If you haven't read the book, or the whole series,
why not join in and read along with the rest of us? This week the links to the
other posts can be found at the bottom
of this post.
This week we read through to the end of Chapter 11.
1. The Aes
Sedai with Elayne and Nynaeve are trying to convince the Seanchan sul'dam that
they can channel themselves and then send them back to Seanchan. Do you think
this tactic will work to help bring down the Seanchan empire?
This strikes me as a really stupid idea. Surely,
the Seanchan will simply execute them to maintain the secret: the first ranking
person to encounter them will see the danger they pose to the social order and
take action accordingly. Also, they would need to proclaim themselves as
channelers in a very public way, which seems like just about the last thing
that they would want to do, as they will fear being collared.
Of course, I could be wrong and this revelation
could inflict a serious blow to the authority of the Empress. Somehow, I find
that unlikely because the Seanchan are not familiar with questioning authority.
2. It seems
the Borderlanders are on the borders of Andor. We last saw the leaders making a
pact in the Borderlands. What do you think they're up to and what does it have
to do with Andor?
If I remember correctly, the pact had something to
do with Rand. I would imagine that the Borderlanders think that he might be in
Caemlyn, as it is one of the cities that he has captured. Failing that, they may
assume that someone in Caemlyn will know where he is and be able to contact
him.
However, I would imagine that the heavy snows are
proving an issue with their journey, so they might be making camp to wait out
the worst of the weather. I can see how Elayne might be able to use them in a
similar way to King Roedran’s use of the Band: they pose a potential threat
that could be used to unite the wavering Houses behind her claim to the throne.
3. Egwene,
Nynaeve and Elayne meet in the World of Dreams and there are several people
spying on them. Who do you think the multiple eavesdroppers are and what are
their plans. Did they hear anything that might be damning to our girls?
The man must be Slayer, who is the only man apart
from Perrin who we have seen using Tel’aran’rhiod,
although I have no idea why he would be eavesdropping on these three in
particular. As for his resemblance to Rand, I seem to recall that his uncle
went off into the Blight and then his mother went in search of him (or vice versa), so it could actually be his
uncle. This seems very unlikely, but this is a story of amazing coincidences
and Rand’s family has certainly been knee-deep in the build up to the Last
Battle.
We know that one of the others was Asne, one of the
Black Ajah working for Moghedien. I cannot say that I was overly happy to hear
that they were in Caemlyn, but it makes sense that the Spider would want them
close to Nynaeve. Also, Elayne could stabilize Andor, which would work against
Moridin’s plans for chaos. I have no idea who the third person was, assuming
that Asne is correct: if we are lucky it would only be one of the Wise Ones,
but it could easily be a Forsaken or another Black Sister.
I am not too sure what the eavesdroppers heard, and
if it was important or damning. I guess time will tell.
4. Newly
captained Mellor is Daved Hanlon! Ahhh! What does this mean? What are he and
"Lady" Shiane up to?
This was so obvious that I wanted to slap Elayne,
Birgitte and Lan for not being the least bit suspicious that he was there so
conveniently. They analyzed the supposed plan and found it very strange and
then immediately dismissed their unease and promoted the person who most
obviously benefitted from the whole thing. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!
I assume that they plan to get as much information
from Elayne as they can and then he gets to fulfill his ambition of raping and
killing a queen. :(
5. At the
end of chapter 11, Nynaeve has a "plan" that neither Rand or Lan are
too fond of. What do you think it is? Predictions?
I guess that she is more than happy to go along
with Rand’s plan to cleanse Saidin, but has added some terms to her agreement
to help. However, I have no idea why the men would not like them: perhaps they
will bring her into more danger than they would like.
6. We might
finally get Rand, Elayne, Aviendha, and Elayne in the same room together.
Predictions?
I am pretty certain that this must be in the first
chapter we read for next week, so I will leave my comments until then. :D
Good point about the Seanchan simply executing any sul'dam sent back to them that even think to question the status quo. Yeah, this plan may not work at all, even if they had decades to work with it.
ReplyDeleteAh, yes. What if Elayne uses the Borderlanders to unite the houses behind her? that could be a very fun story line to follow. Elayne could create a bit of a mess and then we get to watch how she gets out of it.
Lan is suspicious of EVERYONE except maybe Nynaeve. So, yeah, I was a little surprised that he was OK with Mellor being promoted to Captain and placed in a position of confidence. I expect that once Mellor attempts/completes what he came to do, Lan will kick himself in the ass over it for 3-5 books.