#so now his arc is about challenging the unfair system placed on him & going against the family he knew all his life

[gritsandbrits]

Yall gonna hate me but if i (re)wrote harry potter i would give draco a redemption arc and well, introduce more good slytherins in general.

[acquisitive-adventurers]

Sylvanas’s Choice

The Choice that the Jailer asked her to fulfill was never going to be an easy one; but, it was something that would have fallen on her shoulders, and hers alone.

There is no version of this that Sylvanas would've come out of this situation without doing as he asked, and still find a way to break the wheel of the Shadowlands.

He should've just said yes.

Often, the Banshee Queen remembered a field of tulips, the death that saturated the once-yellow plain, and the cold stench of steel as it drove through her chest. 

The one thing she doesn’t remember is the initial pain from being stabbed by Frostmourne, or even the uncomfortable contortion of her body as she collapsed before the damned Menethil boy; she did, however, remember the wrenching of her soul as it was plucked from her body, twisting inside the screaming vortex of the Lich King’s runeblade. 

Quite often, she remembered the pain of losing herself, and only getting back drips of it as the Lich King consumed more souls into his Azerothian-made Maw; she could recall the anger she felt at how long it had been since she knew who she was, and not the puppet Arthas wanted her to be. 

When she drove the sword through the little lion’s chest, she wondered what he was feeling in this moment. 

Staring down at the connection she held to the boy-king, the banshee’s exposed fingers were grasping the hilt of Shala’mourne in a white-knuckled hold, the veins in her wrist bulging as she barely managed to hold on as a surge of strength exploded from the weapon. 

She’d only taken one step forward – had only thrust the sword like any other that she would have – and it slid far too easily past his armor and crushed his ribs. Crackling energies poured out from around the runeblade like a newly lit fire, forming an arc along the blade and up towards her hands as if it knew it was being drawn into it; if she tried looking at the amalgamation of twisted energy for too long, Sylvanas could feel herself becoming lightheaded as the call of both the Void and Light burned her. 

Ember eyes flitted from the hole in his chest to his face, but the banshee couldn’t immediately register what his expression was; although she could see his pain and surprise, a single tear fell from his impossibly blue eyes that stared up at her like the glassy pools of the Well of Eternity with a depth she feared to delve into. Realization was the last thing to bloom across the boy-king’s face, and as it hit him, he swallowed the witty remark he had been saying as he desperately tried to cling to his last breath. 

Anger flooded through Sylvanas momentarily as she told herself, watching as the little lion wobbled in his place, This ordeal would have been so much easier had he simply said yes. 

She knew of Garrosh’s attempt at crushing the boy, of the multiple assassination attempts made at the little lion’s life over the last decade before he became king, and of the unfortunate event that took his mother and nearly him as well; each of these incidents about the young Wrynn king had been well documented, and although she gave him credit for the level of determination held onto in spite of facing his own mortality at such a young age, that same determination left her frustrated from their talks over the last few weeks. 

Had he simply said yes, the situation the two leaders found themselves in wouldn’t have become so messy – and his inability to concede to the Jailer’s side wouldn’t have forced her hand. 

She wouldn’t have had to do this to him, and wouldn’t be left to wonder what he would remember once this ordeal was all over. 

Sylvanas knew this young one had seen more death in the priest ward he grew up in than on any battlefield he may have led over the last year, and yet he had been so bold as to challenge her on every facet of the proposition she had spent weeks trying to sell to him. If the banshee offered examples on the broken wheel of the Shadowlands, the boy-king laughed and dismissed the issue with the possibility of changing the Eternal Ones’ hearts rather than breaking them; when she pointed out the imbalance of power in each region of the known Shadowlands, he would chirp a Pandaren proverb at her instead of a critical reply. 

To say his speeches about hope and life were getting old would be an understatement; the Banshee Queen could recite exactly what the Alliance king would say, as his behavior was oh-so-very predictable at this point in their relationship. Even if they were still technically enemies – and that Sylvanas’s agitation for the human knew no bounds – she had enjoyed the challenge of breaking this Light-bound, hopeful child to bring him into the Jailer’s court. 

With his help, she knew that he would wholeheartedly help reshape the very fabric of space and time to make it fair for everyone, and not just those that the afterlife deemed “worthy” enough. 

So, as the young boy fell to his knees with Shala’mourne still embedded in his chest, Sylvanas couldn’t stave off the need to look over his form – even as the extreme mix of both Light and Void magicks threatened to nauseate her further as the energies intertwined with the Maw’s harbinger that she held in her shaking grasp. 

He had to have known what this game they were playing was going to boil down to; why didn’t he simply tell her yes to avoid this fate? 

The Alliance king tried to say something, but it was drowned out as the magicks imbued in the runeblade consumed his soul, pulling it right from his chest as his final breath was taken along with it; the Banshee Queen had become so accustomed to speaking with him, she was already asking him to repeat whatever witty quip he had started, but the question died in her throat as the body of Anduin slipped from the blade, unceremoniously collapsing in a heap of metal and flesh. 

She took one step back from the rune circle that was – had been – keeping Anduin relatively in check, and then took another. Her chest felt tight as she watched the last remaining wisps of his soul – as twisted with energies as it was – slowly drifted from his still-warm form and embedded itself into the hungering blade. His power thrummed uncomfortably hot against her icy grasp, a raging storm of pure force that made Sylvanas question whether or not this was what they should have done with him. 

A small part of her wanted to scream at the unfairness of the situation – about how she had been so close to convincing him to join them willingly – but the boy-king just had to dismiss her again. 

And now... they were in this mess. 

The Alliance held – had once held – two powerful leaders on their side in the forms of the Lord Admiral and the boy-king Wrynn. And now, one of them was in the palm of her hand, while the other remained in Torghast as a prisoner of war. Perhaps, if she could convince Proudmore to join them as well – preferably not as she had converted the little lion, but a conversion all the same – to continue this journey with her. 

They had to understand that the system was broken; they would want to break it, too, if they were facing the same abyss as she was. 

Taking measure of the runeblade in her hand, the banshee could recall a brief memory of the two sniping comments to one another in their daily ritual of conversation, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come. 

Offhandedly, the Banshee Queen wondered if that was what Arthas had felt when he did the same to her – if in the earlier days of wielding Frostmourne, he too could recall faint memories from the souls of those he had consumed. 

But, inevitably, Sylvanas didn’t dwell on that question for too long; she had one more step to complete, and then the Jailer’s will would be done. 

Stepping even further away from the circle, she ignored the cold feeling in her chest as she once again lifted the sword towards the middle of the chamber, away from his corpse, and called out, “Come to me, little lion.” 

She could hear Anduin’s voice a little more clearly, now, but it still sounded like he was calling to her from the other end of a large, empty colosseum. However, he still did not come to her. 

One of her ears flicked in agitation, but she tried once more, pouring more of her own will into the blade as she commanded, her form becoming misty as she did so, “Answer my call, boy.” 

There was a strange tug somewhere, but rather from her chest it came from her own runeblade-inflicted wound – a thing no longer fresh, but still as raw and aching as the day it had happened. It sizzled for a moment as white-hot pain shot up her side, tearing through her with enough force to make the banshee collapse in on herself, Shala’mourne falling to the ground just as unceremoniously. 

Her hands flew to claw at her armor, attempting to find the source of the pain. Although the initial flare-up dissipated, as she pulled her hand away, she could see the heavy flow of ichor dripping through her armor onto her hand. A black mist wafted from the ichor as it hit the cold air, the smell of it reminding Sylvanas of the deepest forges in Icecrown. 

Whatever Sylvanas had done, it had agitated her past the point of simply being able to sleep off this wound – not to mention, this had never happened to her before, so she had no idea what she had done to herself. There were very few options here that would allow her to heal under normal circumstances, and she didn’t want to bring this to the attention of the Jailer. 

Ember eyes flitted to the discarded bastard blade, and a heavy, soul-crushing weight pressed onto the queen’s shoulders as her failure began to dawn on her. With a sigh, she tried once more to call the soul of the Alliance’s now-dead king, this time without the runeblade, but not even a memory of the boy came to her. 

“Damn this,” she snarled, wiping her hand along the length of her cloak as she stood up, a deep-set frown etching itself onto her face as the pain reignited in her side. “This was such a disappointment.” With Shala’mourne in one hand and the other around her side in an attempt to stem some of the ichor’s flow, Sylvanas made a move to leave the holding chamber, her mind racing as she tried to think of a way to explain this current set back to the Jailer. 

Then, a voice called out to her: “Do I mean so little to you that you would leave my body here to rot?” 

Whipping around, the banshee turned to see the ghostly form of Anduin Wrynn standing just outside the rune circle, his ethereal hand pointing to the corpse that remained within, his unnaturally dark eyes searing into her even at this distance. He looked both indifferent and critical, and it made Sylvanas hesitate in her gait for just a moment. 

Taking a few steps closer to the boy, she asked, “What does it matter to you? You are in no need of it anymore.” She made a gesture to the boy with her ichor-stained hand, then added, “Look at what a body does to you, little lion. Think of how much more you can achieve without it holding you back.” 

Frowning, Anduin replied, “Surely, but even Arthas kept your body safe. Did he not?” 

A snarl formed as quickly as she shot back, her grasp on the sword tightening as she dragged it along with her, “He kept mine as a trophy! You are nothing more than an instrument –” 

“For the Jailer’s needs, yes, you’ve told me.” He didn’t even sound angry as he spoke; he was simply... matter of fact about the situation. 

It put the Banshee Queen off balance for a moment, long enough so that the anger began to ebb away. 

Was this what happened to her when her soul was ripped from her body? Was this the fate that awaited all those that had their souls consumed by a hungering runeblade? 

The two leaders stared at one another for a long moment before she managed to say, her words coming out slowly, “I will have someone come in and prepare your body, then. We can determine what to do with it once our plan is set in motion.” She turned on her heel and didn’t wait for him to follow, too many thoughts swarming her head for her to care what he did now. 

The boy could follow, or he could stare at his decaying corpse for all that it mattered; Sylvanas had done what she was asked to do, and now she had to follow through with the rest of the plan. 

She couldn’t falter now, not even under the boy-king's judging gaze. 

The weight of her sins would be addressed when this whole ordeal was over, and the universe was just once more.

[meandmyechoes]

Ahsoka’s arguing with Obi-wan 1: Ahsoka’s side

Ahsoka’s definitely picking a fight with Obi-wan and making it personal when she calls him out, with his first name. It largely goes back to her unresolved departure with Obi-wan. As her other Master, he is largely absent during the Wrong Jedi arc and Ahsoka didn’t really get to see when he stood by her in the Council but was outvoted. Does Obi-wan deserved to be treated like this from Ahsoka? No. but he’s family, we say the worst things to our family because they will always forgive us. Great defense of Obi-Wan here.

I agree with the comments that she is letting her feelings cloud her judgement. Ahsoka has projected her frustration with the Republic’s unfairness onto Obi-wan, who represented the Jedi Order. She is comparing, from her biased point of view, Obi-wan’s “indifference”/ ”incompetence” to her and to Mandalore. One side is his quasi-apprentice and the other is the home of the woman he loved. If these two connections were not enough to motivate Obi-wan, the sample Jedi, to seek the right action (again in her point of view, i.e. going against the Council), that just proved her delusion of the Council’s inability and of the war’s righteous cause. She is making a tactical decision personal with Obi-wan, ever herself has admitted that she is not being fair in her argument. From a strategic point of view, it’s very easy to understand the capital is more crucial to current warfare than a neutral system’s civil war. It was even explained in-show in Heroes on Both Sides that even a minor attack like power outrage on Coruscant has devastating impacts on the effort to resolving the war. So Ahsoka is losing in this argument and she knows it. Not that her point is invalid, it’s weak compared to Obi-wan’s. But she’s sticking with it because Obi-wan is on the other end of the argument and now she believed in ‘saving the People’ versus ‘doing what’s right’ (i.e. sacrificing the People)’  

It’s funny to compare this choice of which planet to save with the Martez parents vs. a civilian transport. There’s no definitive right answer but a majority would choose to save the most people, it it’s not their parents they’re losing. Confusing personal attachments with the wider universe made it so difficult for us to make the right call all the time, and it is the Jedi teaching of being selfless makes them noble, but also the fatal flaw for them to lose touch with the people when they are deceived into leading a war. 

The “Jedi way” in the wartime is seen as defective, her opinion heavily impacted by recent events with the Martez sisters. As a teenager who has just lost everything in her life, Ahsoka needed someone to tell her that she is right. Her experience with the Martez’s has provided her with a different point of view that proves her disillusion with the Republic and the Order. Instead of seeing the delicate balance, Ahsoka jumped onto the stance that the Jedi are derailing from their faith because it would feel right with her. Ahsoka gradually warms up since her arrival on the cruiser but sensibly she is still angry about the Jedi Order and the Republic. I don’t want it to feel like an accusation but she is letting her feelings cloud her judgement, and frankly she is free to do that since she is no longer a Jedi!  Even though letting your judgement be clouded by anything isn’t good, people are allowed to make mistakes. Ahsoka has every right and chance to make mistakes, simply as a living person. She was in a fragile place and has her immaturity pre-Order 66. It is difficult, even scary for her to confront going back to the Jedi and the war. The Ahsoka who shifts back into a learner’s role after being a mentor figure in Rebels for the past five years might require some time for the audience to adjust. (LOL took me 24 hours to see her as someone who had, can and will make mistakes and not the confident Rebellion agent or the guilt-ridden soul) We have to acknowledge people are complex and evolving. It’s a challenge for us to know completely, but not to sugarcoat our memory of someone, and it’s a challenge for the reader to not condemn the character to a single trait. 

About the way Ahsoka is presented though, I don’t have a big problem with it. Yes I do think she is a bit harsh to Obi-wan and he doesn’t deserve it, but consider the thematic parallel of three family members roasting him in a row, on the same day, and that I have hope they will make up in the hologram scene, if not in the future, I’m gonna let it slide. While all that propaganda stuff is interesting but barely touched on in-show, I don’t really have a clear stance about the show’s portrayal of to what extent is the Jedi are responsible for their downfall. I’ll admit I want to read more before I make a conclusion. I mildly discussed it with the Luminara dispute in 707 but I really want to wait and see the how the series portray the tragic powerlessness of the Jedi (as an organization) trapped in Order 66 before giving it a thorough examination.

---

Some great points others come up with that I agree: [citation]

Ahsoka probably took it as another personal rejection of her. Not Bo or Mandalore, of her.

Obi Wan, — not Anakin —of choosing the Chancellor over everyone else. (leading back to his fake death arc which we were shown the reconciliation (or lack thereof) between Anakin and Obi-wan but not with Ahsoka)

Ahsoka’s anger kept building, and she is not ready to face Obi-wan again.

Recontextualizing her loss of faith in herself as a loss of faith in the Jedi

Keep in mind that Ahsoka’s answer to why she left was ‘The Council didn’t trust me, so how can I trust myself?’ It speaks more about how she hasn’t done enough to present herself as trustworthy. It’s about her doubting her worth again. Yes, it was sad the council cast her out, but in all fairness, she hadn’t given them any evidence or testimony before going rogue. And after the emotional rush, she is intelligent enough to see the Order is not entirely wrong. But it still hurts emotionally when the people she thought she could trust, that she has proven herself worthy of their trust, eventually lost faith in her.

[imthepunchlord]

For all the new things, I kinda wished they showed all of this before SwSh was released, now it's a bit more pricey and I feel like it's kinda rushed. Also for the Mystery Dungeon, I'm excited for that bit I really hope that include all the starters and non starters as well in the final.

I wish they went ahead and pushed back SaS so it’d be released 2020, with this expansion back already included, and the new places we go to can be unlocked during our adventure or as postgame. I would’ve fine waiting and would’ve preferred it, especially to give them a chance to do more with the main story which is pretty weak and made little sense, and Rose was a very forced in villain. Also made no sense in the story climax. Watching playthroughs and seeing the climax of SaS I’m just... 

Its also frustrating that you get to hear about things happening and not actually witness or help. Like, its nice having adults acknowledge that you’re a kid, don’t worry about it we’ll handle it, but at the same time, that’s a chunk of story we have a right to see, and we’re kids in this game, we don’t always do what adults say we should follow and see what’s going on. That could’ve been something optional. Go to event to see what’s happening or skip it to go to the next gym. 

And this is turning into a rant so I’m going to put this below. For those that just want to read my comments on Mystery Dungeon, scroll down till you get to the Pikachu gif, I’ll talk about it below. 

Also there could’ve been improvements with the rivals. Marnie is suuuuper intriguing and I love her, Bede I also like though that’s more me missing mean rivals and man, he’s a brat and I say that with affection. But in the grand scheme of things, they felt pointless. More could’ve been done to include them. And Hop. God, Hop. I know people like him, but from what I’ve seen, he seems like the most annoying “friend rival” made to date. He does not know what personal space is. He waits for you in front of gyms. He waits for you on new routes. He has to comment on almost every move you make in your fights with him. 

I don’t even own the games but just from the playthroughs I’ve watched I’m just... go away. Leave the lead alone. Everywhere you turn, he’s there, waiting for you. It also feels like he only got endorsed because he’s Leon’s younger brother. There’s nothing about him that I like. And, I don’t know why he gets the other wolf legendary? What makes him worthy?What makes him want to be a Professor in the future? That’s out of nowhere. 

Something more could’ve been done with Hop, maybe an arc of him resenting you a little because every match you beat him, and he’s the Champion’s younger brother and you just seem to stay ahead. Maybe let us have more scene of him talking with Sonia since he’s going to be her future assistant. If he’s going to be constantly stalking us and waiting for us, then yeah, let’s at least better build up where his character will go. 

Then there’s the issue of pokemon. With it pretty much confirmed they just reused models from gen 7, yeah, there’s no reason to not include more pokemon. If not the National Dex, which wouldn’t bother me too much, then go ahead and add about half. At most, I’d love pokemon included that would make the most sense. Like, lion is a big symbol throughout all of Europe. There should be a lion in Galar, either Litleo or Shinx returning if not a new lion pokemon. And with the expansion packs, yeah, they’re already adding 200 each pack. 

And a lot of this dlc should already be in the game. If 400 pokemon are going to be added in, they should already be there. The new Giga forms should already be there and we should’ve seen the Giga Venusaur and Blastoise the same time as Charizard. 

I’m also salty that there’s no going to Kalos. Maybe it’ll be a future expansion, and that’s a dlc I wouldn’t mind, but those are two very linked countries they’re based on. And Galar truly isn’t a big region. The Wild Area isn’t as big as it could be. Like, it doesn’t have to be BotW big, but it could’ve been bigger than what we got. And if not expanding the Wild Area, we could’ve had Kalos as a new region to go to, and more gyms for us to do. 

ALSO.

I am not a fan of you refacing the gyms and having them act as your “Elite Four”. 

They’ve already been fought. Aside from the first two, you’ve already fought all the star Giga forms they have. Its a really lazy decision. At least, you can have the two first gym leaders come in since you didn’t fight their star Giga forms, and include the other two version exclusive gym leaders as the other two. Just for some freshness in this final challenge. 

I know they’re not big on voice acting, but, they should’ve put some form of VA into these games. Its a little awkward to get animated cutscenes and there’s no voices coming forth. And its at its worst when you get to Piers and you see him singing away, I presume loudly, into his mic and its just awkward cause there’s no voice and you can hear him tapping his foot to the music and its just so off putting to watch cause something is missing: a voice! And you know what’s the kicker? Pokemon has included voice acting before. 

undefined

There is no reason to not do something similar, at least for Piers’ intro so its not so awkward to watch. 

And then post game... the official post game... I, I honestly can’t say what is even going on? Those two blonde bimbos, those designs, who agreed to pass them? For sword guy, I don’t know whether I should be laughing or uncomfortable. Its like, an in between especially when his hair flops around. Also, their reasoning, they’re causing chaos in Galar because they didn’t like a book Sonia wrote??? 

The villains in these games are just so dumb.

Like, Rose had a good motive but, he is still forced in. And he activates the climax for no reason. He was promised by Leon that he would help with Eternatus, all he had to do was wait through one match. One match that would’ve been 30 minutes at most, roughly. Yet he couldn’t wait for one match and went ahead and woke up Eternatus, does a video asking for help, and when you arrive, stops you for a battle that doesn’t make sense to have cause he asked for help why is he holding you up with a battle?? 

And Team Yell. Supposed to be like, a 2nd Team Skull and these guys could dream to live up to Team Skull. They can’t. They’re not funny or enjoyable at all. And my friend brought up a good point on the issue of having Team Yell based on punks when they’re supposed to be the “villainous” team. Punks, historically, were rebelling against an unfair system, they were progressive and revolutionary. They stood up for LBGT rights, they stood for having individual freedom, and just wanted to break the restrictions society wanted to place on people, let people express themselves and be who they want to be. 

If you want Team Yell to be a 2nd Skull and play around with punks as their theme, then they should’ve been set up to be red herrings as well. Be wary at first and then later find that they have hearts of gold, and mean well, even if they can be a tad extreme sometimes. And maybe they can help build up the danger of Rose, who in turn wants to paint them in with a bad image since they’re going against him and what’s normal in society. 

Anyway... Sword and Shield honestly should’ve been pushed back. They should’ve been saved for 2020, or even 2021, or however how much time they need. I would’ve been fine waiting. A lot of fans would be. But what we got wasn’t worth the $60 it was being sold at, and definitely not worth the $90 its being sold at with the expansion packs, and as far as I know, these are very, very small areas to explore. Cause as we’ve seen with SaS, they built it up to be big and grand and, well, the Wild Area was smaller than expected and the whole was far shorter than expected. You could beat it in 20 hours roughly. 

I even have mixed feelings on there being no enhanced version, cause these games do have potential, they just needed more time and polish, and then it could’ve worth the $60 price. But also thankful that there’s not another 2nd version and we may be getting a few expansion packs instead. 

Though I do think a lot they’re bringing in should already be in the game. 

Anyway, enough ranting about Sas, onto Mystery Dungeon!

Demo I think could’ve been a little longer, they stop you before you go on the Skarmory mission, I think it could’ve been a better placement to end after the Skarmory mission. 

Anyway, I like the changes so far. I love you can choose a different pokemon if you don’t like what you got from the test. I love that you have an updated move pool, though I feel kinda OP but you also kinda need it for these games cause I remember them being so hard and as a starter that can’t evolve till like, post game, yeah you’re going to need that help. I love that you get to wear a little scarf. Design wise, a little weird at first but it grew on me. Kinda reminds me of Okami. 

By trailer, for sure they’re adding more pokemon in. Lucario is seen in the team, when before, you only saw Lucario as a statue in Red Blue, I believe? Its been a long time. But they only had Gen 1-3 in RB, and Lucario is there so I would think they’d add in a lot more pokemon. 

For starters, I’m hopeful that beating the game, if you replay, you’ll get more options for the starters to play as and have as your partner. I’d loooove to have a chance to play as Popplio. Mega Evolution is confirmed, I wonder if regional forms would also be playable, like if we could evolve into Alolan Marowak or be one of the other two regional Meowths. Otherwise, everyone you could be in the old game is there, with no gender restriction! You can be a female Cubone! A male Eevee! A female Cyndaquil! I’m so happy about that since as a kid, I wanted to play Cyndaquil but never got it in the test and had to look it up and was bummed that it was male only and I wanted to be a girl. 

My biggest hope though is that with this, we’ll have a chance to play two player, since you have a team of two usually, and your friend or sibling or SO can play your partner. 

I am pleasantly surprised with it so far, though I will be holding off when its released in a few months, just going to listen to all reviews once they beat the game and if its very positive, cause SaS had a strong start and then went down hill with Gamefreak rushing it and cutting corners. I’m hopeful for this remake but cautious still. 

[neuxue]

Wheel of Time liveblogging: The Gathering Storm ch 7

Nynaeve casually challenges authority structures, Rand tries to delegate, the Aiel continue to live the story of Rhuidean

Chapter 7: The Plan for Arad Doman

Poor Ituralde.

“A storm is coming,” Nynaeve said

Very observant, Nynaeve. Has there been any point in the last eleven books or so when there hasn’t been a storm coming? Hell of a time to have meteorology as a superpower.

The weather was always there, in the back of her mind. She could sense the rain, sun, or snow in the wind’s whispers.

Lately, however, the sensations hadn’t been like whispers at all. More like distant shouts, growing louder.

Between Nynaeve’s symbolic weather sense and Mat’s brain-dice, we’ve pretty much got alarms ringing 24/7 (er, 24/10?). No wonder these people are on edge.

Daigain says okay fine there’ll be a storm we’ll get wet it happens, and Nynaeve’s like no you don’t understand, the rain symbolises endless tears and the lightning is the actual end of the world and the dark clouds represent the all-consuming nothingness of the void and—

And now Daigian is no doubt wishing she had a better umbrella.

Her name is really hard for me to type, for some reason; I always end up writing it as Daigain.

Nynaeve could still remember the sheer joy – the awesome euphoria, strength, and sheer feel of life –that had come from drawing that much power.

So I know this is absolutely me nitpicking the prose excessively, but this keeps happening, where a non-trivial word appears twice in the same sentence (In this case, ‘sheer’). It’s not the end of the world or anything, but it catches my attention every time it happens and I’m trying to figure out why it’s suddenly a thing, as seems more like an editorial issue than an authorial one. Was there a deadline on the publication of this book that caused the editing process to be rushed?

(For the record, I tend to notice and occasionally get irritated by this sort of copy-editing-level stuff in just about any book; it’s not just me being unfair to Sanderson. I promise. It’s part of why I have such a love of beautiful prose, and why reading Twilight was like having an unanaesthetised root canal).

(Yes, I know these liveblogs are full of typos and sentences that go nowhere and enough other errors to make any editor cry. I’m a hypocrite, what can I say?)

She was glad the ter’angreal she’d used to touch that power had been destroyed. But the male ter’angreal was still intact

So that’s good. I mean, barriers to unity between the two halves of the Power have always ended well, right?

The Choedan Kal, as we have been told a number of times by even those who desire power over the entire world and everyone in it and are working towards chaos and destruction, allow one to channel enough power to potentially destroy the world. Rand spent several books terrified of even touching the ter’angreal. And we’ve seen what he can do with just half the power of one. Or with Callandor, for that matter.

He and Nynaeve used the Choedan Kal to work a miracle and give the Light probably its greatest victory in three thousand years. But the whole underlying point of that was that it was accomplished with saidar and saidin together, unified for the first time in millennia, cleansing one half of that whole so that they could be unified in truth.

Now, only the male half of the Choedan Kal can be used. Which means torrents of unbalanced saidin, in the hands of a single person rather than a link. And that, given how important unity and balance are in this story and how many problems result from division and discord, seems like a recipe for disaster.

So that’ll be fun.

She’d told Rand that he needed to forget about the access key.

I mean. A for effort?

Daigian is still grieving for Eben Hopwil, which of course makes Nynaeve think of Lan, which…

Lan would be fine. Only at the end of his journey of thousands of miles would he be in danger. It was there he intended to throw himself at the Shadow like a lone arrow

It’s hardly even simile. He does quite literally intend to throw himself at the Shadow. He always has. And he has always intended to do it alone, knowing full well what the consequences will be. Knowing that there is no way to win, that all that awaits him is an unmarked grave in the Blight, in the land that has always been his inheritance, his burden, and his home. One last, lone strike from the ghost of Malkier, falling forty years late and ultimately accomplishing little but fulfilling what he believes to be inevitable; he will fall as Malkier fell, standing against the Shadow and fighting to hold back the tide until he is overwhelmed.

Of course, Nynaeve has other plans, and I am so very excited to see how this plays out. Last stands in almost any variation are well up there when it comes to my favourite tropes, and this adds in an extended march towards death, a final journey, likely a steadily gathering army, the potential sort-of-resurrection of a nation…and then something that is both conflict and cooperation between two characters of phenomenal though differently-manifesting willpower, working towards this end. One embracing death, one doing everything to ensure a chance for life.

Nynaeve has accepted that Lan must go, that he has to do this. Now it is perhaps time for Lan to accept that Nynaeve is right, that he doesn’t have to do this alone, that Malkier still has something to give, that his war against the Shadow maybe does not have to be unwinnable.

Tl;dr: I am here for every single aspect of this. In… case that was somehow ever in doubt?

Nynaeve’s constant struggle with authority continues. Her own, other people’s, entire institutions of heirarchy – you name it, she struggles with it.

Oh, interesting. Daigian’s teaching her the hundred weaves of the test for Aes Sedai. I know the main set are all Aes Sedai by decree or technicality already, but I do hope we get to see at least one of them take it. Maybe Elayne, since we didn’t get to see her Accepted test.

Nynaeve waved an indifferent hand, repeating the weave exactly. “Honestly,” she said, “that one seems the most useless of the bunch! What is the point of all of these?”

Someday when this is all over, Nynaeve, you should go find Thom Merrilin and ask him to explain the idea of the ‘party trick’ to you.

The problem was, this placed Nynaeve in a situation where she was all but treated as a student again. She did see the use in knowing the hundred weaves – she’d spent far too short a time studying them, and virtually every sister knew it. However, by accepting the lessons, she hadn’t meant to imply that she saw herself as a student!

*shakes head fondly* oh Nynaeve. She is in a bizarre situation in terms of how she fits into the Aes Sedai hierarchy, and it combines so well with that aspect of her arc as a whole. Not entirely unlike how she was regarded by many as too young to be Wisdom, and then how she left her village and entered a world where being village Wisdom meant very little. So much of her path and her growth as a character has related to figuring out who she is and where she fits in, balancing exceptional power and intentions with insecurity and stubbornness. How she can grow and change and learn and still be herself, how she can be village Wisdom and powerful Aes Sedai and sometimes even uncertain young woman, how she can both surrender and command – in essence, how she can trust in and remain true to the core of herself, even while everything changes around her and she changes and grows with it.

Bah!

I challenge you to find me a single Sanderson character who hasn’t said this at least once.

Nynaeve is barely thinking about the weaves she’s copying, and Daigian is thinking a lot about Eben.

A youth of only sixteen, Nynaeve thought, dead. Did Rand have to recruit them so young?

Rand wasn’t all that much older himself, when this all started. And Egwene was what, a few months past sixteen? Blame the genre, Nynaeve, not Rand.

“This pain you feel, it has to be an effect of the bond, and therefore something to do with the One Power. If the Power causes your pain, then the Power can take that pain away.”

“And why would I want that?” Daigian asked, in control once again.

“Well…well, because it’s pain. It hurts.”

This reminds me of one of the many times she tried to heal the wound in Rand’s side – “How can it be enough when you’re still bleeding?” Nynaeve is a healer to the core; this is what she does. She sees pain and she wants to ease it, wants to fix it, and hates it when she cannot. “At least let me Heal you,” she said to Rand, when she had no idea what else to do, or how to help him. And then with Lan, she saw how it was tearing him apart to remain here, and so she took him to the Borderlands, because that was the only way to even possibly heal him. And so many others. She can’t see pain and not want to help.

“It should,” Daigian said. “Eben is dead. Would you want to forget your pain if you lost that hulking giant of yours? Have your feelings for him cut away like some spoiled chunk of flesh in an otherwise good roast?”

[…]

would Nynaeve want that pain taken away? She closed her mouth, suddenly realising the honour in Daigian’s words.

She is a healer, but she can absolutely still understand the value in some kinds of pain, in grief. It’s as if wanting to heal is her instinctive reaction, but this is a more conscious degree of wisdom. Which says something about her, really.

“There is something wrong with this system, Daigian,” Nynaeve said absently.

Back to Nynaeve and systems of authority. I’m with her on this one; it is absurd that someone like Daigian has effectively no opportunity whatsoever to rise from the very bottom of the rankings. She seems experienced and intelligent, and her extremely low strength in the Power has likely made her resourceful in how she uses it, but she’ll always be little more than a servant to other Aes Sedai. Which is kind of bullshit.

“With the testing? It seems appropriate that there should be some kind of test to determine worthiness, and the performing of difficult weaves under stress strikes me as fulfilling that need.”

Not what Nynaeve is talking about, but Daigian’s point is reasonably sound. The problem is…they aren’t difficult weaves for someone at Nynaeve’s level of strength. Likely even someone at Egwene’s. Various Forsaken have derided the Aes Sedai of this time as half-trained children, and while they’re perhaps more dismissive than they should be, they’re not exactly wrong. Having a test isn’t necessarily a bad idea, but is this test going to stand up to stronger candidates? Or even to weaker ones, who have less strength in the Power but more strength in other ways?

I could almost see Nynaeve just demonstrating the hundred weaves in the same offhand dismissive way she’s learning them now, not even in the test but as reasoning for why she shouldn’t have to take it. She can do the weaves without difficulty, and she’s proven herself in any number of situations that most would agree meet the criterion of ‘stressful’.

“There you sit,” [Nynaeve] said, “knowing as much as any other Aes Sedai – knowing more than many, I’d wager – and the moment any Accepted just off apron strings gains the shawl, you have to do what she says.”

Daigian’s blush deepened. “We should move on.”

It just wasn’t right. Nynaeve let the matter drop, however. She’d stepped in this particular pit once before in teaching the Kinswomen to stand up for themselves in front of Aes Sedai. Before long, they’d been standing up to Nynaeve too, which had not been her intention. She wasn’t certain she wanted to attempt a similar revolution among the Aes Sedai themselves.

And yet, she’s Nynaeve, so no one is going to take that bet. I do love that she’s bringing this up so un-subtly, though. She is one of the strongest Aes Sedai in centuries, and she hates it when people challenge her authority in general, and here she is, going off unprompted about how this system is fucked. Which it is.

Sure, she’s in this weird position where she doesn’t actually gain much rank or advantage from her strength, because the Aes Sedai around her don’t actually see her as one of them, so the whole notion of authority and heirarchy is on her mind already. But still, she just goes ahead and calls it like she sees it, even if in all likelihood it could easily end up the way her talks with the Kinswomen did. But someone has to do it, because again, this system is so many kinds of ridiculous. And it’s just so classic Nynaeve that she would be the one to point it out this way (and in all likelihood have it come back to bite her later).

Cadsuane’s going somewhere so Nynaeve immediately assumes there is a Secret Meeting with Rand and leaves to go join in. As you do.

Ah, the clan chiefs have arrived.

She would have thought that after all this time, [Rand] would have realised the importance of getting advice from someone a little more experienced than he. How many times now had he gotten himself kidnapped, wounded or imprisoned because of his rashness?

Well, she may have a point there.

But mostly I’m laughing because, while she does have something of a point, he does have people with more experience giving him advice. Bashere. Cadsuane. Also sort of arguably Lews Therin Telamon (though that facebook relationship definitely merits a solid ‘it’s complicated’). Sometimes he even deigns to listen.

All these others in camp might bow and scrape and dote on him, but Nynaeve knew that he was really just a sheepherder from Emond’s Field.

The fact that she still sees him that way is one of the most important things about her dynamic with him, even as it can also blind her to some things. Rand can no longer afford to ‘sit, and remember a shepherd named Rand al’Thor,’ but Nynaeve does remember, and holds stubbornly to that memory, even when he cannot.

(It reminds me of Elayne, thinking ‘there had been a boyishness about him sometimes, but it was gone as if burned away. She mourned that for him. She did not think he did, or could.’ He has lost or left behind so much of himself and who he was, but those who love him hold on to some of those pieces).

Only now instead of flustering the village girls he could throw entire nations into chaos.

I love this.

The way it’s presented, it becomes both a similarity (he’s still the village boy who could get into trouble) and a striking contrast (he was harmless, and now he is a force of devastation). And it almost seems to emphasise how young he still is, and how quickly this happened, and how much has changed. How much he has changed, though she still sees him as Rand, still draws these similarities rather than looking at him as a different person, even as she does see what he has become. She just doesn’t see his current state in isolation; she sees it through the lens of memory and of love, and even perhaps of faith that he is still Rand, that the boy she knew is still there.

It’s also an excellent line, just on its own.

She doubted that Aviendha would be with the group

Maybe stick to the weather in your predictions, Nynaeve.

Nynaeve still felt guilty for leaving them, but somebody had needed to help Rand cleanse saidin. That wasn’t the sort of thing you left him to do alone.

Nynaeve al’Meara: casually performing miracles since TGH. “but I didn’t mean to Heal Logain!” “but someone had to cleanse the taint!” “I didn’t know what would happen, but I fought one of the Forsaken and kind of captured her, I’m sorry.” I love her.

Rand stood inside, wearing black and red

Red and black, hmm? Dyeing your hair black and trying to save a man from falling off a building wasn’t enough for you, Rand? What’s next, a sha’rah board?

When had he started looking so much like a Warder, with that instant glance of assessment?

Somewhere mid-TDR, I would say. Possibly as early as TGH, though at that point he was mostly faking it.

But…yeah. He has changed, and she can see it, but even so he is still Rand.

I should never have let that woman take him from the Two Rivers, she thought. Look what it’s done to him.

He is still Rand, and she hates what has been done to him, hates how much pain he has suffered. She doesn’t dismiss him, or decide that he is no longer Rand and therefore no longer someone she can or should care about. She wants to help him.

And she also recognises very quickly that her thoughts about Moiraine there aren’t fair or rational.

If Moiraine hadn’t come for Rand, he’d now be dead. With him would have gone the light and hope of the world.

She has come a long way.

“I was about to send for you. Rhuarc and Bael are here.”

Nynaeve raised an eyebrow, folding her arms. “Oh?” she asked flatly. “And here I’d assumed that all the Aiel in the camp meant we had been attacked by Shaido.”

His face hardened at her tone, and those eyes of his grew…dangerous. But then he lightened, shaking his head, almost as if to clear it. Some of the old Rand – the Rand who had been an innocent sheepherder – seemed to return.

She is one of the few who can bring that out in him, it would seem. Probably because she still sees that Rand in him, where so very few other people do. Where even he doesn’t always, anymore. It’s why he needs people like her, and people who see him as human, and people who will to speak honestly and bluntly to him, and people who are unafraid of him, and people who love him,.

Nynaeve eyed him, surprised at how tight her own nerves had become. He was just a wool-headed villager, no matter how much influence he’d found. He was.

But she could not shake away that look in his eyes, that flash of anger. Holding a crown was said to change many men for the worse. She intended to see that didn’t happen to Rand al’Thor, but what recourse would she have if he suddenly decided to have her imprisoned? He wouldn’t do that, would he? Not Rand.

These moments, when she can’t help but see how dangerous he is, and can’t help but feel a little bit of fear, much as she doesn’t want to, are so sad. She still sees him as Rand, and holds stubbornly to that perception, but even she can’t keep it perfectly. He has gone too far for that. She doesn’t want to be afraid of him, or to doubt him – she wants to protect him – but there are these flashes of moments where some element of her subconscious mind betrays her. Rand al’Thor would never hurt her, but the Dragon Reborn…and she can’t quite banish that hint of fear and uncertainty, and it’s just a little bit heartbreaking.

(And then there’s Lan referring to him as ‘al’Thor’ that one time; I am still not entirely over that).

Semirhage should have been stilled the moment they captured her…

It’s a shame no one talks to anyone, or they would know that Semirhage is the third Forsaken who has been captured in the last year or so, and thus this is not a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get information. It is a valuable one, but how much are they realistically going to be able to get from her, that Rand didn’t get from Asmodean – or the memories in his own head – or Egwene and the others from Moghedien? And at what potential cost?

Of course, it’s a moot point because Rand won’t let her be harmed, and it’s ALL GOING TO END IT TEARS, YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST.

Well no, you probably read the books and therefore actually know how it ends, but that is beside the point.

Hi Aviendha. Still being given shaming punishments, I see.

“Tell me of your work in Arad Doman,” he said to Rhuarc. “My scouts inform me that this land is hardly at peace.”

Rhuarc accepted a cup of tea from Aviendha – so she was still considered an apprentice – and turned to Rand. The clan chief did not drink. “We have had very little time, Rand al’Thor.”

“I don’t look for excuses, Rhuarc,” Rand said. “Only results.”

In which Rand takes a level in CEO. Seriously though, let’s have a chat about realistic expectations and demands, shall we?

Rhuarc himself displayed no anger, though Nynaeve did think his hand tightened on his cup. “I have shared water with you, Rand al’Thor,” he said. “I would not think that you would bring me here to offer insults.”

Does it feel cold in here to anyone else? Rhuarc may not be displaying any anger, but…yikes. He’s been one of Rand’s strongest supporters and allies for a long time now; he hasn’t just shared water with Rand but stood by him at Alcair Dal, administered a city and fought battles for him, and went to Dumai’s Wells to rescue him with little hope of surviving. Not to mention advised him, taught him, and befriended him.

Bael is rather less subtle about his irritation.

“This land is broken, Rand al’Thor,” Rhuarc said, his voice calmer than Bael’s. “It is not making excuses to explain that fact, and it is not cowardice to be cautious about a difficult task.”

Have I mentioned lately that I love Rhuarc? He’s great. He’s one of those solid, utterly dependable types. 110% badass, but not flashy or reckless about it. Just…there, unafraid and unflappable and steady like a brick wall.

“We must have peace here,” Rand growled. “If you can’t manage—” “Boy,” Cadsuane said, “perhaps you want to stop and think. How often have you known the Aiel to fail you? How often have you failed, hurt, or offended them?”

Harsh, but all too true. It’s not just that they haven’t failed him, with the exception, I suppose, of the Shaido. They have also given up so much for him. They have left the Three-fold Land, following a man prophecy says will destroy them. Many have been destroyed already, either fighting his battles or lost to the Bleakness. Even the fall of the Shaido could be obliquely attributed to him; he caused the schism as much as Couladin did.

And he knows all of this. It may not all be his fault, exactly – prophecy makes blame difficult, sometimes, and they made their own choices – but he knows full well what role he is set to play here. He knows he will be their destroyer, much as he does not – did not? – wish to be. Because of that, he knows he has a certain responsibility to them. And usually he recognises and remembers this. It’s hard to know for certain what’s going through his mind here, since we’re not in his POV, but I do wonder. It seems Cadsuane’s words have hit home, at least.

“I apologise, Rhuarc, Bael. It has been a…wearing few months.”

Well. I mean. That…yeah. You could say that. Oh, Rand.

It seems a rather Sanderson thing for Rand to say, but I’ll happily take it. It’s easy to criticise a lot of what Rand’s doing, and to see that he’s on a dark path right now, and that he needs to come to terms with some things and deal with others, and all the rest. But he’s also just so tired. He’s exhausted, and he’s desperate, and he’s just trying to hold himself together, literally and figuratively, long enough to hold everything else together. And of course things slip, and pieces get left behind, and he stops caring about anything he doesn’t see as absolutely essential. Of course that view gets distorted. Of course his path looks dark, because he has nothing left to give and everything left to do, and it’s too much and there’s no time. His demands of others may be unreasonable, but the demands on him aren’t any less forgiving, and too few characters see that. Which doesn’t necessarily excuse him, but it does make a lot of what he says and does very understandable.

So anyway, Arad Doman is a mess.

Rand starts musing about Graendal and Nynaeve’s disturbed by the familiarity with which he speaks of her. I suppose I, too, would be slightly worried about anyone on first-name terms with Graendal, because she’s terrifying, but I don’t think that’s exactly Nynaeve’s issue.

Rhuarc just wants to fight Ituralde. Rand’s like this is not the time for a pissing contest.

“Not while I live, at least.”

Yeah, so, ‘over my dead body’ statements tend to sound a lot less flippant and hit rather harder when most people – including Rand himself – expect him to die in the very near future.

It reminds me of when he said that, after he dies, everyone can go back to fighting the Seanchan to their heart’s content if they want to. It’s a sad kind of resignation and something almost like despair, fighting so hard for peace and stability now, and having little hope that it will last, even as he plans to die to give it the chance.

How thoughtful Bashere seemed, as if he were indeed considering engaging this Ituralde. Men!

Damn it Bashere, not you, too!

Offer [men] a challenge, and they’d be curious, no matter that the challenge would likely end with them spitted on a lance.

This from Nynaeve “nothing is impossible” al’Meara. Bless.

“There are few men alive like Rodel Ituralde,” Bashere said. “He would be a great help to our cause, for certain. I’ve always wondered if I could beat him.”

Guys. Everyone. Please. If you could all just set aside your massive crush on Rodel Ituralde for a moment, while we figure out a strategy…

Though on a more serious note it puts me in mind of last chapter, when Ituralde and the Seanchan general exchanged genuinely respectful words and advice, despite the fact that one had just defeated the other, and one was dying. Turan wanted to talk tactics with Ituralde, find out how he had done what he had done, rather than rage at him for defeating Turan’s army. This is what they do, and who they are, and there’s a sense of ‘may the best man win’ about it all. So it’s not surprising – and is in fact rather entertaining – that everyone wants their turn at Ituralde.

But still.

Rand repeats that NO ONE IS FIGHTING ITURALDE, that means you, Bashere, and you, Rhuarc, and you, Gareth Bryne; you’re not here but if you were you’d probably be asking for a shot at him too.

Instead, Rand wants them to kidnap the Council of Merchants. White Tower style?

“IF Graendal really has taken Alsalam, then getting him back will do us no good. He’ll be so far beneath her Compulsion that he’ll barely have the mind of a child. She’s not subtle; she never has been.”

Er. I hope you just mean she’s not subtle when she decides to use Compulsion heavily, because otherwise you have made an error.

“We are not kidnappers,” Bael said, frowning.

“You are what I say you are, Bael,” Rand said quietly.

“We are still free people, Rand al’Thor,” Rhuarc said.

Oh.

Okay, that is excellent. Wow. Chills.

Such hard words, such strong statements, spoken so very softly.

And this is the core of it, isn’t it? He will take you back, and he will destroy you. They have given themselves to him, knowing destruction is fated for all but a ‘remnant of a remnant’, and they have accepted that fate, but they are still free. And this comes down to the whole concept of identity, which is such a central part of their history as a nation. It has changed drastically over time, but at each point… “I am Aiel!”

“I will change the Aiel with my passing,” Rand said with a shake of his head. “I don’t know what you’ll be when this is all through, but you cannot remain what you were.”

And so their story continues as it has since they left Paaran Disen. Change, and breaking, until they are all but unrecognisable. Already this could be another chapter in the story Rhuidean told. But, while they cannot remain what they were – and it’s such a beautifully sad statement, especially because Rand and the clan chiefs know it so deeply as truth, having seen the past – they can hold to the very core of that identity. They are still Aiel, even when everything changes but the word itself. It is theirs, and their identity to claim, and he can change everything but he cannot change that.

In other news, the Rhuidean story is clearly still A Problem for me. Who’d have guessed?

Of all those who follow me, I trust you the most.

Rand’s trust is both a gift and a burden.

“Once you take the Council of Merchants,” Rand continued, apparently unconcerned about their worries, “move the Aiel into the cities where those merchants ruled. Make sure those cities don’t degenerate. Restore order as you did in Bandar Eban. From there, begin hunting bandits and enforcing the law. Supplies will soon arrive from the Sea Folk. Take cities on the cost first, then move inland. Within a month’s time, the Domani should be flowing toward you, rather than running away from you. Offer them safety and food, and order will take care of itself.”

Well. Uh…at least he’s learned to delegate? Is all I can really say about that. No pressure or anything.

Actually, what I can say about that is that it sounds almost exactly like what the Seanchan have done. They have taken cities in turmoil, established order, and offered safety and food. They came as invaders, and there are certain Issues with what they do, but they did bring peace as they conquered. It’s a large part of why the ordinary people don’t seem to resent them.

Now Rand is sending the Aiel to do almost the same thing. The Aiel may not come from a half-forgotten continent, but they’re widely seen as foreign and threatening, and they are being sent as essentially invaders, to take over cities and establish a new order. From that perspective, it’s eerily similar. Which is kind of interesting to think about. I wonder if Rand sees it.

“And what of Ituralde?” Bashere asked, looking back at the map. “There won’t be peace for long once he realises we’ve invaded his homeland.”

Just as the Seanchan did. And to Ituralde, how will this be any different?

Rand tapped the map softly for a moment. “I will deal with him personally,” he finally said.

Poor Ituralde. He was ready for anything…short of the Dragon Reborn appearing in front of him…

Next (TGS ch 8) Previous (TGS ch 6)