male Aes Sedai stayed in steddings to keep from going mad. Eventually they couldn’t stand being separated from the True Source any longer, but they gave the Ogier a gift for their hospitality: the Ways. Like a pathway in another world, they let a person travel from one place to the next in days instead of weeks or months. But eventually the Ways became tainted as well, dark and deadly with a killing black wind, Mashin Shin. Rand is scared but agrees to go, and so does everyone else. Finally Loial gives in. That night, Ba’alzamon visits the boys in their dreams; he knows Mat’s face and makes Rand bleed in the real world. Moiraine heals the cut, but time is running short.
Chapter 44. The Dark Along the Ways
Before the sun rises, the group gathers their horses, food and lamps, and Master Gill lets them out by a secret door. Loial leads the way, sensing the door’s location until they find a locked cellar door. Inside they find a dusty room with a beautiful carved wall. One carving is a leaf of Avendesora, the Tree of Life. Moiraine pulls the leaf out and puts it back in another spot, and the door opens. They all go in, closing the door behind them. The Ways are pitch black and oppressive, the paths and bridges pocked and discolored. Occasional blocks with worn Ogier script give directions. Rand is just beginning to feel that nothing will happen when they come upon a gap in the bridge they are crossing!
Chapter 45. What Follows in Shadow
They backtrack and take a different route. When they set up camp for the night on an ‘island,’ Loial tells them how the Ways used to be beautiful and green with grass and trees. Moiraine tells them that she doesn’t believe Thom is dead. After sleeping, Lan informs them something is following them, but there is nothing to do about it. They realize that using the Ways is how the giant Trolloc armies have been appearing and disappearing. They come across a group of dead Trollocs that look as though the path boiled and tried to drown them; probably a trap for Dark Ones by the male Aes Sedai. When they are two bridges away from the door to Fal Dara, Rand hears wind... Terrified, they run to the door only to discover that the key is gone! Moiraine blasts the door open as Mashin Shin grows louder; it reaches them as they run through the door. It can’t pass through but they can hear its voice crying for the pleasure of ripping their skin open, feeling red drops fall, hearing their screams... With a note-to-self to tell Agelmar to seal off the blasted door when they reach Fal Dara, Moiraine leads on.
Chapter 46. Fal Dara
All the farms look hastily abandoned. When they reach the city they find all the farm folk crammed within its walls. Everyone greets Lan happily, calling him Dai Shan, asking if the Golden Crane will fly again. They go to the Lord of Fal Dara, Agelmar, who pleads with Lan and Moiraine to stay and help fight in Tarwin’s Gap. Trollocs are numerous and all of Shienar, one of the nations on the Borderlands, may fall to the Trollocs in the Blight. Sadly, Lan must refuse, stating the danger for the Eye of the World. Ingtar reports to Lord Agelmar that a filthy stranger tried to climb the walls. Curious, Moiraine asks that they stay and see him as well. When he is brought before them, Rand recognizes him as the beggar who chased him in Caemlyn. It’s Padan Fain, the peddler! He seems clearly crazed and possessed by the Dark One. Fain switches back and forth from trying to trick them to begging to be free of the Dark One, who has made him his hound, to hunt and to follow.
Chapter 47. More Tales of the Wheel
Moiraine heals and interrogates Padan Fain in another room while everyone else waits in suspense. Agelmar tells everyone about Malkier, the greatest nation of the Borderlands, and its destruction. Lan, infant son of the King, was given a sword in his cradle and sent to Fal Moran before Malkier fell. He learned weapons as other children learn toys, and is known as the Uncrowned. At last Moiraine returns with what she learned. Fain has been the Dark One’s hound for three years. Back then he had been brought to Shayol Ghul; one year ago the Dark One could talk to him in his dreams, and now he can visit dreams of those who walk in the light and even project an image of himself.
Chapter 48. The Blight
The next day they venture to the Blight, Ingtar escorting them to the border and stating how confused he was that he could not go with them. As they travel, the air grows warmer and moister. They pass trees that are splotched and diseased, the air begins to smell awful and giant creatures live in the water. After they set up camp, Egwene asks Rand to be her Warder when she becomes an Aes Sedai. Rand says he’d like that, but can’t help thinking of what Min said: "She’s not for you, nor you for her. Not the way you both want." Rand, unable to sleep, overhears a conversation with Nynaeve and Lan. They seem to like each other! She tells him he is the only person who could marry an Aes Sedai and not be shadowed by her power, but he tells her he has nothing to give her, and is unworthy. Rand quickly closes his eyes, so he can’t see her cry.
Chapter 49. The Dark One Stirs
In the morning, they remove all signs of their presence and ride on. The trees grow more rotten until they try to attack them, along with the strange animals, even though they have a wielder of the One Power with them. Progress is slow until a fluting cry rings out, which makes the animals flee and the trees hold still. It is the cry of a Worm, dangerous creatures that can even kill Myrddraals. The group gallops at top speed but the pack grows closer. Suddenly they stumble upon a pleasant, lush, healthy area: the Green Man’s place. Their need to find it had been so great that it appeared before them before they even crossed the mountains. Moiraine is now the first person to ever find it twice. The Green Man is a giant made from plants. He greets Loial as a little brother, is pleased to meet Perrin and calls him a Wolfbrother, and calls Rand a Child of the Dragon, but is puzzled to see him wearing a sword. Back to business, he agrees to take them to the Eye of the World.
Chapter 50. Meetings at the Eye
They follow the Green Man, admiring the flowers and plants until they reach an arched opening into a hill. Inside is a giant pool shaped like an eye. A hundred male and female Aes Sedai, working together, created it in the first days of the Breaking. In the seemingly bottomless pool is pure, untainted essence of saidin. They leave the eye only to run into two strangers who say Mat guided them. The old, wrinkled men are Aginor and Balthamel, two of the Forsaken who should be bound in Shayol Ghul! They send Lan flying into the arch and lift Nynaeve off the ground by her chin when she tries to attack them. Rand tackles Egwene before she can try to help her, and Mat and Perrin run into an invisible barrier. Suddenly the Green Man comes and fights with Balthamel. They kill each other, Balthamel burning the Green Man and the Green Man causing fungus to grow and tear open the Forsaken. A giant oak immediately grows up where the Green Man fell. As Aginor advances, Moiraine opens a flaming cavern under his feet, but he simply continues walking on nothing. She tells them all to run and they finally do, her screams filling the air.
Chapter 51. Against the Shadow
Rand runs until he reaches a cliff with no way down, and when he turns Aginor is there. He tells Rand that the Dark One would reward him for bringing him alive to Shayol Ghul, except that he doesn’t want to share his power. He’d rather kill him. Suddenly Rand can see a glowing rope connected to Aginor, leading off somewhere distant, giving him power. He touches the cord and is filled with power himself. They battle in a fashion, and Aginor bursts into flames. Wishing to get away, Rand finds himself in the battlefield at Tarwin’s Gap, where the Shienarians are losing. Filled with heat, he makes lightning strike down the Draghkar, fire burn towards the Trollocs and the earth tremble and break. Screaming that it has to end, he climbs a strange flight of steps that appeared from nowhere. It leads to a chamber: the one in his dreams where Ba’alzamon always appears. As the Dark One informs him that they have fought many times before, himself always the victor, Rand notices that they both have a cord leading from their bodies. He denies that Ba’alzamon has any power over him, so the Dark One shows him his mother. Since Kari al’Thor is dead, he can control her. Fades appear and begin to torture her. Furious, Rand creates a sword out of the One Power and kills the Fades. With a thank you, Kari vanishes. Ba’alzamon shies away, screaming that Rand can't wield the One Power until he teaches him to. Rand cuts the black cord connected to his enemy and the room falls apart. With a cry of "It is ended!" Rand stabs the Dark One with his sword of light. He tries to stay to make sure it was all over, but his own cord is thinning: the pure saidin in the Eye of the World is all used up.
Chapter 52. There is Neither Beginning Nor End
Rand awakens at the cliffside, confused and weak. He stumbles back to the others, his memory slowly returning. The rest are bruised but all right, but Moiraine is pale and weak. Ran tells them that the Dark One is dead, then finally realizes what he did. He is a man who can channel, and therefore destined to go mad and die. Moiraine had suspected; Bela had not needed refreshing the night they escaped from Two Rivers, as someone had already done so. Perrin, Mat, and Loial aren’t sure yet. They had returned to the Eye with Lan and the saidin was gone, but there were several things at the bottom. One is a fragment of pottery: after breaking a knife on it they realize it is cuendillar, a rare, unbreakable substance... and yet this one is broken. It’s one of the seven seals on the Dark One’s prison! The second thing is a great chest, inside of which is the legendary Horn of Valere! Blowing it will call the heroes of the Ages from their graves to fight against the Dark One! The third thing is a flag with a dragon on it: the banner of Lews Therin Telamon, the Dragon!
Chapter 53. The Wheel Turns
The Blight is already taking over the Green Man’s place, but Loial sings a Treesong to the oak tree to protect it. As they travel back, they notice that the evil feeling is gone and winter has finally broken! A miracle had happened and the Shienarians won in the Gap. The group returns to Agelmar and informs him that the Dark One has suffered a great blow, but the Green Man is dead and the Eye of the World is gone. The Horn of Valere must be escorted to Illian where it is needed. Seven days later, Egwene and Rand talk about their plans. She and Nynaeve are going to Tar Valon for training, Mat to be healed completely from the dagger, and Perrin to see the sights. Rand doesn’t know where he’ll go. Not home, not ever again. Somewhere alone. In Agelmar’s private garden, Moiraine listens in with the One Power. "The Prophecies will be fulfilled," she says to herself. "The Dragon is Reborn."