12 – The gathering Storm
12A – Rand drops off the captured Sul’dam and damane near Ebou Dar in order to take a message to the real Tuon.
12B – At a retreat in western Tarabon, Rand is with Min, Cadsuane, Nynaeve, and others. They are questioning Semhirage, yet getting no info because Rand won’t let them hurt her. Many of the Aiel join him there, including Aviendha and Rhuarc. Rand’s disrespect of the Aiel continues.
12C – Rand travels to Tarabon to get Rodel Ituralde to go to Saldae to guard the blight. Rodel get’s caught in the Ta’veran web and agrees. Rand gives him Asha’man and takes a few of his officers to be in charge of Arad Doman along with the Aiel.
12B(continued) – While Aviendha’s unexplained punishment continues, a Saldean spontaneously melts, setting the manor on fire. Rand yells at stuff. Rand pulls himself to Moridin’s lair in the dream world. They have a discussion, then rand leaves.
12D – Malden – Perrin is packing to go, trying to avoid his responsibility.
12E – Perrin starts learning about the wolf dream again. Faile and her companions hold a funeral for the shaido that helped them.
12F – Hinderstap - Mat is making his way north towards Caemlyn. All the time complaining about Tuon, Aes Sedai, etc. They stop at a town called Hinderstap, where Mat gambles his way to a bunch of food, then at night, all the locals go Zombie and kill each other. They are alive the next day, and Mat learns this happens every night. They also find that someone is distributing pictures of Mat and Perrin. Mat decides to find out who it is.
12G – Rand drops off men near the blight, and rides with Bashere and Ituralde to see it(the blight). Then he travels back to the manor.
12B(continued) – Rand returns to the manor and is in his room with Min. Shaider Haran has a Black, Elza, knocked out Semhirage’s guard Aes Sedai, and killed one, as well as bring her the Domination Band. Dressed as a servant, Semirage and Elza get it on his neck, and begin to make him choke Min. Rand then senses and pulls from the True source(likely available do to his connection with Ishamael/Moridin) to break the band. Min is alive, he kills Semhirage and Elza with Balefire. Seeing himself being forced to almost kill Min breaks him, and he will no linger show any emotion at all. Everyone comes running as soon as they find out. When Cadsuane get’s there, he shows her the collar. We also find out that the Male half of the Choeden’Kal is no longer in her possession(Rand has it). Rand banishes Cadsuane from his presence.
12H – Bandar Eben – Rand goes to Bandar Eban, trying to find the king of Arad Doman, and Graendel. He tracks down a messenger who came from her, but he is dead. Nynaeve investigates herself and they find a man so heavily under compulsion that he dies when they take it out of his head. But he gives up Graendel’s location to Rand.
12I – Trustair – Mat is making some elaborate plan to get into the town of Trusair, as well as trying to get Aludra to give him secrets, and talking about cannons. Then Verin appears, she has been waiting for Mat, and says she can get him to Caemlyn through traveling. She was the one distributing the pictures of him and Perrin. Verin reveals that the pattern tugged her towards Murandy into Mat’s path. Though we don’t know if this is a lie.
12J – Falme – Rand is meeting the Seanchan just outside Falme. For the first time he admits to being confused if he is Rand to Lews Therin, and uses the plural “We” to talk about himself. He. Nynaeve, Flinn, and Jahar meet with Tuon and her Deathwatch guards. Rand insists on peace, and tries to bully her. She resists and says no. As soon as he is gone, she orders the attack on the white tower, thinking it is the source of his power. Then she names herself empress.
12K – Natrin’s Barrow – Rand confronts Graendel by sending in a noble to negotiate with her. He comes out full of compulsion. That proves she is there. He then uses the Choden’kal to make a huge stream of balefire to destroy the fort and everyone in it. Nyanaeve checks the noble and his compulsion is gone, proving that Graendel is dead. Nyanaeve and Min are worried about him, as usual. Though we find out later in the Preface to ToM that Graendel had Delana, a black sister, do the compulsion, then tied her and Aran’Gar(Balthemel) up before escaping. So Aran’Gar is dead instead of Graendel.
12L – Tear - Rand goes to Tear, they cheer him.
12M – Rand goes to meet the borderlanders on the plains of Maredo. They are not there, but Hurin is. He tells them they are waiting near Far Madding.
12N – Far Madding – Rand sees the army of borderlanders camped around Far Madding and nearly destroys them with the power. Nynaeve stops him. He sends Hurin to give them a choice. Either he gives them a gateway back to the blight, or they have the shame of sitting out tarmon gaidon. He goes back to tear.
12L(Continued) – To follow through with their plan, Nynaeve brings Tam to see Rand. It starts out nicely, but rand flies off the handle when he finds out it was Cadsuane’s doing. He almost kills Tam, then flees to Ebou Dar. Tam goes and yells at Cadsuane.
12O – Ebou Dar – Rand goes to Ebou Dar, planning on destroying the city and crushin the Seanchan. He spends a few days there. Time with Tinkers and the people in the city. He sees them happy. That combined with his shame about how he treated Tam, he decided he can’t do it, and opens a gateway to outside the city. He then skims to the top of Dragonmount.
12P – Dragonmount – Rand sits on Dragonmount pondering. He begins down a path of despair, questioning if it is easier to let the wheel break in order to end the suffering of men. It is Lews Therin that is voice of reason, and Rand realizes that you keep fighting for the chance at redemption, and for love. Drawing on the Choeden’kal so strongly, he then destroys it and the access key. A halo of light opens up in the clouds over Dragonmount. The newly reunited tower, with Egwene as amyrlin sees it. She looks at it, knowing something good has happened.
