Just as I thought I was seeing a pattern in the first two, this one does something different. Of course, as long of a series as it is, it's obviously going to take a lot of turns. The pattern I observed in the first two books was that the characters would begin heading to one place and end up in another. But the wheel weaves as it will, and this third book took a different turn. Like the next combination of footwork in a dance or the next movement of a music composition. This time everyone ends up in the destination they were headed to from the start, though some of them don't choose it right away at first. It kicks off with Rand as always. He rashly accepts that he's the Dragon Reborn, though he still only half believes it, and decides to "skip ahead" a few steps according to the prophecies that he's been trying to understand, as one might do on a suicide mission. Which specific order events should unfold in isn't clear to anyone, but he knows that the Dragon is supposed to be the only one that can retrieve and wield a powerful, sa'angreal sword - Callandor - in Tear, so he rushes off alone one night. He doesn't wait for Moraine's counsel as he, like so many others, still don't trust the Aes Sedai. But, that's the most of Rand's involvement until the end. After he leaves the focus turns to his small party of supporters that must follow him to protect him and fight beside him. The unintentional manipulation that his mere presence has on everything woven into the Wheel of Time makes him easy to track via the emotional turmoil he unknowingly leaves behind in the cities he travels through. They learn that members of The Forsaken are rising to positions of power in the most important cities and that one has likely set himself up in charge of Tear. So there's an overarching threat to be dealt with, although it's back-burner.
One prediction I got right was that, even though Rand is the most important one, all of the Two Rivers characters would have their own moments in the spotlight and this book is more about taking the time to flesh out Rand's friends, Perrin and Mat a little. Perrin is learning how to leverage his telepathic connection with the wolves without altogether losing his humanity. He's still not comfortable with it, but he is able to communicate in his dreams with one of wolves, Hopper, that died in the first book. He also befriends an Aiel warrior and is more accepting than Mat and others that Rand's heritage lies in the Aiel Waste and that an alliance with these otherwise feared and hated people is a necessity. In addition, Perrin is given a lady friend, Zarine, a hunter-of-the-Horn who prefers to go by "Faile" which means hawk, which also lines up with Min's vision of a hawk on his shoulder. He wants no part of Min's visions or Zarine, of course, but bonds with the young woman anyway and it helps to balance out the cast since three of the main women are in love with Rand, also per Min's visions.
As for Mat he is finally at death's door after the second book. He's taken to Tar Valon and healed of the influence of the dagger from Shadar Logoth. Healed from the directly evil influence anyway. But he's a changed man. His fighting skills are sharpened and his luck with gambling has heightened considerably. He doesn't have "powers" like the vast majority of the other characters do, but his change of luck is undoubtedly a consequence of his involvement with the knife and as magical in its nature as the talents of his peers. Will his luck betray him before the end? Remains to be seen. His personality is still a wild card. In his selfish, survival impulses, he wants nothing more to do with any of his friends, though it pains him, and to get away from the path they all seem destined to follow. But he ultimately can't abandon them entirely as he ends up choosing the go to Tear to try to stop an assassination plot against the Daughter Heir of Andor, Elayne. Along the way he also can't resist the temptation to keep testing his newfound good fortunes. Thom makes another appearance, flitting in and out of the story as one of the very best exposition characters ever. This time he throws in with Mat on his journey since he is practiced in the art of political intrigue.
And the ladies aren't forgotten either. Min doesn't get much time in this installment. She's packed off pretty quickly to report Rand's flight to the Amyrlin. But Egwene, Elayne, and Nynaeve are sent on their own quest. Framed as deserters from the White Tower in the previous novel, they are first displayed as being punished and ostracized for their actions so the Amyrlin can cover up sending them on a mission - to track down Liandrin and the rest of the Black Ajah - the evil sisters of the Tower that serve The Dark One and whose existence is publicly denied. All roads lead to Tear since Rand's move on Callandor was anticipated. So, they set out with hot tempered and arrogant Nynaeve taking the lead as always, Egwene butting heads with her, and the Andorian princess being the peace maker between the two of them. But Egwene was always the more open minded and her concerns about Nynaeve's aggressive disposition start to come to the foreground and find some validation as we see her beginning to mature and really embrace becoming an Aes Sedai. Something that Nynaeve's prideful personality has no intention of doing just yet. Egwene's special nature is also uncovered. She has the rare talent to prophecy with dreams (which are different from Min's visions) and to move within the realm of dreams. There's much more emphasis put on the realm of dreams in this book. Previously, The Dark One was shown as manipulating the three men through dreams that could physically harm them, but it was a one-sided view of that phenomenon. Now we see Egwene and Perrin are both are able to navigate through their dreams to overhear real conversations and take actions with physical consequences if they're unable to in the physical world. Each of them "checks in" on Rand throughout the story as they exercise their new abilities although they can't help or deter him since Ba'alzamon continually torments his dreams while he travels, to the point that Rand can't distinguish between the enemy's deceptions and the genuine outreach of his friends. The women also encounter and befriend female Aiel warriors and explore the cultural differences of the roles of women in their respective societies on their journey. In Tear they're betrayed, captured, and put in the hands of some of the Black Ajah. This is where Egwene's dreaming powers really come into play. They didn't need Mat's help, really. But his contribution to their rescue is noted and appreciated. I think that's a lot of the reason I've fallen for these books. They confront the beautiful and natural balance of men and women in the world that society has corrupted and tried to shame out of existence.
It ends with Rand claiming the sword and another confrontation between Rand and who he believes to be Shai'tan. But since The Dark One still doesn't have a body to inhabit, the fight was done by proxy. There's still a long way to go before he can finally face the final battle. They speculate that the unidentifiable corpse left behind belonged to one of the Forsaken called Ishamael. I thought that was an interesting choice since they were building him up to be one of the worst of the bunch. But, it was just speculation after all. I've read too much fantasy fiction to believe it just yet.
Anyway I don't know if you can tell, but I'm still just loving these books and I still would recommend them highly and I can't wait to get through the next one!
