Re-Reading "The Dragon Reborn": Chapter 27: Tel'aran'rhiod," "Chapter 28: A Way Out," "Chapter 29: A Trap to Spring," and "Chapter 30: The First Toss"
As Nynaeve and Egwene explore the World of Dreams and encounter its consequences, Mat finally finds a way out of Tar Valon (with strings, of course).
Hello, dear reader! Do you like what you read here at Omnivorous? Do you like reading fun but insightful takes on all things pop culture? Do you like supporting indie writers? If so, then please consider becoming a subscriber and get the newsletter delivered straight to your inbox. There are a number of paid options, but you can also sign up for free! Every little bit helps. Thanks for reading and now, on with the show!
As with the past several weeks we’re sticking with Mat, Egwene, Nynaeve viewpoint chapters, as these three characters make some important strides forward in their respective stories. While Egwene spends some very suspenseful time in the World of Dreams–and Nynaeve does so in the kitchens–Mat finally finds what he’s been looking for ever since he awoke: a way out of Tar Valon. At the same time, though, they all find that things are always more complicated than they first seem.
It’s probably not surprising that Egwene’s time in the World of Dreams would in some ways revolve around Rand. Even though she has accepted that the two of them will never be a romantic couple–and it’s worth repeating here how much I enjoy Jordan’s subversion of the main character romance trope here–she still cares deeply about him. However, as she discovers, he’s not particularly happy to see her and, indeed, his growing paranoia leads him to lash out at her. It’s a good thing for her that she has good reflexes, or else she probably would have ended up meeting the business end of his Power-made sword, with devastating consequences for everyone.
And then Egwene encounters one of those shadowy figures that always seem to lurk in The Wheel of Time. While standing in the Heart of the Stone, she finds herself face-to-face with Silvie, who ends up playing a key role in helping her get out of the World of Dreams before serious harm can come to her. As The Wheel of Time Companion makes clear–and as should be obvious given what we’ve seen so far–this is yet another instance in which Lanfear has decided to take matters into her own hands to try to lure Rand to Tear. I will say, though, that it’s rather surprising that Lanfear of all people should don such a stunningly ugly disguise, given the extent to which she generally tries to make sure that even when she’s not herself she still at least appears pretty. Still, when it comes to manipulating Rand there is really nothing she won’t do.
For her part, Nynaeve continues to be motivated by a burning desire to get revenge on Moiraine for the disruption she has caused to the lives of the people she loves and cares about. By this point, though, it’s hard to shake the sense that Nynaeve is protesting too much and that, though she would never admit it, she actually likes learning about the One Power and being an important part of hunting down the Black Ajah. That’s the thing about Nynaeve, of course. She’ll never admit to something that she doesn’t want to accept–particularly not when it means that she might have to accept that she’s been wrong. You can almost see her grinding her teeth into dust when the Amyrlin informs her that the head chef was actually sticking up for her, ensuring that she wouldn’t be worked too hard in the name of discipline.
Yet for all of that, you also can’t help but admire Nynaeve–and Egwene and Elayne–for being willing to go after the Black Ajah, even though they know quite well that doing so might yet prove very hazardous to their own health and well-being. Liandrin and her followers–to say nothing of Lanfear and the other members of the Forsaken–might think that these latter-day Aes Sedai are pale shadows of their predecessors in the Age of Legends, but they’ll all have reason to respect Nynaeve and what she’s able to accomplish. She might be stubborn as a mule at times, but once she’s learned a lesson she seldom has to be told twice.
I know that I’ve been a bit hard on Mat in the pages of this newsletter, but I have to admit that these two chapters made me look at him with a fonder light. There’s something a little endearing about the way that he tries to flirt his way out of his encounter with Nynaeve, Egwene, and Elayne, and there’s also something touching about the fact that he actually does agree to do what they ask, even if there’s also something in it for him. When it comes right down to it this is still Mat, and he’s never going to be entirely altruistic. If you love that about him, that’s great, but if not, it can be very frustrating to read his chapters.
At the same time, it’s also hard not to feel at least a little sorry for him, particularly once he gets swept up in the gambling fever. We’ve already seen the extent to which there’s a lot more going on with him than meets the eye, and not just because he happens to be a ta’veren. He might have been cured of most of the dagger’s influence, but it’s clear that he’s never going to be quite the same again, that it’s reshaped him in ways that he’s only now beginning to really understand, even though he doesn’t quite know what to do about them just yet. Like the other characters–but particularly Rand and Perrin–he is quickly finding that no matter how hard he tries, he’s never going to be able to escape from the weaving of the Wheel. Whether he likes it or not, he is fated to be one of the great heroes of this version of the Third Age.
By the time his chapter comes to an end, we’re not sure just what’s going to happen to him next. Is he going to be able to get away from Tar Valon? How is he going to cope with the fact that he killed a man, even if that man happened to be trying to kill him? Just how much agency will he end up having now that he’s becoming ever more bound up in the fortunes of the Dragon Reborn? These are some of the fascinating questions that will continue to plague Mat–and Perrin, for that matter, as we see in his encounter with Egwene in the World of Dreams–and they are precisely what makes The Dragon Reborn, and the wider The Wheel of Time, such an endlessly fascinating text.
Until next week!