And your patience is rewarded! LOL
Update you guys! I made it to page 502 on Crown of Swords last night! A lot has happened and this book is getting better and better. Let's see.......
-Rand continues to battle Lews Therin in his head. He frequently battles for control over saidin with Therin, sometimes it requires all of his concentration. Lews Therin still hasn't had a conversation with Rand since he was trapped in the Aes Sedai chest in the last book. Cadsuane was introduced and she kind of put Rand in his place. She is the oldest Aes Sedai alive, no wonder nothing would faze her. I like her and I think she could add a lot to the story, but I'm not sure what her motivations are. Apparently she comes in and out of retirement for big events and every other Aes Sedai treat her with as much reverance as they would the Amyrlin. She asks Rand if he has heard voices yet, because other men who can channel hear them before they go mad. This makes me think it might not be THE Lews Therin in his head but a side affect of the taint. The madness is trying to take control of saidin to do Light knows what. I bet this is what happened during the Breaking of the World. When all male Aes Sedai went mad and destroyed almost everything. Earlier in the book Rand thinks of the possibility of cleansing saidin. It was a quick though but I have suspicions that it may become a huge plot device later on.
-Mat remains in Ebou Dar with Elayne, Nyneave, Aviendha, Thom, Juilin, and Birgitte. Seems he has attracted Queen Tylin's affections. She basically raped him in his room. Those Ebou Dari women sure get what they want! He also spotted the woman who tried to kill her and Rand back in EotW (I think it was EotW.) I remember that scene vividly and I'm glad RJ keeps bringing these characters back. She works for Jaichim Carridan the questioner, who is also a darfriend. He was visited by Sammeal recently too. Interesting that the man whose sole purpose is to hunt down darkfriends when he is one himself. Perfect cover I guess!
I get bad feelings in Ebou Dar, especially when it's Mat's viewpoint. Those damn dice rolling in his head always seem to signal bad luck and they are in such a dangerous place. He has had multiple battles with people trying to kill him already. At least he finally got his apologies from Nyneave and Elayne. Now THAT was a fun scene to read. He recognized Birgitte and they actually decided to get drunk and talk things out. At the same time Elayne was somehow drunk too through the bond she has with Birgitte. VERY well put together scene. I'm honestly glad to see them working together now. I always felt Mat deserved a fair shake.
-Elayne and Nyneave discovered the Circle of women who were either Tower rejects or ran away from the Tower. After a VERY frustrating scene where they tossed out Elayne and Nyneave, not believing they were Aes Sedai, Elayne returned with Merillille and the rest of the Aes Sedai from the palace and brought them all to their knees. This was the first time that Elayne REALLY took charge as queen and Aes Sedai. She put Merillille in her place by explaining that since Egwene raised her to the shawl, and Merillile follows Egwene, then she WILL get the respect she deserves. Elayne also promised the Circle that they can return to the Tower and resumse their training. They were more than grateful and FINALLY revealed their knowledge of the Bowl of the Winds. I thought they'd never find this damn thing! LOL Reanne (leader of the Circle) also revealed that she is 412 years old. Merillille fainted at this news but I'm not entirely sure what the big deal was. If she was Aes Sedai or Accepted, wouldn't it be normal for her to age slower??
-Moghedian has been VERY humbled. She is now under the watch of Moridin whom I haven't met yet. He wears a small box on a necklace that is linked to Moghedian. If he crushes it, she will be crushed. I'm sure it burns her BIG TIME to be controlled by someone she's never met before. She is sent to Ebou Dar. I don't know why she was but I assume it's to hook back up with her Black Ajah pupils she sent there. On the way she spots Nyneave and balefires the ship she saw her on. She suddenly realizes that she was disobeying her instructions from Moridin and quickly gets out of there. It's fun to see Moghedian being the one who is controlled now, but I still worry about her quest for vengeance against Nyneave most of all. Now they are in the same place, perhaps looking for the same thing???
-Alvarian, Elaida's secretary, is a Darkfriend. She answers to Mesaana who I would like to see more of. She teaches Alvarian to Travel....for what purpose I don't know. This also kind of deflates my notion of Elaida being a darkfriend. Although I don't know that for sure, she may just be a witchy Red with a bad attitude afterall.
-Perrin was kicked out of the palace by Rand. I have NO idea why this happened. Is Rand losing it?! When the viewpoint is on Rand his actions are explained. When it's somebody elses viewpoint Rand seems so weird. His actions and his words are so strange and different then when we are in his head. I don't know yet where Perrin went but Berelain and Faile and som Maidens and soldiers went with them. It kind of seems that Rand is wasting a lot of time not going after the Forsaken. Maybe I'm just impatient but I want to see battles!! LOL
-Sevanna and the Shaido Wise Ones are unknowingly working with Sammael and Graendal. They use disguises when they meet with Sevanna though. I'm not sure what they are planning or why they still don't just gang up on Rand. Also, I'm a bit tired of the Shaido in this story. I never liked them opposing Rand and the rest of the Aeil and I always felt that they were one antagonist too many. It's frankly annoying and I was upset that they weren't completely wiped out in either the Carhein battle or Dumai's Wells. I'm sorry if this bothers people, but whenever the Shaido become the focus it kind of deflates my enthusiasm for the story. I feel that everything with them has gone on way too long. That's probably my biggest complaint about the books. Since Shadow Rising they have been a problem. Do they still think Couladin was the real Ca'racarn?? Do they really think they can destroy Rand and the rest of the Aeil?? Is their only motivation being Sevanna's revenge?? It's really annoying and kind of seems to throws a wrench into the flow of the story. I really hope they get taken care of SOON.
-Also, when Sammael and Graendal leave the Wise Ones and are walking through the woods, they are being followed by someone called simply the "watcher." He sees black flecks across his vision and somehow avoids detection from either Forsaken. I think this is Moridin. When he met with Moghedian she noticed black flecks across his eyes and the story explained that is was from the "saa." I hope I learn more about the saa and why the Forsaken are being followed now. Also, who is Moridin?? Another Forsaken reborn??
-Morgase has been "rescued" by the Seachan from the custody of the Whitecloaks. They say they will restore her to the Throne only is she submits fealty to the Empress. They feel that it is time for their "return." Morgase escapes with Lini and Tallanvor and HOPEFULLY she will go straight back to Andor. I also have a feeling that the Seanchan and Mat have a big storyline coming up. They claim to be Artur Hawkwings armys decendants and we all know that Mat is Hawkwing reborn. Also, Mat apparently is supposed to marry the daughter of the Nine Moons, which is also something I've heard the Seanchan talk about. We'll see where this goes......
Okay, that's not really all of it but this is long enough and I'm going to go make myself something to eat! I'm really enjoying this story, except the Shaido, and I'm almost done with the book! I read 100 pages last night!! I hope you guys get your fix and I amd glad this board is so popular. Thanks for the responses guys and I will talk to you later. Have a great day!!! Happy Easter!!
-Joe