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 34: Journey to Salidar
NOTE: The following chapter summary comes from wot.fandom.com
Point of view: Egwene al’Vere
Egwene is preparing for her journey to join the rebel Aes Sedai in Salidar. She fills her saddlebags until they are bulging and looks around, realizing that there’s a lot here that still belongs to her, but she cannot take. She then realizes that she is stalling. Dressing is a chore because she is so sore from the administration of toh the Wise Ones provided upon her request. She quickly channels Spirit and opens a Gateway to Tel’aran’rhiod. She steps through and finds herself exactly where she thinks she should be, but in the World of Dreams. She finds a “dream-Bela” around the corner of her tent, reshapes the saddle to make it more soft to handle her sore posterior, and climbs on. Then she uses the unique features of Tel’aran’rhiod to make her injuries go away. Then she tells the mare that she needs to “run like the wind” tonight.
Surprising Egwene, Bela does so; every step seems to take them miles, even though the feel of the canter is like a slow trot. Scenes whisk by in a blur. Egwene stops occasionally to orient herself according to the map Siuan has placed in her head. Some time later, when she is sure she is well into Altara she lets Bela take smaller leaps, using the slower pace to identify the towns she passed through, finally lapsing into a normal trot. She reaches the outskirts of Salidar at last and applies caution to her final steps, which she makes herself, on the ground, to ensure that she is not a threatening figure upon approach. After thanking Bela, she channels Spirit once again and leaves Tel’aran’rhiod.
Her first step back into the real world reminds her sharply of the toh she received earlier that night―the pain is excruciating, having been held at bay in the World of Dreams. Her conscience tells her to leave it be, and she decides to endure the pain for the sake of her toh. After all she was there to fight for her right to be Aes Sedai, and yet as she thinks that, a sliver of doubt creeps into her mind―is that really why she is here?
Determined to let the Aes Sedai know she has arrived, Egwene corners a townswoman and requests to be told where she can find Sheriam Sedai. She is speaking to a woman named Nildra, who whines a bit then leads Egwene to Sheriam’s cottage. She gets halfway through announcing Egwene when the door is wrenched open and Egwene is allowed admittance. The room is filled with seven Aes Sedai and someone she doesn’t know and younger. Intense questioning follows about her experience of traveling through the World of Dreams. Egwene explains that she is fine and that there were no ill effects.
After a bit of verbal pampering, including a remark from Myrelle to let Egwene get her feet on the ground, the young Aes Sedai, who is really Siuan Sanche, snaps that Egwene does not have time to get her feet on the ground. Egwene hears the voice and knows the woman for Siuan. It is explained to a disbelieving Egwene that Nynaeve Healed Siuan’s stilling. Egwene realizes finally that it really is Siuan, but a Siuan who is much weaker in the Power than the Siuan she used to know.
Egwene is offered a seat, but she chooses to stand because of her recent toh, though she does not let the group know that she is hurting. She asks about Elayne, and marvels at what Nynaeve has done. Other pleasantries are exchanged until Siuan harshly demands that they continue what they already began. She is met with cold stares from the other Aes Sedai present, and for a while she just stares back, but then humbles herself and apologizes.
Egwene half marvels, half frets over what she is witnessing. But one thing suddenly is made clear: they did not call her to Salidar because she had been masquerading as an Aes Sedai when she was a mere Accepted. They didn’t even know that she had done so.
Finally, Sheriam announces that Egwene was called to Salidar to be made the next Amyrlin Seat.
REACTION:
This is a relatively short chapter, but I love it. I mean, OF COURSE Egwene made a Dream Bela to ride to Salidar and I was just as sad as she was that she couldn’t take the Dream horse back into the real world with her.
She did not quite figure out Traveling, but I think she’s got a female equivalent of skimming worked out. Of course, I think men could do this same thing if they knew how to enter the World of Dreams. But given her questions to Rand in the throne room about how he Travels, I think this is pretty near to how it should be done.
I also really loved Egwene’s reaction to finding out that Nynaeve had healed Stilling. Here she is, just having done something impossible herself, only to find out that her former mentor / village Wisdom had recently done something even more impossible. Egwene rediscovered something not known in three thousand years. Nynaeve discovered something that was unknown even in the Age of Legends. Egwene thought for a little while in the first book that she was set to be the strongest Aes Sedai in a thousand or more years. Then Nynaeve finds their traveling party and a little while later Egwene learns Nynaeve is Forsaken-level strong. (No wonder these two sometimes bristle at each other.) Of course, Egwene was incredulous in a happy way here.
The chapter ends with Egwene – and the Readers – finding out that she is to be the Amyrlin Seat. Is that worse than being punished for pretending to be Aes Sedai? Yes and no. It affords a lot of dangers and opportunities simultaneously. She will almost certainly be hanged for treason if the Rebels make peace with Elaida. She’ll be killed if she’s captured. She’s now a target for assassination plots. She’s now a bigger target for the Forsaken than she was before (and they arranged to have her kidnapped twice already) and unbeknownst to her, there are TWO Forsaken in the camp she just entered. Yet, she’s going to be named the Amyrlin, even if kind of a puppet one for right now I suspect. Maybe she’ll start understanding why Rand is so permanently annoyed by people trying to control him, rather than merely giving him support (a crime Egwene herself is guilty of in Rand’s case.)
I am struck now by something I thought about in the last chapter, which is how much Egwene and Rand have been on parallel journeys. They’ve both traveled the world, mostly together and to the same places, interacted with world leaders, gained the respect of those leaders, and are now on the cusp of being (at least by title) the most powerful man and woman on the continent, if not the entire world. Will having his ex-girlfriend be in charge of the magic wielders on the continent be helpful to Rand? Probably. They did break up amicably (even if I don’t think it was entirely voluntary in Egwene’s part.) Will Egwene be a thorn in Rand’s side, too? Probably. Now more than ever she will think herself justified in trying to control Rand, rather than supporting him.
If we’re keeping track by the way, the most powerful male channeler is Rand. The most powerful Light-side female channeler (so far) is Nynaeve. Egwene is about to be the political leader of half of the Aes Sedai. Perrin rules a nation. And Mat is the best / luckiest general of all time. Imagine five people like this coming out of the same random small town. After this is all over, everyone should spend the next Age talking about how they all live in a Simulation. (Flicker flicker flicker flicker flicker.)
Between what Egwene and Nynaeve have discovered and rediscovered, over the last few chapters, I think the Salidar Aes Sedai could storm Tar Valon and take it with ease. She could drop an entire army along with power wielding Aes Sedai inside of Tar Valon itself without giving the other side any warning. But maybe that means Egwene is in a Daenerys Targaryen vs. Cersei Lannister situation. She could win easily, but to do so she would have to choose kill a lot of innocent people. I can’t see that happening.
Exciting stuff ahead! I’m looking forward to where this goes. We aren’t quite pointing at a big climactic end-of-book fight, yet, but the board is set and the pieces are moving.
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