So I was talking to my dad a long time fan of wheel of time and the person who convinced me to read the books. I was talking about how one of the changes I liked in the show was making Mat a hero of the horn, and we were talking about it and my dad had the exact same thought that I did. Which is that it’s really weird that the horn of Valere is elective when the themes of the story and the way the pattern works is pretty consistent that “what you want doesn’t matter, it’s destiny.” So it’s a bit weird that this one thing is a matter of choice.
So we were talking about it and thinking back I don’t think Hawkwing actually said that Mat WASNT a hero of the horn. He said that Mat never wants to be a hero and that he isn’t called upon during the last battle. Neither of which is actually mutually exclusive to not being a hero of horn of it isn’t a choice. With the second the simple fact that Mat gets reborn for the last battle, of course he doesn’t get called for the battle, he’s already there. Or as my father said “the son of battles is not called to fight in the last battle, because he is always the one to lead the heroes.” And as for the first part Mat’s entire storyline is just him insisting that he isn’t something and then being that exact thing.
Anyways it’s also just so fucking funny to me the idea that Mat always asks Hawkwing if he’s one of them and the bastard just gives him an Aes Sedai answer where he doesn’t confirm or deny anything.
If I remember correctly, when the Horn of Valere was blown and all the dead heroes came back the main one anyone spoke to was Artur Hawkwing because at that point he was the more established character. But I'm wondering if the show will shake things up and make it Birgitte Silverbow instead since she is far more important going forward.
Let's (re)Read The Great Hunt! Chapter 47: The Grave Is No Bar to My Call
I have absolutely no idea how the game is played but it feels to me like this particular card is nowhere near as good as the real thing. They always gotta "balance" shit for the games. Very annoying. I never balance my posts; I just stuff them full as many spoilers for the whole Wheel of Time series as possible and hope for the best. It hasn't failed me yet!
We get the exciting Horn of Valere icon this chapter because it is about to be blown.
He had the Horn of Valere lashed to the high pommel of his saddle as if it were just any horn, but the dagger was in his belt, the ruby-tipped hilt cupped protectively in a pale hand that seemed made of nothing but bone and sinew.
One half-wonders if the only reason Mat could be a horn-sounder at this point is that the dagger had all of his glory-related thoughts under wraps.
“We will all take the Horn to Verin, and then you can help her take it wherever she says it belongs.”
Rand's early oscillating between "I can't trust any Aes Sedai ever, I will not be used" and "Let's do whatever they say so I don't have to make a plan" is great.
Death is lighter than a feather, duty heavier than a mountain. So many duties. Egwene. The Horn. Fain. Mat and his dagger. Why can’t there just be one at a time? I have to take care of all of them.
It's rather funny that Rand will spend the whole series trying to avoid the solution he's automatically gone to here: off-load the less urgent responsibilities onto Mat and Perrin.
“That’s all very well, but what about you? Burn me, you can’t be going mad yet. You can’t!” Hurin gaped at them, not understanding half of it.
Mat's denial is very sweet and boy do I hope the narration is wrong about Hurin not getting it by now. Did he get a head injury no one noticed?
Rand shook his head. Threads. Duties. He felt as if he were about to explode like a firework. Light, what’s happening to me?
Rand, you're buckling under the stress of not communicating with everyone. Get ready because this is going to define your day to day life for the next eleven books.
“Saving Egwene isn’t wasting time!” But Mat’s hand had tightened on the dagger till it shook.
Mat's still a nice guy despite the corruption. I really don't get the people who want to say that his early book characterization veers all over the place: it's definitely true that not seeing his thought processes makes him harder to understand at this point. And of course the dagger was fucking him up last book. But this book's outside glimpses of Mat don't seem qualitatively different than what we get in later books, except of course that Mat hasn't had all his character development and power-ups yet.
“Lord Rand,” Hurin muttered, “if that lot lays an eye on the Horn of Valere, we’ll never get it close to an Aes Sedai. We’ll never get close to it again ourselves.”
Frankly Hurin, I doubt your heads will ever get close to your necks again if the Whitecloaks hear you have the Horn.
Have to go back. Have to go back. The longer he looked at the Horn, the more urgent his thoughts became. Have to. Have to.
I guess everyone's getting focused on salvation just being near the Horn as it's about to be blown correctly.
His last thought was regret. Byar would not be able to tell his son Dain how he had died.
Rest in... something, Mr. Bornhald. You sure were an almost reasonable human being. Sucks you couldn't stick around to benefit from Galad's leadership. Better luck next life!
Rand could not see the trees around them any longer. Mat had lowered the Horn, eyes wide with awe, but the sound of it still rang in Rand’s ears. The fog hid everything in rolling waves as white as the finest bleached wool, yet Rand could see. He could see, but it was mad. Falme floated somewhere beneath him, its landward border black with the Seanchan ranks, lightning ripping its streets.
I wonder if the intent was for this levitation to be a feature of the Horn. I do not recall Olver floating off in the Last Battle, though if he had it would have been quite a sequence and a good way to catch up with everything, considering that Rand can somehow see Bayle Domon's face from this distance. Certainly without the Horn's doing this whole sequence seems rather more miraculous than the series usually is.
Golden-haired Birgitte, with her gleaming silver bow and quiver bristling with silver arrows.
Hi Birgitte! Look forward to getting to know you better later!
They were little more than a hundred, Rand saw, and realized that somehow he had known that they would be.
I'm going to guess that there's about 106 of them, less Lews Therin and Noal. It seems like the kind of number Robert Jordan would want.
To his surprise, several of the small host behind Artur Hawkwing chuckled, and Birgitte, testing her bowstring, laughed. “You always choose women who cause you trouble, Lews Therin.” It had a fond sound, as between old friends.
Oh Birgitte just you fucking wait.
“My name is Rand al’Thor,” he snapped. “You have to hurry. There isn’t much time.”
Naturally, Rand's not fond of his deadname.
Hurin is meanwhile standing off to the side, probably somehow oblivious to what Rand being called Lews Therin means.
“You are here. The banner is here. The weave of this moment is set. We have come to the Horn, but we must follow the banner. And the Dragon.”
Speaking of being oblivious, I'm impressed with the whole of the fandom that we never noticed that the rules for hornsounding were set right here.
Perrin hesitated only an instant before swinging down off his horse and striding into the mist. There came a chopping sound, and when he returned, he carried a straight length of sapling shorn of its branches.
I guess they haven't gone floating away just yet, no matter what the Horn fog is doing? We're rapidly approaching one of those weird metaphysical sequences.
It seemed as if no time at all had passed since the Horn was first blown, as though time had paused while the heroes answered the call and now resumed counting.
That's a pretty nifty feature too. I guess Hero threads get priority when it comes to the weaving.
In a way, he could still see them, but now it was the way he could see Falme, and the Seanchan. He could not tell where they were, or where he was. He tightened his grip on his sword, peered into the mists ahead. He charged alone through the fog, and somehow he knew that was how it was meant to be.
Perhaps also they're sort of in T'A'R too? The Horn blurs the line between the two realities so that the Heroes, permitted access to one realm, might reach another? That would help explain Ba'alzy and all the floating.
Rand was aware of the other things, too.
His far-reaching sight foreshadows his actual conflict against the Dark One where from within Shayol Ghul he can still see the whole of the battle.
“Fool! Did those other fools you summoned not tell you who you are?” The fires of Ba’alzamon’s face roared with laughter.
Ish tries to distract Rand from his real lies (that Rand is his one way or another) by highlighting the truth Rand finds inconvenient, to make all of his statements seem more plausible. It's a good tactic!
Rand was so surprised he felt it inside the void. He doesn’t know everything. He doesn’t know! He was sure it must show on his face. To cover it, he rushed at Ba’alzamon.
Of course, the problem with Ishamael's techniques is that as effective as they are on ignorant country types, once the spell is broken there's literally no way to get it back. The only reason Rand insists on Ish being the Dark One from this point forward is the convenience it offers him, letting him avoid acknowledging his fate.
This time it was he who was driven back. Dimly, he saw the Seanchan fighting their way back in among the stables. He redoubled his efforts. The Kingfisher Takes a Silverback. The Seanchan gave way to a charge, Artur Hawkwing and Perrin side by side in the van.
The explicit connection between the specific struggle above and the general battle below is a nice touch. I'd comment more on the sword forms but... Effort. Most of these suggest vertical arcs to me, though of some different shape.
I have won again, Lews Therin. The thought was beyond the void, yet it took an effort to ignore it, not to think of all the lives where he had heard it.
The fact that the only compelling argument the Shadow has at this point stems directly from all the worlds that aren't speaks volumes to how pathetic an adversary it actually is.
For the first time Rand realized that Ba’alzamon acted as if the heron-mark blade could harm him. Steel can’t hurt the Dark One. But Ba’alzamon watched the sword warily.
Note that Rand can only acknowledge this under duress.
The picture formed of Egwene, collared, living her life as a damane. Threads of my life in danger. Egwene. If Hawkwing gets into Falme, he can save her. Before he knew it, he had taken the first position of Heron Wading in the Rushes, balanced on one foot, sword raised high, open and defenseless.
And again, Rand jumps entirely ahead of his character flaws. He hasn't really developed them yet, not fully. He also never comes to appreciate how it was this exact decision to trust in his allies being able to carry things out in the end is how he wins here - nor how it's the only way he gets to live after the overall war.
Rand screamed as he felt it pierce his side, burning like a white-hot poker. The void trembled, but he held on with the last of his strength, and drove the heron-mark blade into Ba’alzamon’s heart. Ba’alzamon screamed, and the dark behind him screamed. The world exploded in fire
Ish is so hilariously far from being a fighter, isn't he? He only does the damage he does and survives this blow through having stacked the deck so thoroughly. Poor Rand, though. From here on out things are only going to get tougher.
Things I could be doing now that I'm no longer quite as sick: working on my various WIPs, getting drabble prompts done, plugging away at my metas and one shots that I have in my 'to do' list.
What I am doing: going back and editing The High King and the Dragon again to clean it up and improve a few of it's weak spots.
The shining crest of Artur's empire flies
On stalwart banners flutt'ring like a wing
With flame reflected in his dark and deep-set eyes.
His people made a statue in his guise;
In stedding near to Jentoine and Shajin
The shining crest of Artur's empire flies.
It marked the place his ruling seat would rise
A place where he could shelter kith and kin
With flame reflected in his dark and deep-set eyes
A far-off dream, a noble enterprise!
And in the land of might-have-been
The shining crest of Artur's empire flies.
But sorrow struck. He blamed the Aes Sedai
And fenced the Shining Tower, ring on ring
With flame reflected in his dark and deep-set eyes.
Now in the dust that hawkish visage lies.
The empire's sun is set, but still I sing:
The shining crest of Artur's empire flies
With flame reflected in his dark and deep-set eyes.
I haven’t seen any non-readers catch onto the, er, naming conventions that is all over the place in WoT. I’m wondering how long it’ll take for it to be super obvious. I’m guessing most people won’t see it until the Stone of Tear and what is in that lmao
The only thing that’s stopping me (and I mean the only thing) from thinking Mat is Hawkwing reincarnated, is that Hawkwing was summoned by the Horn. And even then, that’s a very bad reason imo
I wish we had gotten to see Hawkwings conversation with Tuon. Exactly what was said on the topic of damane (something that has been heavily speculated on) probably depends on if his hatred of Aes Sedai that Ishamael encouraged is true in every turning of the Wheel or is specific to the one our characters are living in
