Welcome back to my re-read, recap, and reaction to Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. This post will only have spoilers through the current chapter.
You can find my previous chapter recaps HERE.
Chapter 40: Hunter of Trollocs
NOTE: The following chapter summary comes from wot.fandom.com:
Point of view: Perrin Aybara
Six days have passed since the rescue of Emond’s Field villagers from the Whitecloaks. Perrin is reflecting on what has happened since while he rests in the apple orchard where his slain family was laid to rest. Dannil tells Perrin that Faile and Lord Luc have arrived. To Perrin, Luc smells cold and inhuman. Faile informs him that he has a title now: the people of the Two Rivers are calling him Perrin Goldeneyes. His group killed over thirty Trollocs a few days ago, and later forty-one more and a Myrddraal.
Luc is recommending they all return to Emond’s Field, but Perrin says he intends to continue hunting for Trollocs. Gaul, Bain, and Chiad return with news of a band of Trollocs that can be ambushed. Lord Luc leaves but Faile decides to stay with the hunters. They head south for two hours about seventy strong. As they wait to spring the trap they suddenly find themselves in a trap with the Trollocs coming at them from behind. Perrin shoots an arrow at a Trolloc and kills it but not before its own arrow takes him in the side. After Perrin kills two more Trollocs, a Fade appears. He slips while fighting the Fade but Ihvon arrives and takes off its head. When all of the men are gathered together again, twenty-seven are dead. They head out of the Waterwood with the wounded riding the horses and the Aiel scouting ahead. As they leave the Waterwood, they hear music coming from nearby.
REACTION:
PERRIN GOLDENEYES! I love it. Young Bull has the best names.
The young men from the Two Rivers begin learning what it is to be an armed force. Everyone from the region is now gathered in Emond’s Field. This is… awesome. It feels like an echo of the Manetheren story we’ve lived with throughout this series.
Not for nothing, Perrin thinks Luc’s smell stands out among the group of humans and that it is cold and decidedly inhuman. We should probably proceed then with the assumption that Luc is not quite human, right? In addition, Perrin has connected the dots that the places Luc visits seem to be attacked soon after by Trollocs. He seems like a good candidate to be a Darkfriend – a particularly vile one at that considering the comment on the smell.
Also noteworthy re: Luc. He’s wearing wolfy clothing, Verin mentioned upon meeting him that his House sounded like a Borderlander House, rather than one from Murandy, and the rumor persists still that he *is* a Borderlander lord. What should we make of this, and the guy who looks like Lan that shot Nynaeve in the World of Dreams? There’s certainly a connection.
Obviously after leaving their group, Luc somehow sets the trolloc ambush against the Two Rivers men and he uses the intel the Aiel provided against the group. How? That’s the great mystery. It’s also interesting that Luc seems to have it out for the Whitecloaks. Is Luc also after Fain? Remember that Gray Men tried to kill Fain.
Loial sends Faile with the message that Alanna has vanished twice without a word and not even her Warder knew where she went. I’d almost forgotten that Perrin left him the job of spying on her. Speaking of, nice job Ihvon saving Perrin at the last minute. Is it suspicious that Alanna sent Ihvon to Perrin in the nick of time? How did she know he needed saving in the nick of time? Is it a coincidence? That seems unlikely.
What is her deal? She’s as mysterious as Verin.
Twenty-seven Two Rivers men died out of about seventy. That’s a pretty significant loss. Perrin goes fully berserker again during this fight… berserker Perrin is my favorite Perrin. That was the redeeming part of that whole fiasco as a reader. I’m guessing that he’ll recover his numbers, and then some, upon going into the village. It’ll be interesting to see how the villagers treat “Perrin Goldeneyes” after this, though, especially with Luc seeming to be at work against him.
But first… it looks like we’re going to get a detour among some singing and dancing folks.
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