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 19: Memories
NOTE: The following chapter summary comes from wot.fandom.com
Point of view: Morgase Trakand
Tallanvor—the last loyal officer of the guard—tells Queen Morgase about the rumors of the rebellion in the Two Rivers. When Morgase tries to discuss this with Lord Gaebril, he uses Compulsion to send her away. Confused, she wanders to Lini, her old nurse, where she learns how wrongly she treated old allies and friends over the last months and that there is only Tallanvor of the old loyal guard left. She decides to leave Caemlyn and try to regain her power from the outside. Tallanvor, Lini, Basel Gill—the innkeeper of The Queen’s Blessing—Lamgwin, and Breane accompany her.
Point of view: Padan Fain
Padan Fain goes to the lockroom in the White Tower for his dagger and the Horn of Valere. He kills an Accepted that surprises him. Alviarin Freidhen of the Black Ajah lets him escape with the dagger, but without the Horn of Valere.
REACTION:
This chapter is a tough read. Nobody – not even Morgase – is aware that someone else has been in charge of her mind for months. She gets all the blame (from the locals and herself) for how badly things in Andor have been going. Mind control is just a gross weapon to utilize against someone. Gaebril has done it to a Queen, to such an extend that she doesn’t notice he has her and half a dozen other women sharing his bed. He’s got sex slaves and they don’t realize they are not consenting because he’s warped their minds to *want* it. That’s incredibly messed up. Even while she’s escaping, Morgase has to fight the urge to return to him.
It’s interesting that Perrin’s “rebellion” is the thing that ultimately wakes her up enough to flee. Ta’veren work from a distance?
I think we more or less knew that Alviarin was Black Ajah but it’s confirmed here. We also get more evidence that one of the Forsaken has taken up residence inside the White Tower (and that Alviarin is not said Forsaken.) Elaida is also not one of the Forsaken… so who is it?
Fain has been in the White Tower and given Elaida a blast of his variety of crazy. He’s now taken the dagger. However, he doesn’t have time to get the Horn because he flees at the thought of being captured by one of the Forsaken. He usually finds a way to talk himself out of trouble but that might be possible with one of them. I guess it makes sense that Fain could feel the dagger and that he was drawn to it but that’s one of those things where you just kind of agree that it makes sense without really understanding the mechanics of it. Did he talk about the dagger that way in The Great Hunt or since?
Fain is not one of my favorite characters. He’s very much in the one-dimensional evil camp. (His camp is just not the same one as the Dark One’s camp.) I think the idea of what Fain could be is solid, but I increasingly feel like Jordan does not know what he wants to do with him. At any rate, he’s leaving the White Tower after barely arriving. We shall see where he turns up next.
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