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 20: Jangai Pass
NOTE: The following chapter summary comes from wot.fandom.com
Point of view: Rand al’Thor
Rand, Moiraine and the Aiel enter Jangai Pass through the mountains called the Spine of the World. Moiraine is teaching / lecturing at Rand, trying to impart as much of her knowledge and experience into him as she can. The town just inside the pass, Taien, does not look right, with blotches on the walls and birds circling overhead. Memories from Lews Therin continue to bubble up, but Rand intents to win and remain Rand al’Thor. The blotches are bodies hung from the walls and the birds are vultures and ravens. Several residents escaped from the Shaido and approach Rand for succor. They tell him the condition of the town is a message to Rand.
The Shaido took some residents of Taien as gai’shain and took them away and killed most of the rest and burned the town. They left six days ago. Rand makes camp while scouts make sure the pass ahead is clear. The Maidens are unhappy because Rand is no longer choosing their society for scouting duties.
REACTION:
I can’t decide if Jangai Pass should be in eastern Asia or the Rocky Mountains. Great name, though.
The Aiel with Rand finally cross the Dragonwall and make their way into Cairhien. I thought it was cool that Rand offhandedly notices an Age of Legends era ship’s dock high up in the mountains. Just imagine finding an ancient dock high up in the Rockies or the Himalayas.
There are real-world places where ruins exist at such an altitude that it’s difficult to understand how they were built. This then gives rise to the idea that they are the ruins of a pre-Cataclysm civilization now lost to history, or that ancient aliens visited humanity in the remote past and built those things. Within the story, though, the characters know what these places are. I can’t decide whether I prefer the mystery or not. I think it would be absolutely fascinating to know that the Atlantis myth was rooted in fact, in some way, and to recognize places around the world as remnants of their civilization. I digress.
Rand meets some survivors of the Shaido raid on the town of Taien. The Aiel with Rand are shocked by the Shaido’s behavior – both in killing more than they needed and also their violation of ji’e’toh, taking the locals as gai’shain. I think Couladin is unintentionally driving the other clan chiefs toward Rand when he might have been better served drawing them toward himself.
The other main thing that happens in this chapter is that Jordan highlights – from Rand’s POV – the change in the dynamic of his relationship with Moiraine. Rand thinks to himself that she feels small now and remembers that he was once over-awed by her. The narrative really highlighted this change for the first time, in the Stone of Tear, as Rand was leaving for the Waste. Moiraine only recently accepted the change in their dynamic herself. It’s amusing to me that her acceptance of this has made her job with Rand about a million percent easier – as any reader (and most of the other characters) could have told her multiple books ago.
I am not the biggest Moiraine fan. She never had a close relationship with any of the Emond’s Field 5, or even with Lan (on the page, at least.) Her big moments have always felt like they were driven by a cold sense of duty, rather than love for her comrades. We can know as readers that her intentions are good, but we also know as readers that she has been in her own way (largely an arrogance problem) for about four books. The Moiraine we have known for most of the series has been willing to sacrifice others to win the Last Battle. Only very recently has she seemed truly willing to sacrifice herself. It’ll take a while of “new Moiraine” before I move from distant intellectual admiration of her character toward an actual fondness.
Am I prejudiced against Moiraine because she’s a woman? I don’t think that’s it. Jordan wrote her without a twinkle in her eye, or an obvious love for the people she is helping. Gandalf *clearly* loved the hobbits. As a result, even if he sent the Shire Folk into danger, or if he scolded Pippin, he was still easy to like as a reader. Most “wizard sends the innocent on a dangerous adventure” stories are the same. Dumbledore clearly loved Harry. Merlin loved Arthur. Does Moiraine love Rand? I don’t think so. I’m not sure she even likes him. I don’t know why it makes a difference, but it does.
“You did a really good job with the Tairens and the Aiel, Rand. I’m impressed and proud of you.” That’s literally all it would take. Instead of that, we get “I will begrudgingly do what you say if that means I get what I want.”
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