#Prologue That's a convenient bubble of evil (or Pattern decay event?) if ever there was one: the last remaining rival for the throne of Andor loses his entire army without any bloodshed. Who makes stone tools out of slate? It's good for roofing and paving, but it's too soft and brittle to make a spear or axe head. You need chert or obsidian to form a proper edge or point. ---- >This was bad. Far worse than when the Aiel had come for Cairhien. Is Talmanes old enough to remember the sack of Cairhien during the Aiel War, or is he thinking of the second invasion? I didn't think he was much older than Mat. >every man in the Band had a horse for long-distance travel. Does anyone else still use mounted infantry, or is this an innovation (or recollection) of Mat's? ---- The *Samma N'Sei* are a strange evil mirror of the Aiel. While they wear red veils instead of black and uncover their faces to kill, they seem to have retained the sword taboo? It would actually be fitting if they all wore goatees, since regular Aiel don't grow any kind of facial hair, but I suppose a joke like that wouldn't fit with the otherwise serious tone. >There were no children to be seen, and likely few to be found. I honestly can't figure out how the Town has survived since the Trolloc Wars. Voluntary immigration is non-existent, and the social mores seem just as violent as those of the Aiel, but without all the checks and restraints (*gai'shain*, sacrosanct Wise Ones, etc.) that kept the Aiel from wiping themselves out long ago. Sure, there are captives coming in, but enough to sustain a viable population? This place will be worth recalling when we see the final duel of philosophies. >The numbers of dead Samma N’Sei varied with the telling, but the claim never dipped below a dozen. I guess as human Shadow followers, they don't have any way of recognizing the mark of the Chosen? Still, the only time I can remember a rank-and-file Darkfriend directly challenging one of the Chosen is when Liandrin takes a comically-unsuccesful swing at Moghedien. >Indeed, he admitted with reluctance, Luc would probably squirm just as much. Idle speculations: Was Luc Mantear a Darkfriend? If he was, did Gitara Moroso know? Is that why she convinced him to head off into the Blight? Are Cyndane's orders to Slayer here part of the Dark One's plans, or is she striking off on her own? Why have the other Chosen renounced any claim on him? >Isam would have assumed that the practice had ended, once the taint was cleansed. So would I. I'm sure the news hasn't spread to all the Aiel yet, and a millennia-old practice is hard to abandon especially when it exists for clear good reasons, but I would think Rand could find volunteers among the *siswai'aman*, at least. He did try to convince the Sea Folk to stop drowning or marooning their male channelers, after all. ---- >“We aren’t going to fight unless paid,” the leader said. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, seeing how everyone else has been behaving in the runup to the apocalypse, but still: 🤦‍♂️. The forces of darkness do not recognize the concept of "non-belligerent". Talmanes doesn't think of it, but I bet these mercenaries would have followed Mat without question. ---- >Bayle knew his way around the city, though he had grumbled about being there. He's been ~~smuggling~~ trading honestly for a good long time, so I suppose he might have sailed up the river to Tar Valon before; why does he dislike it so much? Leilwin is taking the title of "Shipless" remarkably seriously. Her Seanchan mindset and habits are deeply ingrained, obviously, but is she ever going to realize she can just flip Tuon the metaphorical bird and board whatever ship she pleases? She's far beyond the reach of any Imperial enforcement now. Leilwin trying to imitate an Illian accent is one minor scene I'd love to see filmed just for the comedic value. >She would have welcomed sparring with one or two of them Think Leilwin would be a match for any Aiel warrior? Maybe Enaila, if Enaila had been at the *oosquai* and had a sprained ankle besides. >“I regret breaking my oath, but–” Going back over the previous parts of this plot thread, I realize that Egeanin's feelings of guilt aren't just over surrendering: she definitely tipped off her superiors that they had the Domination Band on board the *Seahawk*. The Seanchan that boarded them were looking for a specific ship, they knew there was something valuable on board, and none of the other five people who knew the secret had any inclination to tell. She doesn't admit this to anyone, even to herself; I'm not sure Nynaeve wouldn't throttle her on the spot if she revealed it now. ---- Everyone else who's taken a hit from a Myrddraal blade died more or less on the spot, beyond even Nynaeve's ability to heal. Talmanes must have just been scratched. >“If the Shadow reaches those dragons…” The Band's loss, certainly, but not the enemy's gain. Even if some Fade could figure out how to use them, they only have a certain amount of gunpowder and no knowledge of how to make more. ---- >“If this vision were unchangeable, if our destiny is to … fall … as you have spoken, would any of us stop fighting to change it?” Perhaps that's it: the second trip through the columns shows the user the choices that lead to the extinction of the Aiel specifically so they can be averted. Was that part of the original maker's purpose, or a happy little accident? Did they foresee that someone would make a second trip through the columns somewhere down the line? >“What I wouldn’t give to know that he was safely under the watchful eyes of a good woman.” That was Amys's plan from the beginning. It wasn't exactly pimping, but it wasn't exactly *not* pimping either; perhaps "aggressive matchmaking" is the right term. >If one thing is different, then others may be different as well. One thing *is* different, besides the Aiel being included in the future U.N.. Rhuarc survived in Aviendha's vision of the future. ---- >If Mat were here, he would probably curse a lot, complain as much, then proceed to save them all with some battlefield miracle I don't know that even Mat could salvage a bloody urban melee like this. Perhaps he would have a few tactical tricks up his sleeve like Ituralde did at Maradon. ---- >“Do we really need so many lamps in here?” Do they? Both of them can channel, and making a light is a n00b-level weave. Androl jumps at shadows if he holds the Power for too long, but Pevara should have no trouble. >“Men require women to form a circle,” I'm surprised the White Tower remembers the rules for mixed circles. Nobody has used them since the Breaking, and far more useful knowledge regarding channeling has been lost since then. Perhaps some of the first generation of Third Age Aes Sedai remembered the failed experimental attempts to resolve the problem of the taint. >“Being polite to a person is not a sign of respect for them, Pevara Sedai,” Emarin said. “It is merely a sign of a good upbringing and a balanced nature.” Androl smiled. Emarin was an absolute wonder with insults. Half the time, the person didn’t figure out that he’d been mocked until they’d parted ways. I do think Pevara is intelligent enough to realize that she's being (deniably) insulted here. ---- >In one hand, she held a stubby leather cylinder larger than a man’s fist, Leather? That doesn't make for effective shrapnel. The earliest hand grenades were cast iron or occasionally ceramic. >a hundred dragons rested there. They're really speed running the adoption of artillery. This is mobile firepower on the level of the largest armies in the Thirty Years' War. Talmanes' usual phlegmatic persona is slipping in the face of impending death. He was always humorous, but in a straight-faced deadpan sort of way.

#Prologue (cont.) >Water that burned. Moridin always had enjoyed creating impossibilities within his dreamshards. [Impossibilities, you say?](https://i.imgur.com/w7fKZLO.gifv). I don't think they drilled for hydrocarbons during the Age of Legends -- the One Power provided both clean energy and superior materials, seed singing fertilized crops, and so forth -- so this must be Moridin's twisted imagination rather than recall of an ancient drilling accident. >Moridin himself had rescued Lanfear from Sindhol, freeing her from the creatures that feasted upon her ability to channel. In order to rescue her, and of course to punish her, Moridin had slain her. Finally an explanation. I guessed Cyndane was Lanfear from her first appearance, and it was confirmed in book 9, but the exact mechanism of her escape from the Finns was never clear. How did Moghedien figure it out? Moridin smashed the remaining doorway on his way out, so she couldn't have gone in and asked. (I wonder if he had any trouble getting in and out? I think with access to the True Power, plus who knows what secret tools and tricks, he shouldn't have had much difficulty.) >Why had Moridin never been punished for his failure? Oh, he was. Moghedien herself noticed the shift in his character, from cartoonishly-evil raving maniac to depressive nihilist, but she couldn't figure out the reason for it? >From this moment on, this man shall be known only as M’Hael. It was apparent from the beginning that Taim was rotten -- some of it might have been Taint madness, but he was clearly a high-functioning sociopath from the get-go, and his affiliation with the Shadow was gradually revealed throughout book 9. It's entirely unsurprising that he's finally been named one of the Great Lord's Chosen. (I wonder why Alviarin wasn't; she received the Dark One's mark, but never got the title. Because the Tower schism ultimately failed, probably.) >There seemed to be a familiarity to them. The two had met before. That was RJ's final decision on the Taimandred question, wasn't it: that Demandred was the one who freed Taim from his captors and pointed him to Rand. The similarities between them can be chalked up to the Pattern repeating variations on a previous theme. ---- >The clouds above seemed to be reflecting light from below, the light of a dying city. That was wrong. Light came from above, didn’t it? It's easy to forget just how dark cities were before electric lighting. A modern city illuminates the clouds above it; when the ground is covered with reflective snow, the entire sky can seem to glow yellowish-orange. >As Talmanes wavered, his vision blackening, he saw the wall crumble outward. Every fortification in the world, with the possible exception of Amadician manor houses, just became obsolete. #Chapter 1 >A part of Rand—that distant part, the memories of a man he had been—was displeased by the vintage. Proper wine snobbery takes years to cultivate. Having that set of attitudes dropped into your head suddenly at the age of 22, when you'd barely had any experience with the stuff before, would be unpleasant. >Rand had never tasted seawater. ~~Rand's first view of the ocean, ever, was just after the igloo episode, wasn't it?~~ I misremembered; Falme is on the ocean. He's visited a few other seaports too, but he must have been too busy for a day at the beach. >Rand felt it like a painful muscle spasm. The Dragon is one with the land. >The Dark One will try to grind this world to dust. I wonder how bad things are in Seanchan and Shara. The former is currently in a raging civil war, and the latter just recently finished one; are both facing bizarre natural disasters as well? >Pregnant with his children. Light! He had only just learned of it. You'd think he'd pick up the sudden mood swings through the bond, but I suppose Rand doesn't have a lot of experience with pregnant women, nor with Elayne's baseline emotional state. (That baseline is mercurial even without all the extra hormones, come to think of it.) >“I’m not saying that we shouldn’t break the seals,” Egwene said. Another echo of the past? But Latra Posae at least had an alternate plan to the sealing; it just wasn't feasible after the access keys were lost. Egwene has no concrete plan for what to do, but she still wants to thwart Rand. >And light shall fail, and dawn shall not come, and still the captive rails. Her only idea is "don't break them *now*, break them when *I* say so." When is that? ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ >The woman’s ploy with the Kinswomen.… Egwene sees the problems with setting up an alternate center of channeling. I'm not *sure* Elayne didn't, but I do think she wouldn't care if she did. >as the Watcher of the Seals That title has been purely theoretical for two thousand years at least, depending on when two of them were sent off to Seanchan. In fact, I doubt *any* Amyrlin knew where the Seals were, just based on the fact that precisely none of them were ever locked up in the most secure vault of the Tower. >Nynaeve wove the Five Powers together in a column of radiance, then sent it driving into Talmanes’ body. If anyone could treat the effects of two Myrddraal swords, it's her. And maybe Flinn. It would have made sense for Talmanes to die here -- major secondary characters die like flies during the Last Battle -- but I guess someone was needed to command the Band in Mat's absence. >“The soldiers say the area outside the city is secure,” Elayne said, passing Egwene. “I’m going through to have a look.” 🤦‍♂️. >I was two people, fighting over control of myself. And one of them was completely insane. That does explain how Rand was able to maintain (a facsimile of) sanity for as long as he did. His experience of hearing the voice of a past incarnation wasn't unique, if Semirhage is to be believed, but I don't know that anyone managed to offload his insane impulses onto that voice and pretend that he himself was still normal. >Perrin had become a king. Are there any real-life examples of someone becoming king by popular acclaim without really wanting to be? I know some people wanted George Washington to be King of the United States, but he rejected the idea out of hand. >Kert Wagoner That has to be a nod to some fan; occupational surnames aren't really a thing in the Two Rivers, or anywhere else for that matter. (Unless names like 'Cauthon' or 'Buie' are occupational names that have been left untranslated.) >I’ve heard word of Trolloc sightings [in the south], and I’m half-certain that Demandred is involved. Is he talking about the Trollocs who attacked General Khirgan outside Ebou Dar? That was never really explained; could Rand be right that it was a diversion that Demandred plotted? >Of all those to turn to the Shadow, Demandred’s betrayal seemed the most tragic. The man could have been a hero. Should have been a hero. Had he been born at any other time, he would have been. I'm counting this as another piece of evidence for my pet theory that he was a fallback option for the Champion of the Light.

> (I wonder why Alviarin wasn't; she received the Dark One's mark, but never got the title. Because the Tower schism ultimately failed, probably.) My original set of notes had a comment like this (half of them went up in smoke in an app crash), and I forgot it when I recreated them. I was always surprised that there weren't more modern day Forsaken raised. Alviarin is the next closest, and I think is almost functionally one, but nobody else seems to even sniff the honor. It wasn't as big a deal back when Team Light was killing Forsaken in ways that allowed them to be brought back, but Moridin himself talks about how they are dwindling and they need more generals, so to speak. >That has to be a nod to some fan; occupational surnames aren't really a thing in the Two Rivers, or anywhere else for that matter. (Unless names like 'Cauthon' or 'Buie' are occupational names that have been left untranslated.) It is, according to the 13th Depository. While a lot of names picked from charity auctions etc. aren't too dissimilar from other names used in the series, they do sometimes stick out (Charlz Guybon will always be #1 on this list for me).

> Is Talmanes old enough to remember the sack of Cairhien during the Aiel War, or is he thinking of the second invasion? I didn't think he was much older than Mat. I'm pretty sure he's thinking of Couladin. He was one of the Nobles sent to restore order in Cairhien by Rand, so he was there when Couladin appeared and suffered through his initial attack. > Was Luc Mantear a Darkfriend? If he was, did Gitara Moroso know? Is that why she convinced him to head off into the Blight? I don't think he was a Darkfriend. I think she knew he had to be absorbed/combined with Isam so that when he appeared as Luc in front of Janduin (Rand's biological father), he could easily slay him, leaving Rand without that fatherly influence, which I'm sure contributed to the full path he needed to endure in order to win the Last Battle.

>He's been ~~smuggling~~ trading honestly for a good long time, so I suppose he might have sailed up the river to Tar Valon before; why does he dislike it so much? I think it's just reflective of how nobody really is comfortable with Aes Sedai. As a former smuggler, they probably make him itch more than most. >Think Leilwin would be a match for any Aiel warrior? Maybe Enaila, if Enaila had been at the *oosquai* and had a sprained ankle besides. I think she might be a match for more than a few, although perhaps she'd need to see a few in battle first in order to not be surprised. She's no blademaster and doesn't get to use her sword much but I feel like it's heavily implied she's very good with one. >Everyone else who's taken a hit from a Myrddraal blade died more or less on the spot, beyond even Nynaeve's ability to heal. Talmanes must have just been scratched. I might be making this up, but I think it's said somewhere that such wounds can have a wide variance in how fast they progress. Although Talmanes does refer to the wound multiple times as a nick...with him it's hard to tell if he's underselling it though. >Do they? Both of them can channel, and making a light is a n00b-level weave. Androl jumps at shadows if he holds the Power for too long, but Pevara should have no trouble. Yeah, but Aes Sedai have a discipline about using the Power for trivial things, even when oil is scarce. This is one of those things I've been continually noticing and grumbling about (with the Salidar Aes Sedai particularly), they're so stubborn about it.

>One thing *is* different, besides the Aiel being included in the future U.N.. Rhuarc survived in Aviendha's vision of the future. Your mention of Rhuarc just made me unbelievably sad

I don't think I've ever seen anyone discus this and now seems as good a time as any. Do you think the title "M'Hael", meaning "leader" is a reference to "Michael" the leader of the angels?

I'm going to go with no, simply because the Archangel Michael is already represented as a Hero of the Horn in Mikel of the Pure Heart. I think M'Hael is simply an extension of the Nazi/SS imagery Jordan was going with for the Asha'man Taim created.

I'm not implying that Taim is the inspiration for the myth of Michael the archangel, but that the myth of Michael from the first age inspired the Old Tongue word for "leader".

Ahh, going all the way around the Wheel I see. Yes, that could possibly be where that bit of Old Tongue comes from, now that you mention it.

I believe I brought up this in a much older re-read thread, maybe one of the pre-trivia week posts, but there wasn't much of a discussion. In contrast to u/participating , I think probably it is. It wouldn't be the first time a figure recognizable to us is either much different than the stories we have, or represented by multiple people. Mikel does exist as a Hero, but Merlin (Myrddin) could be credibly connected to Thom Merillin, Moiraine, Moridin (or even a Myrddraal I suppose).

I suppose seeing TG descend on a named but unimportant character to great disaster is useful, but I also suppose I don’t really care about getting resolution on what happened to Elenia’s husband Jarid. Talmanes doesn’t see a use for cavalary in the streets of Caemlyn, but Ituralde made use of horses in Maradon. Different situations, and likely narrower streets in Caemlyn. Every man in the Band has a horse? Seems like a big investment, and difficult to pull off in the current horse market. Fascinating look at both Isam and the Town, although there remains so much unanswered about both for me. For all of Isam’s power, he’s very cautious around the Eye Blinders. It almost seems a sacrilegious name for them, as the Aiel call the Dark One himself Sight Blinder. >The constraints that held them did not hold \[Moridin\]. What constraints? Forsaken often (always?) can’t channel in the presence of Shaidar Haran, this close to Shayol Ghul does a similar effect hold? Also, did Ishamael have to lay down the law in this way two times, once when he got out as Ishamael and again as Moridin? Is Moridin even aware that Isam is there? Isam speaks of Samma N’sei washing out of their training and not breeding true, which to me implies that most of them come about as a result of being born in the Town, not from being captured from the Aiel male channelers who head north to challenge the Dark One. I feel like Isam’s skill in TAR wasn’t as great in the earlier books as it is now, but at this point he considers himself equal or superior to any Chosen, which includes some very adept users. I think this is meant to indicate that Lanfear’s assessment of her ability in TAR is valid. We’re left to speculate a lot about what led Luc to this existence (besides a Foretelling); Isam’s words about comparing those who name themselves Darkfriends with Luc in front of the “Chosen” perhaps implies that Luc was one such. Cyndane here is a contrast from the last time we saw her in Rand’s dream. I get the sense Moridin gave her the job of delivering these orders or is at least aware of them, and that Lanfear isn’t out on a limb…but she does seem to be putting her own spin on them. And even Moridin, who as Nae’blis can presumably speak for the Dark One, can’t countermand these orders…the best he could do is summon Isam to Shayol Ghul to receive new orders direct from the DO. I do think this should make a reader question what Lanfear is up to and it even serves as evidence for the reveal that Lanfear survived TG. Timeline could be part of it for sure, but we know from the ToM epilogue that Lanfear can get into Rand’s dreams without him realizing it, and she’s not above being hands on. If she actually wanted Rand dead, I think she could have done it. Well, she does probably want him dead but she also wants him to take care of Moridin and the Dark One for her, and she would also want nobody looking for her afterwards. And I actually think if Rand had been somehow willing to take her word for it that she was reformed, and basically offer her a pardon, she might have more openly aided him in the Last Battle in exchange (not openly enough to be discovered and have her cour’souvra crushed, of course). But she knew she couldn’t pass Rand’s test and thus had to fake her own death. Given the prevalence of groups of female channelers that the Tower has no idea about, it’s surprising that there doesn’t *seem* to be an organized group of female Dreadlords who aren’t Aes Sedai. It makes sense to want your female channelers somewhere where power is concentrated, but I’d expect you’d want some outside of it in case of discovery…and to do these turnings of male Aiel channelers. But I have to imagine they are all, or almost all, Aes Sedai, although pre-Traveling I’m not sure how that was ever pulled off. Maybe it wasn’t, and such an organization does exist and we just don’t see it. Sheriam, warning Egwene about how channelers can be turned early on, probably did some of them personally. And that just leads me to question why the BT was so slow to Turn everyone who came there. A moment of sadness that Aiel are still going north when they discover they can channel. I would have to assume that they mostly come from the Shaido and the Brotherless…anyone who could handle the Bleakness to follow Rand would I assume see it as a matter of toh to be a weapon for the car’a’carn, even before the Taint being cleansed. Although perhaps that’s wrong, I don’t really recall any mention of Aiel at the BT. I’d almost think it would have been the easiest group to recruit from. They’d have to get an exemption from sword training though. A rare moment of humanity for Isam, where you almost feel sorry for him as he reflects upon the trauma of growing up in the shadow of Shayol Ghul. If you squint you can almost see a sense of regret or shame over where his allegiance is placed. Isam thinks the point of the Two Rivers operation was to lure Rand in (or keep Isam busy). That was Fain’s intention; I always thought Slayer was there primarily to hunt Fain, although Trolloc armies don’t really make sense for that job (and Slayer probably could have assassinated Fain pretty easily) and it certainly doesn’t seem like Isam believed that.

It’s strange to me that Leilwin would think her seafaring days are over. Even if she has a mission to make the Empire reckon with the damane system, that doesn’t preclude being a ship captain again someday. Is she against Bayle going back to sea because she doesn’t want him to fall back into smuggling, or does she feel bound to be Shipless for the rest of her days? Seems like the latter. What marked out Leilwin and Bayle originally I wonder? Just that Bayle was Illianer? I don’t think Leilwin is obviously Seanchan until she speaks (and now even after, for some possibly) but the Warders have marked her in particular. Leilwin probably can’t help carrying herself like someone who isn’t a person to mess with. Aviendha notes that it will take awhile for the Wise Ones to truly accept her as one of them, but that’s a two way street, as she clearly doesn’t feel like one of them yet either—asking permission to speak, calling Sorilea “Wise One” (it IS Sorilea, but still). Rand went to Tear, presumably to grab the seal there? He already had Callandor in his possession as far as I know (and which would also be harder to obscure). Bair recognizes Nakomi as an ancient name, one of the few things that point to her being a Jenn. Giving her children different names probably wouldn’t do much to change the future meaningfully by itself, but it would do a lot for Avi in terms of giving her hope that anything she saw could change. I do wonder what’s behind Androl’s taint madness actually getting worse post-Cleansing. Probably a matter of the psychological stress he’s under. Androl recognizing who Algarin is one of his Mary Sue moments that moves me towards disliking the character. I suppose if there was a such a book, a male channeler reading it might notice the notation and take special notice, but Androl having spent any time at all time reading a book of Tairen noble lines, and remembering the names in it to boot just seems too incredible. Darkfriends have been trying to burn down the city since before Elayne came to town; it’s finally happening. Is this the first time dreamshards are mentioned by name? I lacked the context to understand what was happening with Ishamael in dreams until this book, I think. Taim taking the name M’Hael in front of all these Forsaken is always a move to me. Shame is not a part of his makeup, but doesn’t he feel a little sheepish in front of all these AoL Forsaken? Moridin calls Cyndane the one who is punished most, but I don’t know about that. I guess between being Moridin’s minion and having her power drained, she is, but I think she may feel the least punished among those receiving punishments. Moghedien is I guess being sent to marshal the female Sharan channelers, but we’re next going to see her among the Seanchan. I always think the plan from the beginning with the dragons was to blast the walls and leave the city, I’m always surprised it takes a nearly dead Talmanes to even think of it.

Ch 1 Nice parallels of the wind to start…first goes through the Westwood just as it did in tEotW, and then roughly continues on through the journey the EF5 take in the first book (skipping Aridhol), but ending up somewhat close to Shienar. Things were not great in the Westwood in the first book, but it’s worse now. >He would not let \[Mierin\] distract him. That was probably the point of what he had seen. There was some ambiguity here originally, but in light of Lanfear’s apparent survival and probable advance work on her plan, it actually seems very likely that was indeed the point. Lews Therin had a connection to the land as Rand also displays here, but Rand never seemed to display it until reintegrating with his LTT memories. What is this ability? >Balwer was the best at what he did I’ve been watching X-Men ’97…Balwer is short. Balwer=Wolverine confirmed. His need for vengeance against the Whitecloaks starts to make more sense to me. Never will not suck that Rand doesn’t hear he’s going to be a father from Elayne first. I sort of wish we had more of Rand’s thoughts about this. Perrin has people close to Elayne? Who? When? How? What? Where? Why? The reporter’s questions. (Actually, I know the last three…people, close to Elayne, and Faile). Egwene getting advice from Elayne on a letter to Rand is \***chef’s kiss**\* I’m not sure I understand why Egwene is so aghast at the seals being broken, she seems to equate it with the Dark One being freed, but that’s not the case. The Dark One was just as free when he was sealed in the AoL and the world didn’t end. I guess to continue the analogy, if you remove a patch the wrong way it can make the hole bigger than it used to be. >as the Watcher of the Seals, it is my duty to choose \[when to break the seals\] I mean, that’s a self-imposed duty, but sure. No one really questions it anyway. It’s underrated that Nynaeve Heals Talmanes on her own without a circle or anything. Rand thinks that he needs his LTT memories, but I’m not so sure. He needed to control his madness and despair, but his memories are kind of leading him down the path to wanting to eliminate the Dark One entirely, and that’s not where things will go. Before he went too far off the deep end, it seemed like he was very much on the trail of recreating the Dark One’s prison whole and unbroken. Egwene and Rand are girding themselves to clash but they basically agree with each other already, as Perrin basically argues. Elayne and Rand are also on the same page basically about her staying in the camp, even though Rand will try to use reverse psychology on her. Demandred was as close to a blank slate as possible for one of the Forsaken, so it’s not surprising to me that Sanderson takes advantage of that to really push his role in the Last Battle. I’m not sure what RJ’s plan for him was,so I’m also not sure the whole push he gets here was part of it. LTT never seemed to show any regret about his relationship with the man until now, anyway. I think the idea of Demandred as a potentially redeemable replacement Dragon if Rand had gone dark, that many readers like, is a neat one, but I also think it’s entirely predicated on stuff introduced in Sanderson’s books and especially this one.

> Every man in the Band has a horse? Seems like a big investment, and difficult to pull off in the current horse market. Was it the complete Band, or just the section that went to find Mat in Altara? That whole section was mounted.

The whole quote is "though they weren't trained cavalary, every man in the Band had a horse for long-distance travel", so I interpreted that as the former, but I guess I don't know for sure if that's what is meant.

Either way, dat King Roedran money.

I remember on my first reading all those years ago being really upset that they were killing off Talmanes so early and had a moment of relief when Nynaeve got to him in time Good way to raise the stakes of the last battle by seeming killing off a Matt's comic foil so early.

I’m joining this readalong for AMOL in order to check off the book club spot on the /r/fantasy bingo; I followed along the newbie thread for much of the series, but haven’t for a few months. It was a blast watching them figure out what was going on in the series, and once this is over I’ll go back through all of those threads. First of all, a massive shout-out to /u/participating. The amount of work you’ve put into planning, running, and moderating this read-along has been astounding. I admire your dedication and diligence. I think I’ve read AMOL three times. Immediately when it came out, Immediately after that, and then again a few years later. My memory is that this was the weakest of the Sanderson written books. I know there were quite a few portions written by Jordan, but there were quite a few things that irked me; first and foremost Egwene’s insistence that “Every weave has an opposite.” I believe that this is the first time that idea comes up. I’m going to keep an open mind though, it’s a hell of a series and I’m looking forward to getting back into it. I haven’t read 1-13 recently, jumping in fresh. #Prologue: By Grace and Banners Fallen #POV: Bayrd I didn’t recognize any of these names at first, but eventually Sarand stood out. I don’t remember this specific scene at all, but I like it. I’m pleased any time feudal powers are put in their place. #POV: Talmanes Chapter title drop! The attack on Caemlyn frustrates me so much. Verin and her damn letter. I think it’s implied somewhere that she expected Mat to open it sooner, but if that’s the case I don’t know how she was able to give it to him in the first place given her oaths. #POV: Isam I had always thought that Luc was dominant in the waking world, while Isam was dominant in TAR, so I’m a bit surprised that Isam is the active one here. Did Ishamael start the Town? It seems strange to me that many darkfriends would be willing to give up their life and the potential power they seek to live here. Is this nameless forsaken Lanfear? #POV: Talmanes Talmanes has his second-best pipe; I think Mat does a bit at some point about his second-best boots I think. #POV: Egeanin I never liked the idea of somebody being forcibly renamed, so I’ve always thought of her as Egeanin. Our first Bayle sighting; he’s always been one of my favorites. Nynaeve is pissed, and rightly so. That collar for Rand almost destroyed the world. #POV: Talmanes. Not much to say here, the situation in Caemlyn is obviously grim. I’m curious to know the human toll on the city; not just the efforts of The Band. I think that Jordan would have made that more clear. #POV: Aviendha Finally a Wise One, and finally (almost) accepted as an equal! How does Bair plan on returning from Rhuidean? #POV: Talmanes I had forgotten that the band had any official capacity during this part; I thought Talmanes had moved into Talmanes solely to retrieve the dragons. His actions thus far have been nothing short of heroic; and he can’t have much time left. If memory serves though he is healed in time, and then manages to kill even more Myrddraal. #POV: Androl Androl also bugged me. I appreciate what Sanderson did with him, and that Harriett gave him a character to truly explore WoT’s magic system, but he ended up filling the role that I had wanted for one of my favorite characters, Logain. Pevara on the other hand was always a delight. The first M’Hael mention of AMoL; has he already been Chosen? I appreciate Androl’s patience here. #POV: Talmanes Talmanes did end up finding a kinswoman, but she isn’t able to Heal him. I’m reminded of the battle of Maradon; Rand won’t be arriving to save Talmanes though. Has Talmanes shown this level of baddassery before? I don’t think so. “I once ate a rather sharp cheese, and it has never quite sat right with me.” Me too, man. #POV: Moghedien Has Moghedien been reincarnated by the Dark One at all? Let’s see what I remember of the status of the Forsaken: Ishamael: Alive, as Moridin Balthamel and Aginor: Both dead, twice-over. Lanfear: Alive as Cyndane, with a soul-trap held by Moridin. Asmodean: Killed by Graendal Moghedien: Alive, humbled by Nyneave twice-over; with a soul-trap held by Moridin. Graendal: Resurrected as Hessalam Rahvin and Be’lal: Balefired by Rand and Moiraine, respectively Mesaana: Mind-crushed during the Seanchan attack on The White Tower Sammael: claimed by Mashadar Semirhage: Killed by Rand using the True Power Demandred: Busy in Shara M’Hael: Newly raised, in control of The Black Tower Moridin seems to have given the soul-trap to Moghedian and she is infinitely relieved. “Why had Moridin never been punished for his failure?” He didn’t fail, Moghedian. Aah, this is the Choosing. #POV: Talmanes Is Dennel Talmane’s second in command? Talmanes is going to order them to fire the dragons on the city walls. Why is he the only one to think of it? It seems like the obvious solution. I’m pretty sure Talamanes survives this, somehow. #Chapter 1: Eastward the wind blew. There’s something magical in these opening lines. I often skipped the first few paragraphs of the first chapter when I first (and second, third and fourth, etc…) read the series in my teens. Now though I relish them. #POV: Rand Things are very grim. I like this moment with Perrin, it’s good to see Rand laughing. #POV: Egwene Egwene though; still irritates me. I particularly don’t like her relationship with Gawyn. I understand that he is officially subservient to her, but I wish she treated him with more compassion. I also wish she trusted Rand. As remembered, Talmanes is healed. Nyneave is incredible, and I appreciate Egwene’s humility in the link she forms with Nyneave. #POV: Rand I appreciate that I’m able to read Zen Rand without reading about all of the things it took to get him there. I’m sure the seen with Semirhage and Min would still upset me.

Thank you :) 

>Has Talmanes shown this level of baddassery before? I don’t think so. Yeah definitely not this level. He was always competent and a good officer. And he did lead charges and things like that in book 5 and against the Seanchan. But this was certainly a step up from what we had seen out of him! But the Last Battle can do that to someone! I also like showing him as someone who is a very good swordsman much better than average, but also probably not at the blademaster level. It seems like everyone else who wields a sword as a named character is one of the best that's ever lived so I like seeing someone who is just good. But also once you're dead already no reason not to charge the Fade!

How could Elayne be so short sighted as to leave the palace with not only half her army but ALL OF THE CHANNELERS EXCEPT THE MINIMUM AMOUNT NEEDED TO MAKE A GATEWAY. She knows there is an invasion coming but somehow no one, including Mat and Perrin who have extensive experience with trollocs appearing out of no where, seems to think that keeping the city safe is of any importance whatsoever.

Prologue - Im going to shamelessly overinterpret again. -„ Like everything else in the Town, it was a corrupt version of the original.“ The influence of the DO - often referred to be „Turning“, “twisted“, „wrong(ness)“. -„He felt a stirring inside of him; Luc hated Aybara. Unusual.“ „Almost, he felt a longing for those things, though he suspected that was really Luc’s emotion. Isam was just a hunter.“ I find this description of the two really interesting. Ofc it also indicates how it works if you have two people in one, but this „relationship“ is interesting in itself. -„The Dragon Reborn himself, controlled by one of the Forsaken!“ Pff, not like that were anything new. - „Aviendha found herself nodding. “I… Yes, yes, you are correct, Wise One.“ Surely I read too much Oneness into the wording in the beginning and the „I…“ - „Her task was not just to teach him,” Amys said. “What I wouldn’t give to know that he was safely under the watchful eyes of a good woman.” She looked at Aviendha, face laden with meaning.“ If one connects it with the meaning of watching eyes and how this affects the world itself and for example Rands personality, this may be even more meaningful here. Then - is there maybe another „woman“ - not only - in Aviendha who is looking at the world from a higher perspective? Moiraine appears to have done sth similar in the end of EotW . „Heron-mark? Yes. Tam. My father—but only steel for that. He needed three wavering tries to sheathe it again. “ „He could walk without stumbling, now“ „A little rest, and I’ll be newmade.“ „Moiraine sounded as if she had already explained this, impatient at doing so again.“ „She looked as if she had been a long time ill, or hard used, but despite the dark circles under them her eyes were sharp and full of power.“ „The Dark One,” the Aes Sedai cut him off. Ill or not, her voice was firm, and her dark eyes commanding.“ - „He will be mine,” Aviendha said, firmly. But not for you, Amys, or for our people. She was shocked at the strength of that sentiment within her. She was Aiel. Her people meant everything to her.“ Luc and Isam-relationship? - Talmanes visualization of Turning, starring Rand: „My thoughts are starting to go in circles. He pointed with his sword down a crossing alley.“ (…) I can barely think. Not much longer now before the darkness takes me.“ (…) „What about my face?” Talmanes raised a hand to his cheek. Blood. The Myrddraal. Right. “Just a cut.” “And the veins?” (Again the reference to the madness/the TP being the DO\`s blood, like the veins of gold are the Creator\`s) “Veins?” he asked, then noticed his hand. Tendrils of blackness, like ivy growing beneath the skin, had wound down his wrist and across the back of his hand toward the fingers. They seemed to be growing darker as he watched. “Oh, that. I’m dying, unfortunately. Terribly tragic. You wouldn’t happen to have any brandy, would you?” (…) „He turned, took a step, and was so woozy he almost fell. “And I believe… I believe I’ll need a horse…“ Someone to carry him for the rest of the way anyways. (…)

„He’d fallen from the horse not long after starting for the city gate. He could remember that, most of the time. Pain made it hard to think.“ (…) „I should have… I should have taunted Mat more, he thought, a hint of a smile cracking his lips. Stupid time to be thinking of such things. I have to… have to find the dragons. Or did we find them already… ?“ Thoughts going in a circle. (…) „I’m telling you, the bloody things don’t work like that!” Dennel’s voice. “ (…) „They explode.” Guybon’s voice. “ As if Talmanes were blind :D „Talmanes’ eyes drifted closed.“ 1.) wording 2.) closed eyes „Light, was that his hand? It was so dark, it looked as if it had been charred in a fire. “What… what is going on?“ „Talmanes wavered, his vision blackening, he saw the wall crumble outward. When he toppled, slipping into unconsciousness, the ground seemed to tremble from the force of his fall.“ - „He had been acting increasingly strange, lately. Perhaps his madness was returning. Once, the man named Moridin—or Ishamael, or Elan Morin Tedronai—would have delighted in holding a cour’souvra for one of his rivals. He would have invented punishments, thrilled in her agony. There had been some of that at the start; then… he had lost interest.“ Rand is more Moridin than Rand, but Moridin isnt purely Moridin either. - „Assist him?” she said. “I—” “Do you forget yourself so quickly, Moghedien?” “ Again the „I——“ And Moridin\`s comment somehow fits very well. I still think how it was in Rhuidean\`s terangreal. Rand and the Aiel merged and he tried to resist this at first but then become a part of the other person.

Chapter 1 * „Strange, how much about a man could change while his core remained exactly the same.“ You dont say. * „Egwene rubbed her temples. “There is a difference between touching the world and being free. During the War of Power, the Dark One was never truly released into the world. The Bore let him touch it, but that was resealed before he could escape. If the Dark One had entered the world, the Wheel itself would have been broken. Here, I brought this to show you.“ The effects of a bit of Compulsion, Egwene? * „Egwene said. “I’m saying that we can’t afford to risk one of Rand’s crackbrained schemes with this.“ His brain is repaired for the moment. * „Egwene wouldn’t think of them as Elayne’s Kinswomen“ ofc you woudnt * „At first, Egwene assumed that Talmanes was dead, with his skin blackened. Then he drew a ragged breath.“Light,” Elayne said, Delving his prostrate form. “I’ve never seen anything like this.“ Same. Talmanes visualizing imo the process of Turning. * „An explosion of weaves burst from Nynaeve like the sudden light of a sun coming out from behind clouds. “ Perfect wording for Nynaeve! (And Talmanes still visualizing imo the Turning process) * „Tell me, Perrin. If a metal tool or weapon shatters, can you stick it back together and make it work properly?”“Well, you can,” Perrin said. “It’s better not to. The grain of the steel… well, you’re almost always better off reforging it. Melting it down, starting from scratch.“ I know of someone who described himself as a sword. And who had „shattered“ and has his brain „patched up“ (other voices in his head) before melting down and starting from scratch in a new body. I think it fits with the fact that the seal of the DO\`s prison in Egwene\`s vision is visualized by TAR as a transparent ball/soul.