Rambling on and on Pretty awesome… some of the time

13 – Towers of Midnight

13A  - Rand, leaving Dragonmount walking towards Tar Valon carries the sunshine with him. Passing an orchard that had its crop spoiled, Rand and the goodness now in him, causes the apples to flourish immediately.

13B – Just over the ghealdean border, Perrin meets up with one of those he sent with the wagons towards Andor before the battle at Malden. He finds out that they turned towards Jehanna. They Camp just north of the road. Near the camp, they find a section of wilderness that is taking on blight. There is a village in it that is from somewhere else also. They scour it all with the one power. Perrin then goes to the wolf dream to hunt, and sees ominous visions of his friends. Later, they find whitecloaks camped near them. The whitecloaks know Perrin is there, and Byar/Barnhold get a boner for killing Perrin again. Galad is not convinced, but as Perrin did kill 2whitecloaks in TEotW, he will have to arrest him. He and Perrin both mention parlay. He meets with Galad and nothing really comes of it. The Aes Sedai and Asha’man are learning to make circles. Later, Faile makes picnic for them, and Perrin tells her about the wolf in him. The whole story. This is the first real step he makes to accepting his role as a leader. Perrin then is in the world of dreams with Hopper, learning. He finds the wall, which we find out later is the dream spike, put there by slayer.

Meeting with Aes Sedai and Wise ones, they discuss Carhien and news. Perrin mentions the Rahvin being one of the forsaken and Maighdin/Morgase hears it and flips. Perrin agrees that there is no recourse for the Whitecloaks other than battle. He spends some more time training in the wolf dream with hopper, and has a confrontation with Slayer. After that, he lines up to fight the Whitecloaks. They are vastly outnumbered, so he gives them a warning and asks for parley. Perrin and Galad meet, and Galad sees Morgase, revealing her to all. Perrin agrees to trial with Morgase as the judge. Morgase, speaking to Galad, makes him question the methods and thought process of the children.

In the wolf dream, perrin continues to train, now learning about entering nightmares. Afterwards, he is near Dragonmount when Rand’s beam of son covers it. This is a signal to the wolf that the last hunt is about to begin. They will help in the last battle. Perrin enters the wolf dream to finally confront slayer. He goes into the dome with Hopper and moves the dreamspike to tar valon.

13C – Rand walks into Tar Valon, care free, and asks to speak to the Amyrlin. He talks to Suian on the way, thanking her for taking that arrow for him in Fal Dara(TGH). When he sees Egwene, he tells her that in one month, he will meet her north of Tar Valon to talk about his plans. And that he will be breaking the seals, and wants Female and Male chanelers helping him this time. After he leaves, all the other Aes Sedai say how his presence made them unable to move.

13D – Caemlyn – Mat is in Caemlyn drinking, gambling, and not looking at women. He finds out the Gholam followed him there. He goes to the Bands camp, a few miles out of the city. In the camp, Mat goes to his tent and finds the Gholam, who killed Lopin and 2 redarms. Mat and Teslyn fight it, but it gets away. Mat plans to kill the Gholam, he just doesn’t know how yet. The Aes Sedai plan to leave Mat. He stays in the city now, and writes a poorly worded letter to Elayne. Later, the Aes Sedai, Sul’dam, and Bayle Doman leave his camp for Tar Valon. Mat gives them a message for the Amyrlin to have the Horn of Valere ready for him, he intends to get it.

Mat and Thom meet with Elayne and Birgitte to discuss the dragons Aludra will make. They agree to let the band keep ¼ of them, and tie the Band to Andor. Mat also lets Elayne study the foxhead Ter’angreal. He ‘sneaks’ into the castle in order to get caught and talk with Birgette about the tower of Ghenjei. While they chat, Elayne is stupid and gets caught by the Black Ajah. She saves herself as Mat and Birgette get to her. But Mat gets a few copies of his Foxhead Ter’Angreal. He starts to plan how to kill the Gholam.

Unmasking himself and acting on the rumors he heard, Mat makes himself known in taverns. He and the Band fight off some would be attackers. The Gholam tracks him down, and Mat fights and pushes him back with the copied medallions. Mat pushes it onto a skimming platform, then knocks it off into the never-ending void. Win.

13E – Tear - Rand returns to Tear, a new man. He acknowledges his Toh to the Aiel, and agrees to meet it. He outs the rebels hidden among his “Supporters”, and pardons Cadsuane.  Tam is there, and he reunites with him. Later, after Nynaeve cures an Asha’man’s insanity, Rand thanks her for healing those around him. And, gives her leave to return to the White Tower.  But he asks her to be with him for the final battle. He will need her to wield Callendor.

13F – Bandar Eben – Rand returns to Bandar Eben to make right what he did there. The city is in ruins, it’s people beaten and poor. He inspires the people there to organize themselves, and clean up the city. Going to the ships where ever sack of grain they opened was bad, he opened other and they were good. Ta’veran twisting of chances. All would be good while he was in the city.

13G – Maradon – Ituralde barely holds the city, fighting trollocs and fades within its walls. Rand goes to save them, with Bashere and his army. They take control of the city, but a mass of trollocs larger than ever seen before gets ready to overcome them. Hundreds of thousands of them. Rand takes a portal to the field of battle just outside the broken city wall and shit gets real. He puts out fire, ice, deathgates, and more on a level no one of this age has seen before. In an our, all the shadowspawn are dead or retreated. Maradon is saved.

13E(continued) – Rand brings Ituralde and Bashere to Tear. As a reward for Ituralde’s devotion, he lets him see the King of Arad Doman, who had been hidden away in the White Tower.

13F – Tar Valon(Within the wolf dream) – Perrin runs with the dreamspike into Tar Valon, which disrupts Mesaana’s plans for Egwene. This saves Egwene, because she can battle Mesaana without traveling to her trap. Mesaana tries to kill Perrin with balefire, but Perrin dissolves it by willing it, as is the way with the wolf dream. Egwene is amazed. Perrin lures Slayer into a nightmare, and Slayer is swallowed by it, along with the dreamspike. Hopper dies also.

13B(continued). Perrin wakes up. Most of his people have gone through the now available gateways, but he still has a few thousand soldiers. He walks around to think and begins doing blacksmith work. Naeld offers to keep the metal hot for him, and Perrin begins to craft. Neald, another Asha’man, and wise ones make a circle as Perrin works the metal. He crafts a bad-ass hammer of shadowspawn smite! This is the first power wrought weapon in a long time. Perrin sees the dreamspike was made to push them into an ambush, and decides to save the whitecloaks, who are in that ambus instead of them.

13G – Perrin travels to the Whitecloaks campsite just in time to save them from shadowspawn. Charging into battle to save Galad, he names Perrin’s punishment to be a fine paid and to fight in the last battle. Bornhold kills Byar, who would have stabbed Perrin in the back.

13H – Whitebridge – Perrin takes everyone into Andor by gateway, and Morgase prepares for Cemlyn. Perrin marries her and Tallanvor. Then Mat pops in to say hi, and catches a badger. He warns Perrin, and tells him to meet him in Caemlyn.

13D(continued) – Perrin, now in Caemlyn, visits with Elayne to discuss his lordship. They agree to make him high lord of the two rivers. He brings with them Ghealdean, Saldae(through Faile), Mayene, and the Seaenchan as close alliances. Mat, Perrin, and Thom meet in an inn to catch up, then discuss the tower of Ghenjei. Mat and Perrin say their goodbyes, and Mat it send to the tower, then Perrin prepares his army to move.

13I – Far Madding – Rand meets with the borderland army. They test him with an unknown prophecy asking how a woman died. He knew because he now knows everything Lews Therin knew. They accept him as The Dragon.

13J – The Fields of Merrilor – Perrin moves is army through, joining Egwene’s army, Tear, Aiel, and other factions. He makes it known he will support Rand’s decision. Rand Joins the army forming, ready to make his stand.

13K – The Tower of Ghenjei – Mat, Thom, and Noal travel to the tower to save Moraine. Using the symbol you make to begin the Snakes and Foxes game, they enter the tower. They wander for a while, backtracking, trying to learn the rules, but it makes no sense. They are lead to Moraine after refusing to give their weapons, often fighting. They deal to free Moraine, Mat giving half the light of the world, being one of his eyes. They fight their way out, but Noal, revealing he is Jaim Farstrider, sacrifices himself for them. Promptly after they escape, Moraine wants to marry Thom. He agrees. They say if you were looking, you could tell*.

*In rereading the series, I didn’t see much foreshadowing to that. And I was looking.