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Reading The Wheel of Time: Mat Makes a Pact and Rand Executes a Plan in The Gathering Storm (Part 22)
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The Wheel of Time
Reading The Wheel of Time: Mat Makes a Pact and Rand Executes a Plan in The Gathering Storm (Part 22)
Rand is forced to do something unthinkable…
By Sylas K Barrett
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Published on April 14, 2026
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Hello hello, it’s time once again for Reading The Wheel of Time. This week we are covering chapters 36 and 37, in which Verin tells Mat a very interesting tale and makes an odd request, Tuon contemplates her new identity and the upcoming attack on the White Tower, and Rand finds a way to kill a woman smarter than himself.
Or does he?
Verin explains to Mat how she began a journey from Tear to Tar Valon but ended up in Trustair through a sequence of compounding coincidences that she was able to recognize as the Pattern directing her somewhere. She also experienced a sensation of being pulled or tugged on, which Mat recognizes as the same pull he has been feeling towards Rand.
Mat shifted again. “As if someone’s got a bloody fishhook inside of you? And is standing far away, pulling gently—but insistently—on it?”“Yes,” Verin said. She smiled. “What a clever description.”
When Mat learns that she was with Rand in Tear, he asks after his friend. Verin reports that Rand is mad, though he seems to be still in control of himself, and informs Mat of the cleansing of saidin. Mat is astonished, though Verin downplays the importance of the event.
She tells Mat that she attempted to Skim to Tar Valon, only to end up at Trustair after Tomas mentioned a hunting trip he once went on in that village. She deduced that she must have focused on the wrong location, and then decided that there was no way to resist the pull, which must be coming from either Mat or Perrin.
Verin also explains that she received the pictures of him and Perrin from a Darkfriend who mistook her as another servant of the Shadow, and warns him that he is being hunted by them. Mat isn’t really fazed—he has been hunted by the Shadow since before he left Emond’s Field—but Verin warns him not to take this lightly, and to take even more caution than he has up to this point.
Verin also tells Mat that she has a price for her aid, which baffles him. She has a sealed letter, which she tells him he must keep for ten days and then open, while still in Caemlyn, and follow the instructions inside. She insists that he won’t find the instructions harsh, but Mat is determined not to let Verin “tie strings” around him, and refuses; he’d rather spend the twenty days marching to Caemlyn than agree to do something before he knows what it is.
Verin seems perplexed, and concerned, by this refusal. She offers an alternative: Mat can wait the ten days and then follow the instructions, or he can remain in Caemlyn for fifty days and then burn the letter. She hopes she may be able to return to Caemlyn and retrieve the letter before that fifty day period is up. Mat negotiates down to thirty days; secretly, he’s happy to stay somewhere safe while he researches the Tower of Ghenjei and starts production on Aludra’s dragons.
Verin eyed him, a hint of worry on her face. He couldn’t let her know how pleased he was. Let a woman know that, and she’d find some way to make you pay her back.“Thirty days,” Mat said reluctantly, taking her hand, “but at the end of them, I can go.”
Verin tells him to begin breaking down camp, as she will be ready to open the gateway shortly.
Meanwhile, in Ebou Dar, the new Empress of the Seanchan is formally sending the attack force on its way to Tar Valon.
Tuon was dead. Gone, cast aside, forgotten. Tuon had been the Daughter of the Nine Moons. She was now just a notation in the histories.Fortuona was empress.
She gives a ritual kiss and ceremonial words to each of the five Bloodknives, whose ring ter’angreal will give them extraordinary abilities but also leech away their life-force. Their mission is to stay behind, regardless of how well the raid goes, and kill as many marath’damane as they can.
Lieutenant-General Yulan’s plan is a daring one. Rather than using the raken and to’raken to drop soldiers at a staging area for the raid, the sul’dam and damane would attack from the air, riding the beasts into battle. Fortuona reflects to herself that this could be the beginning of a bold new tactic of warfare, or an incredible disaster.
Yulan salutes the Empress, and Selucia responds as Fortuna’s Voice. As the Fists of Heaven move to depart, Fortuona observes to Selucia that this action will turn the Dragon Reborn against them; until now, they have been against him but not the other way around.
In Bandar Eban, Rand tells Min that he failed with the Seanchan, and that there will be no peace. She tells him it is alright to be frustrated, but he replies that frustration and anger are pointless.
Min sees a vision above Rand’s head of a great mountain, possibly Dragonmount, shrouded in darkness as if by clouds, with one small pinprick of light shining from the heavens down onto the mountain. She has no idea what the vision means, other than knowing that Dragonmount will be important to Rand.
Min is very tired. She has been pushing herself to read more, desperate to find some answers to help Rand. It is all she can do, and she has been feeling useless after Semirhage’s attack. Before that, she had come to think of herself as a sort of last line of defense for Rand, but with Semirhage, not only was Min unable to help, she was used as a tool to hurt Rand.
As Rand takes up his strange new sword, Min realizes that he is planning to go after Semirhage immediately. Rand tells her that he has to move quickly, before Semirhage finds out what they have learned. He is surprised when she decides to come with him, but doesn’t argue. He also gives her a brief history of Natrin’s Barrow, a fortress that has been turned into a palace over time, a prestigious and beautiful place, close enough to Bandar Eban to give Graendal easy access, but far enough away to be secluded and defensible.
In his sitting room, Rand speaks with Ramshalan, the foolish nobleman who turned on Lady Chadmar in an attempt to gain Rand’s favor. As Min and Nynaeve watch, Rand talks about his cunning foe, someone who is smarter than he is, who may slip away if he attacks her fortress but will never face him head-on. He implies that he is turning to Ramshalan because he believes Ramshalan is smarter than Rand, smart enough to come up with a plan.
Ramshalan suggests that, if an enemy can’t be defeated, then one should make an alliance. Rand agrees, and tells Ramshalan that he is sending him as an emissary to those Domani lords who have gone into hiding. He opens a gateway, instructing Ramshalan how to find Natrin’s Barrow and to attempt to make an alliance on Rand’s behalf with whoever he finds living there.
Nynaeve asks Rand what his game is, but Rand only admits that what he has decided to do frightens him. Rand, Min, and Nynaeve, along with twenty Maidens, go through the gateway and walk until they can see the fortress, which is full of activity and also very beautiful. As they watch the people in the estate go about daily life, Rand admits that he doesn’t expect Graendal to believe his ruse, and that she will get the entire conversation out of Ramshalan’s head and then find a way to use it against Rand. Nynaeve remarks that Rand has sent Ramshalan to die.
But Ramshalan does not die, and the Maidens bring him back to Rand after his visit to the fortress. Rand directs Nyneave to see if Graendal’s touch is on the man’s mind, and Nyaneve finds an intricate weave of Compulsion there.
As the sun sets, Rand tells Nynaeve and Min about how Callandor has failed him, first when he tried to bring the little girl back to life, and then again when he tried to use it to take on the Seanchan and caused deaths among his own people as well. He explains that, both times he was acting out of emotion. He has decided that he cannot kill in anger, and that each death must be deliberate and intentional.
Min and Nynaeve both want to interject, but can’t overcome the dread filling them. As they watch, Rand calls up balefire, and destroys the entirety of the fortress, along with everyone in it. Min can feel some kind of non-physical blast hit her in the aftermath, “as if the world itself were groaning in agony.” It settles, but she has the impression as if “the very substance of the world had been near to breaking.”
Both women are horrified by what Rand has done, but when Nynaeve examines Ramshalan again, she finds all traces of Compulsion gone, as if they had never been. Min realizes the man wasn’t used as bait, but rather as a test, so that Rand could prove to himself that Graendal is really dead.
Rand tells Ramshalan that he has performed a great service. Rand will forgive Ramshalan boasting to other lords that he could manipulate Rand, and not execute him. Instead he leaves him behind, telling him to walk to the nearest village.
Nynaeve argues with Rand for a short time about what he has done, but Rand claims that killing all those people, who would have been under even more intense Compulsion than Kerb, is a mercy.
Once Rand has left, Nynaeve admits to Min that she sees the logic in what Rand has done, what he said about his need to be ruthless and cold in order to do what is necessary. Min, however, points out the danger in a savior who doesn’t care about anything but defeating the Dark One, and Nynaeve sees that Min is right. She declares that there is only one thing to do—ally with Cadsuane.
They find Cadsuane sitting with the Wise Ones, and although the Aiel try to dismiss Nynaeve, Cadsuane speaks up for her. Min and Nynaeve explain what has happened, and ask to help with Cadsuane’s plan. Cadsuane agrees to include them, if Nynaeve can behave properly and follow orders. Min is surprised when Nynaeve agrees, clearly holding herself back as she is called “child” and told to be quiet during the conversation. Cadsuane orders Nynaeve to find Perrin.
I feel like this action on Rand’s part was inevitable, narratively speaking. The concept of balefire and what it can do has been a sort of Checkov’s gun in the story since we the readers came to understand what it is, somewhere between Moiraine’s usage of it on the Darkhound and Rand using it against Rahvin. And from the moment Rand used it in front of Cadsuane and declared that he was no longer letting anyone else tell him what he could or could not do, it was clear that he was going to do something truly terrible with it, sooner or later.
Nynaeve’s comment to Min, in which she wondered for a moment if Rand’s hardness and willingness was actually what they needed from him, reminded me of those early uses of balefire, because I saw those as exactly what was needed. Rand and Nynaeve both use balefire instinctively before they even know what it is, or fully understand what it does. And even after they know, balefire has been used in some really important ways and has saved the life of our heroes, especially in the instance of Rand undoing the death of Aviendha and Mat (and Asmodean) by using it on Rahvin, and Mat being saved from a gruesome death via Darkhound slobber, again when Rand used balefire on the beast.
(Mat really does have extraordinary good luck, doesn’t he? How many times has he technically died now? Three? Four?)
Plus, we saw Moiraine use balefire, in a time of great need, and I trust her judgment on most things. I would also argue that Rand’s use of balefire on Liah was merciful, no matter how much he judges himself for that choice. Given the option of dying by balefire or being consumed by Mashadar, I know which one I would choose. It’s possible I might choose it over living life under Graendal’s compulsion, too.
That is, as long as one’s life thread being burned out of the Pattern doesn’t include destroying one’s soul. I don’t think it does, though. That person’s life thread is not entirely destroyed, after all; even the most powerful channelers can only take things back a short way, not years and years. So if that life thread exists in the past, then that soul must continue as well, right? I feel like I need either Herid Fel or Min to explain this to me before I’m completely sure of the metaphysical ground I’m standing on, but I think I’m right. Especially because, when the Dark One mentioned that he was unable to resurrect Rahvin and Be’lal, he says it’s because he can’t “step outside of time,” not because their souls no longer exist.
In any case, Rand’s destruction of Natrin’s Barrow, the use of Ramshalan as some kind of test strip, and the resulting damage to the Pattern caused by Rand using balefire on such a large target gives us a perfect example of where the idea of the ends justifying the means takes you. It’s easy to argue that Rand using it on Rahvin and bringing Mat and Aviendha back from the dead was justified, even a moral good. But when you apply that logic to what Rand did in this chapter, it isn’t as easy to justify.
Yes, the death of Graendal will save many lives, and spare those already imprisoned by her. It might even improve the Light’s odds of winning the Last Battle. But it also caused damage to the very fabric of reality. How many such uses can the Pattern withstand before it starts unraveling? It would be bad to wreck the fabric of the Pattern at the best of times, but it is already fading and unraveling due to the Dark One’s touch. Making this huge hole might even make it easier for him to reach in and touch things. Even the Forsaken, who care nothing for the world or anyone other than themselves, avoid using it because of how dangerous it is to the fabric of reality.
If this felt like the best option to Rand for dealing with Graendal, how many other problems will he decide to deal with in the same way? We see how callously he is treating people like Ramshalan and Lady Chadmar, who aren’t exactly good guys but who are not Evil, as far as we know. Now that Rand has taken this step, what’s to stop him from taking the next one and using balefire on someone like those two, just because he finds them despicable, or annoying, or because they fail him in some small way.
What’s to stop him from using it on Cadsuane, or another Aes Sedai he fears is trying to put him in a box?
Of course, it makes sense that Rand fears that almost everyone around him, and especially any Aes Sedai, are trying to imprison and control him. But it’s also very telling that he now seems to see every type of cooperation or guidance as a prison someone is trying to put him in. He carries great trauma from his time as a prisoner under Galina and from other times he has been, or believed he was being, controlled or directed by Aes Sedai working their own agenda. But Rand has also been so fixated on the idea that the Last Battle is his responsibility and his alone that I think he has come to see everyone else in the world as little more than a hindrance to that goal. Those he loves are a liability; those who love him are a distraction; those who have spent their lives ruling or guiding the world are tricksters and frauds who want to put a leash on him or hold him back from what he and he alone knows must be done.
Rand began this journey by viewing himself as nothing more than a tool, a weapon whose sole purpose is to be used to defeat the Dark One. He then extended that same perspective to the Asha’man. And then he began to see everyone that way. As Min points out, he no longer cares about anything, or anyone—only defeating the Dark One.
I have a lot more to say on this matter, but it will be a more complete discussion when we can include some of what Verin says in chapter 39, so I’m going to leave the thought here for now and revisit it later. I will say, however, that while Nynaeve going to Cadsuane is probably good for her and her development as a person and an Aes Sedai, I’m concerned that the choice is going to alienate her from Rand. Rand is so convinced that Cadsuane is trying to hurt him, trying to “put him in a box,” that if he finds out that Nynaeve is in cahoots with Cadsuane, he’ll banish her too. Maybe worse.
I’m not sure what he’d think if he knew Min was working with Cadsuane. But I do think that the success of Cadsuane’s plan really hinges on Rand not knowing she was involved at all.
And Cadsuane has asked Nynaeve to find Perrin… Oh. Tam is with Perrin. Of course.
Cadsuane thinks Rand needs his dad.
I could see that working, actually. If Rand needs to be reminded of the fact that he is more than just a weapon to defeat the Dark One, who better to do that than his father. The man who found him on Dragonmount and took him away to raise him, not as the savior of mankind,but as an ordinary shepherd’s son.
Dang, I went and got myself all emotional. I really love Tam, and I hope for both his and Rand’s sake that the reunion goes well.
Rand’s is not the only evolution that occurs in these two chapters. Tuon has also changed, leveling up into something more powerful—hopefully not more ruthless, but the attack on the White Tower certainly points to a bold and cutthroat approach to leadership.
I don’t think I’d realized that the new name thing the Seanchan do applies to people moving up in station and honor, rather than just down. It’s always felt like such a punishment, something that is done to those who are stripped of rank and made da’covale or to damane in order to make them stop thinking of themselves as autonomous human beings. But in Fortuona, and in the title of chapter 36, we see that rising in station can also result in a new name, in the sense that the person you were before is no more.
There is something sad about this, even in the case of rising in status. Not only does Fortuona consider Tuon to be symbolically dead, she reflects that Tuon, the Daughter of the Nine Moons, will be nothing more than a footnote in history. Though she doesn’t explicitly express sadness over this fact (she wouldn’t, as disciplined as she is), there is a sense of regret, or at least of loss, in the thought.
From this passage we learn that the Seanchan histories will break Tuon’s life up into different sections, rather than writing a story of her life that goes from birth, through her rise to being the Daughter of the Nine Moons, into her reign and eventual death. Instead, Fortuona, the Empress of the Seanchan, will be written about as her own person.
I’m curious about how this way of thinking would affect a person’s sense of self, to have their identity severed from earlier points in their lives. Not that they wouldn’t still think of their past or the lessons they learned growing up, but thinking of your identity as separate would still affect your psyche in some interesting ways, I think.
The fact that Tuon is considered metaphorically dead now feels like a reminder of other places where death and mentions of death might be taken as a metaphor rather than literally, such as in Min’s vision that Alivia is going to “help Rand die.” Or the Seanchan prophecy that Rand will “stand on his own grave and weep.”
This was actually referenced back in chapter 35, when Tuon considered that people on this side of the ocean seem to have forgotten most of the prophecies and thinks of something called the Essanik Cycle, which is presumably their version of the Karaethon Cycle. I found myself pondering what this prophecy could mean, and if it might be related to Min’s vision about Alivia. It occurred to me that Dragonmount could be considered Lews Therin’s grave, since it marks the spot, and was created when, he committed suicide by drawing too much of the One Power.
The thought occurred to me because of the vision that Min had of Dragonmount over Rand’s head, shadowed in darkness except for one pinprick of light. It’s easy to understand that as a metaphor for Rand’s current situation, the way he has become almost entirely closed off to light and happiness and humanity in his attempts to become strong enough to fight the Dark. But it’s possible that the vision was also showing an actual future. Narratively, it would make sense for Rand to have to revisit Dragonmount, the symbol of Lews Therin’s grief and the failure that led to the Breaking. Except for Rand being born on the slopes of Dragonmount, the mountain has yet to be narratively important, serving as a reminder to everyone of how dangerous the Dragon is as a symbol, but nothing more. It would make sense for it to be used again, as part of a moment of climactic action.
I expect that there will be some kind of battle or confrontation on Dragonmount at some point, most likely between Rand and one of the Forsaken, or some other aspect of the Shadow.
Or perhaps it will be a confrontation with Lews Therin. After all, Lews Therin’s presence in Rand’s mind is a huge piece of his deteriorating sanity, as well as a contributing factor to his sense of guilt and his grief over his part in bringing about the deaths of others.
Rand is going to need to resolve the problem of having Lews Therin in his head, and I think it is going to be soon. It definitely needs to be before the Last Battle. Perhaps there will be some kind of confrontation, or some kind of reconciliation, between Rand and Lews Therin. Perhaps Alivia will have some part in helping get rid of Lews Therin’s consciousness in Rand’s head—in other words “helping him die.” Lews Therin and Rand are the same person after all, the same soul, even though they are different consciousnesses. It’s just a thought, but we’ve had a couple reminders about Dragonmount lately, including Rand using the metaphor of climbing the mountain in order to explain his approach to the task of making it to, and winning, the Last Battle.
Speaking of making it to the Last Battle, I think the end of chapter 37 really hits on the perspective problem that everyone, including Rand, has about how to get the Dragon Reborn—and by extension, the world—ready for the Last Battle. I can’t remember if I’ve ever directly said it in any of my posts (I probably have at some point, given how long I’ve been at this) but I’ve always been irked by the way everyone in power, and especially the Aes Sedai, talk about “managing” and “controlling” Rand. Even the word “guiding” is often used in a way that suggests that the one doing the guiding is in total control.
It is easy to see why so many powerful, educated people, particularly the Aes Sedai, who have been interacting with and leading the world for a long time, would feel like their expertise should be leading, even controlling, the Dragon’s actions. They are accustomed to being leaders and generals and the only human beings who could interact with the One Power, after all.
They might even be right, if the being the Dragon was merely an inherited title. A regent governing on behalf of the underage heir to a throne should take the future monarch’s desires and opinions into account, but they are there to be in charge because they have experience and knowledge, and, ideally, have served under the previous monarch and know their ruling style.
But Rand is not the child of the Dragon who will grow up to be the next Dragon. He is a reincarnated savior, whose very reason for existing is to do the job of fighting the Dark One and protecting the world. He operates differently than other people, and there is no succession, no next in line for the crown to take his place if he dies, or if he becomes unfit for leadership.
The metaphysics that Rand is a mythical savior figure has never really been addressed in a way that I found satisfactory. The Dragon is a human, and yet something a little bit more too, and the difference is really unclear. We know he’s more powerful than a normal person, both in channeling ability and in other aspects like ta’veren effects, but even in this, he isn’t exactly different. He’s just… more. In chapter 37, Verin even tells Mat that, other than Rand, he is probably the most powerful ta’veren to have lived in centuries; the fact that they are comparable in this way makes Mat sound more like a peer of Rand than anything.
Rand’s ability to pick up weaves or “discover” them isn’t unique either. Many powerful channelers can do the same; he’s just the best at it because he is the most powerful. But what actually makes him different, other than the Pattern’s specific design for him?
There has to be something, because ultimately Rand is meant to be the one to do all these things, and that doesn’t really make sense unless he has some kind of divine something in him.
All this is to say, the Aes Sedai have been wrong about needing to guide/control him because he is the Dragon Reborn. He was made to do this by the Creator, not born to do it by hereditary accident. The rules are different.
In any case, Min really hits the heart of it at the end of chapter 37. Cadsuane keeps thinking that Rand needs to relearn laughter and tears—in other words, relearn how to be a human being—but she doesn’t treat him like a human being. Few people do. Min and Elayne do. Nynaeve kind of does; her bossing Rand around feels very personal, as she was doing it long before anyone suspected he might be the Dragon Reborn.
Min only half-listened. Whatever the plan, someone would need to watch out for Rand. His deed this day would be destroying him inside, no matter what he proclaimed. There were plenty of others worrying about what he would do at the Last Battle. It was her job to get him to that Last Battle alive and sane, with his soul in one piece.
More people need to be thinking about this than just Min. Egwene, maybe, if she and Rand can ever find a way back to each other. Although given that Egwene is busy being symbolically more than human herself, maybe not.
I should touch on Verin before we end this post, though the really juicy stuff will come next week. Her apparent confusion over Mat’s refusal to agree to follow the letter’s instructions might have been feigned, but if it wasn’t, I think she is underestimating how suspicious her actions are. I can’t see myself agreeing to follow instructions before I knew what they were, either, unless I was making that promise to someone I trusted very deeply, like my spouse or maybe a very close friend. Even putting aside the fear all the men have about being manipulated by the Aes Sedai, I think most people would be on guard in such a situation.
I wasn’t sure what to make of her explanation of being “drawn” to Mat, either. It is certainly true that coincidence acts in favor of all ta’veren, and particularly in Mat’s, but the whole thing still seemed a little far fetched. We have never seen a sequence of events like that happen before, certainly. I can’t decide if this is a clue that she is being less than truthful, or just an example of Sanderson writing ta’veren powers slightly differently than Jordan did, like Mat’s more obvious and direct way of controlling the outcome of his dice throws.
I’m also desperately curious about what is in the letter, and what is in the other letters Mat spotted in Verin’s bag. Who are those for? Will she return to get the letter from Mat after all, or will he have to decide if he actually wants to open the thing and find out what else destiny, and the machinations of Aes Sedai, have in store for him?
We will find out the answer to that next week, as well as where Verin wants to go in such a hurry and what she needs to do when she gets there. Full disclosure: I have already read chapters 38 and 39 and that reveal blew my mind. It must have been so fun for all of you to watch me try to puzzle Verin out. I can’t wait to get into it.
Oh, and one more thing. There’s no way Graendal is dead, right? I mean, Rand’s plan with Ramshalan was very clever, but he went on and on about how she is smarter than him, saying that she’ll discover his plan and find some way to use it against him and that he needs to look into her eyes and know he is killing her. He went ahead and assumed his clever plan worked, that she didn’t find a way to use it against him, and that she is dead even though he never saw her die.
Rand compared his action to sitting down across from Graendal at a negotiation table and then punching her in the face. But by sitting down first, he gave her a chance to know he was near, and maybe she guessed he was going to punch her in the face. Maybe she set the Compulsion on Ramshalan to dissolve somehow, or maybe someone else put those weaves on him; Graendal could have some Aes Sedai under her control and directed them to do it. No body, no confirmed kill, no matter how clever Rand thinks he is.[end-mark]
The post Reading The Wheel of Time: Mat Makes a Pact and Rand Executes a Plan in <i>The Gathering Storm</i> (Part 22) appeared first on Reactor.