The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan Read Along: Week 7

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 Dab of Darkness.

This week we read through to the end of Chapter 47.

1) Out of all the minor characters we have come across so far, Lamgwin and his body guarding (of inn and cats) has made me laugh the most. I do hope he gets swept up into things for a bigger piece. Who has been your favorite or most interesting minor character so far?

Lamgwin was certainly entertaining, and I also hope that we will see him again, but my favorite minor character so far is Master Gill. Although I see similarities to Barliman Butterbur, he is much less scatter-brained. He shows great courage in some circumstances, such as when he stands up to the Whitecloaks, but is mercilessly browbeaten by his cook, which I find rather funny. He certainly proves to be a stout friend and I am sure that we will see him again.

2) Hooray! The reunion has finally happened, and the only stain is Mat and his dagger. How do you think Mat's long-term relationship with his dagger will affect things?

Although he now seems to be back to normal, it must take something very evil to provoke such a reaction in Moiraine and that is very, very worrying. I do not imagine that severing his tie to the dagger will be easy, if it is even possible . . . I know that I would find it very difficult to trust him now, so I wonder how the group will treat him from now on, especially Rand. On a more optimistic point, perhaps this has been a huge slap in the face for Mat and he will begin to act a little more responsibly. Somehow, I find this difficult to believe, but I can live in hope! :)

3) Finally, on page 641 (of my book anyway), the boys break and start to tell all to Moiraine. Do you think the Two Rivers folk will trust Moiraine with things more easily in the future? Why didn't Moiraine strangle the boys there and then (I know I would have!)?

This was a huge relief, because we have all been frustrated by their lack of trust. I assume that Rand’s encounter with Elaida has convinced him that she is not the worst Aes Sedai that he might have to face. I suspect that Nynaeve will die before she trusts Moiraine any more than she does now, but the others have finally seen that she makes their safety a priority and so they should be more trusting from now on.

I have no idea how Moiraine held back on the whole strangling thing: they would have felt the lash of my tongue, no question about that! I can only assume that self-control is highly prized amongst the Aes Sedai and made a priority in their training.

4) The party kicks around several theories about the Waygates. Which was your favorite, or do you have one of your own? How about those things that lurk in the Waygates?

These paths through another dimension, or whatever it is, must have taken a huge amount of power to create, which makes me wonder if the male Aes Sedai were actually more powerful than the female ones. I like the idea that they made it so that the ogier could travel between their steadings quickly and that they obviously had them in mind while they designed it: it sounded really beautiful.

It would be interesting to find out why the Ways have become so dark: is it the taint on saidin or something else? The stone-eaten trollocs were a nasty surprise, and I am not sure if this hints at something intrinsically evil about the Ways that slowly became the Black Wind or if they are not connected at all. That scene with Moiraine cutting through the door as the Wind approached was seriously creepy and I really hope that we never return to the Ways.

5) This section introduces the knowledge of the Green Man. How do you think he will measure up to your cultural knowledge of the legend of the Green Man?

As far as I know, the Green Man is a personification of nature, so I can understand why he would have a greater connection to the ogier than to humans. If he is anything like the folklore that I know, he should be somewhat removed from our perception of time as he is only interested in the natural world and maintaining it. I am intrigued to find out what the Eye of the World is and how he is linked to it. If he is its guardian then he way refuse to allow them access, so it will be interesting to see how powerful he is.

6) The Lord of Fal Dara, Agelmar, seems to have some previous business with Moiraine and Lan, Lord of the the Seven Towers. What do you think their collective past dealings have been?

He was obviously involved in raising Lan as a child, but it seems that he is very familiar with the man that he became as he seems to feel a great deal of pride and affection towards him. We know that Moiraine and therefore Lan are fully committed to fighting the minions of the Dark One, so I assume that they have been part of the forces repelling the Trollocs in the past. Agelmar is certainly well acquainted with their fighting abilities, so they must have fought together before.