The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan Read Along: Week 4

If you haven't read the book, or the whole series, why not join in and read along with the rest of us? You can find links to everyone else’s thoughts at On Starships & Dragonwings.

This week we read through to the end of Chapter 27.

1. Moraine and Lan were discussing how the Trollocs could be amassing such large numbers and other strange occurrences such as the Forsaken and possible opposition from the White Tower early in this section. What do you think about all of these revelations?

I take it as a very bad omen that they are unsure of how all these trollocs could be moved about en masse. It seems that the Myrddraal are not the biggest problem out there, though we had drawn that conclusion when we wondered what had forced them to enter Shadar Logoth. The thought of the Forsaken escaping from their prison is not a good one, but it would fit with the evidence that we have seen so far. Perhaps more concerning is the idea that the White Tower is fractured and does not act as a single unit. If the Aes Sedai succumb to in fighting then they will be a far weaker force than they should be, which could give the Dark One a great opportunity to overpower them.

2. Turns out a side effect of using magic is taking foolish chances and acting giddy, sound like any boys we know? What do you think is happening to Rand? Mat?

Although this certainly sounds like Mat, I get the impression that he has always been like that so I do not see this as a side effect of him using the One Power. We have not seen Rand acting in this way, or Perrin, so it seems like they might not have drawn any power either. Interestingly, we haven’t really seen Egwene behaving like this either, and we know that she has been drawing on the One Power so I am not sure that it is such a great indicator.

3. Egwene and Perrin end up wandering very far afield, why do you think the land is so thoroughly abandoned? Not just of people, but also of animals, if we assume that Perrin isn't that horrible of a tracker ;-)?

They come across the remains of civilization, so I guess that the area used to be populated at one time. I imagine that the ruins are the result of a war, which left the area deserted and nobody has wanted to move back in. The lack of animals is more concerning, suggesting that the area was made almost completely uninhabitable for quite some time. The plants have obviously reestablished quite well, but the animals still keep away for some reason . . . which suggests a permanent taint on the land. However, the wolves don’t seem to give any hint of that kind of thing, so maybe Perrin really is a hopeless tracker! :D

4. Elyas and his wolves! What do you think of this new type of magic and Perrin's new skills? How about what Elyas said about "Old things coming again" and the Aes Sedai not being happy about it?

Min mentioned seeing a wolf with Perrin in her viewing, so this was not a huge surprise. I assume that Min’s ‘gift’ is another of these old powers that has arisen now that we are approaching a crucial point in history. I am not sure if the Aes Sedai are unhappy about the powers simply because they cannot explain them or if it is because they suggest that an end-of-times battle with the Dark One is approaching. It seems like the Light is summoning as many powers as it can to join the fight. 

5. Rand had another dream, but we can't be sure if the other boys did or not.... In it there was mention of the Eye of the World serving him, what do you think the Eye of the World is? Any other ideas for what this dream meant?

The description of the dream made me think of an Escher drawing, but I am totally unclear about what the dream meant. Perhaps it shows the Dark One searching for the boys now that they have evaded his forces. As for The Eye of the World . . . not a clue, although I guess it must be very powerful, or contain a great deal of power.

6. Domon told many tales about fantastic sights across the land, which was your favorite? :D

I was most intrigued by the huge hand clutching a crystal sphere that he reports sticking out of a hill on the island of Tremalking. The idea that something this massive could be buried by time gives an indication of how old this world truly is and how advanced the previous peoples were. This suggests that the world has been through some sort of apocalypse, with society returning to bare survival and, therefore, losing a great deal of skill and technological advancement.

7. The Tinkers' had an interesting and scary tale to tell. What do you think about this new omen about the Dark One? Why do you think the Tinkers' thought Elyas would know more?

Do we really need any more dark prophecies to feel like everyone is in horrible danger? This report might add some information to someone who has an idea what the various terms mean. I suspect that Moiraine might have a fair idea what some of this means and I hope that Perrin will relate the tale to her when they finally meet up again. I suspect that the Tinkers thought that Elyas would know more about these things because he is more in tune with war and violence, or perhaps they know more about his past that suggests that he would understand some of the message.