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 10: A Saying in the Borderlands
NOTE: The following chapter summary comes from wot.fandom.com
Point of view: Rand al’Thor
Rand is in Caemlyn. Two Aes Sedai arrived in Caemlyn the previous night. He spots Aviendha looking at one of the fountains in a garden. Rand knows that he really likes her and she ties him in knots, but he’s not sure if he loves her. Rand decides to visit the Aes Sedai at the inn. Some of the Aiel clan chiefs joke with him wryly that a man sometimes has to confront a women that he had feelings for instead of trying to hide from his feelings.
Rand and an Aiel escort go through the inner city to the outer city to see the newly arrived Aes Sedai. When he enters the inn he finds that the Aes Sedai are with many girls from the Two Rivers, even Mat’s sister Bode. The girls tell him that they are going to Tar Valon to become Aes Sedai. They tell Rand how Lord Perrin defeated the Trollocs that attacked. Verin and Alanna enter the inn followed by their Warders. Rand goes to a room to talk to the two Aes Sedai privately to find out their plans and what they know of the rebel Aes Sedai. Under the ruse of restoring his strength, Alanna bonds Rand as her Warder. Rand is furious and immediately cuts both of them off from the True Source. The Two Rivers girls don’t believe Rand is the Dragon Reborn. Still angry with Alanna, he demonstrates by using the Power to lift two of the girls in the air, which upsets all of the girls. Alanna is able to calm him down somewhat.
REACTION:
This chapter is a big one for Rand’s character de-evolution. He’s managed to hide from his home and avoid the people from there, in the name of protecting them, but that all comes crashing down here. We see here that Rand’s self-justification for why he was acting this way toward the place he grew up was only the partial truth. Yes, he was protecting them. He was also protecting himself from their reaction to finding out who he is.
Seeing people from home was such a comfort, for just a moment, and then he watched that turn to ash. They were terrified of him and if you read between the lines, it mirrored back to Rand how he feels about himself. Rand loses an important part of himself in this chapter and it’s profoundly sad. As the reader, we spend a lot of time in Rand’s head, and with people who get used to him, but as a result it’s easy to forget that for most of the public in Randland, meeting “The Dragon Reborn” is not that far removed from what it might be like to meet the Antichrist in the real world. Rand knew in his head that he couldn’t go home, in part because this would be his welcome if they knew… and now that was confirmed for him. All the rest about protecting them from association with him is true, but I think this is what he feared.
On top of all of that… another HUGE thing happens. Alana bonds Rand as one of her Warder. She does it without his consent. This is akin to raping him, but in some ways it’s worse. She takes up permanent real-time residence inside his mind. The shock of dealing with that violation coincides immediately with the Two Rivers girls learning that he’s the Dragon Reborn. All in all, this is one of the worst 1 or 2 minutes Rand has had in the entire series. As the reader, it gives us an opportunity to share in his loneliness.
One other thing of note: Prior to setting out, one of the Aiel mentions off-handedly that there is a rumor about an Aes Sedai who heals dogs or cats. To me, this sounds like Jordan is making us think of the Black Ajah sister (Marillin Gemalphin) who the Supergirls followed to Tear and then to Tanchico. If the Black Ajah is gathering in Caemlyn, that might matter later. Rand obviously doesn’t run into her at the inn, in this chapter, but she’s almost certainly in the city with her friends.
All in all… poor Rand.
👏👏
Thank you!