An Empty Road

Maybe Egwene is around. Watching you stare at her like a poleaxed ox will be as good as a badger any day.

Matrim Cauthon to Rand al'Thor

Maybe Egwene is around. Watching you stare at her like a poleaxed ox will be as good as a badger any day.
— Matrim Cauthon to Rand al'Thor

For other uses of the word "road," see Road.

Book Index
0 I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII XIV
Chapters
Dragonmount - Ravens 1 An Empty Road 2 Strangers 3 The Peddler 4 The Gleeman 5 Winternight 6 The Westwood 7 Out of the Woods 8 A Place of Safety 9 Tellings of the Wheel 10 Leavetaking 11 The Road to Taren Ferry 12 Across the Taren 13 Choices 14 The Stag and Lion 15 Strangers and Friends 16 The Wisdom 17 Watchers and Hunters 18 The Caemlyn Road 19 Shadow's Waiting 20 Dust on the Wind 21 Listen to the Wind 22 A Path Chosen 23 Wolfbrother 24 Flight Down the Arinelle 25 The Traveling People 26 Whitebridge 27 Shelter from the Storm 28 Footprints in Air 29 Eyes Without Pity 30 Children of Shadow 31 Play for Your Supper 32 Four Kings in Shadow 33 The Dark Waits 34 The Last Village 35 Caemlyn 36 Web of the Pattern 37 The Long Chase 38 Rescue 39 Weaving of the Web 40 The Web Tightens 41 Old Friends and New Threats 42 Remembrance of Dreams 43 Decisions and Apparitions 44 The Dark Along the Ways 45 What Follows in Shadow 46 Fal Dara 47 More Tales of the Wheel 48 The Blight 49 The Dark One Stirs 50 Meetings at the Eye 51 Against the Shadow 52 Neither Beginning Nor End 53 The Wheel Turns

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Setting: the Westwood, and Emond's Field

Summary

Point of view: Rand al'Thor

Rand al'Thor and his father, Tam al'Thor, are traveling in the Westwood via the Quarry Road to Emond's Field. Their mare Bela is hauling a cart with casks of apple brandy and cider, which Tam has promised Winespring Inn he will bring for Bel Tine the next day.

"You just try meddling in women's circle business, and see how you like eating your own cooking."

With the winter being so hard and long, wolves and bears had been attacking people and animals, so both Rand and Tam are watchful of their surroundings. Rand looks behind them, and sees a Myrddraal on a black horse following. Rand stumbles, breaking his stare with the Fade, and tells Tam there is a stranger following them. They stop, look behind them, but the Myrddraal is no longer there. Rand wonders if it was a figment of his imagination, and they continue on.

"We can't have a wisdom like that for Emonds Field."

They enter Emond's Field, where they are stopped by Wit Congar. He starts complaining about the new Wisdom, Nynaeve al'Meara, until his wife, Daise Congar, arrives and admonishes him for talking about Women's Circle business. Rand and Tam quickly continue to the Winespring Inn. As they stroll through the village, they notice preparations for Bel Tine happening all around them..

Reaching the Winespring Inn, Brandelwyn al'Vere, the owner of the Inn and the Mayor of Emond's Field, comes out to greet them. He and Tam are chatting about the odd winter when Cenn Buie arrives to add his negative comments on the matter.

As the conversation goes on, Matrim Cauthon tugs on Rand's sleeve and tells him that he and Dav Ayellin have caught a badger. They plan to release it on the Green to watch the girls scream. Rand replies that he needs to help carry the casks and barrels into the inn.

Mat mentions strangers in the village, and Rand describes the Myrddraal. Mat admits he saw one three days before, and how scared he was with it just staring at him. Mat's father Abell Cauthon also didn't believe there was anything there, though Mat thinks people would have to believe him now with Rand backing what he saw.

Mat is spotted by Tam, who recruits him to help get the casks inside. Tam mentions that there is a gleeman at the inn, prompting Bran to share how the man had arrived in the middle of the night, waking everyone up. Cenn then accidentally reveals that there will be fireworks as well. When Bran confronts him about his loose lips, Cenn quickly ducks into the inn. Tam points out that they need to unload the cart, and the others begin carrying the casks into the inn.

Characters

"Hah! His cloak is more patches than cloak, with more colors on it than I can name!"

• Rand al'Thor
• Tam al'Thor
• Myrddraal - the Black-cloaked Rider
• Wit Congar
• Daise Congar
• Brandelwyn al'Vere
• Cenn Buie
• Matrim Cauthon
• Bela - the al'Thors' mare

Referenced

• Perrin Aybara
• Egwene al'Vere
• Nynaeve al'Meara
• Jon Thane - as Master Thane
• Mistress al'Donel
• Dav Ayellin
• Dark One - as Shepherd of the Night
• Creator
• Ishamael
• Aginor
• Dragon
• Shadowman
• Elam Dowtry
• Abell Cauthon as Mat's da
• Thom Merrillin - as gleeman

Groups

Referenced

• Women's Circle
• Merchants
• Peddlers
• Forsaken
• The Congars and the Coplins
• Wolves
• Village Council

Places

"Emond's Field"

• Emond's Field
• Green
• Quarry Road
• Westwood
• Winespring Inn

Referenced

• Sand Hills
• Two Rivers
• Waterwood
• Sand Hills
• Mountains of Mist
• Watch Hill
• Deven Ride
• Taren Ferry
• Winespring
• Winespring Water
• Wagon Bridge
• North Road
• Old Road
• Shayol Ghul
• Blight - as Great Blight
• Baerlon
• Riverwood

Events

Referenced

• Breaking of the World
• Bel Tine
• Sunday
• Winternight - also called Festival
• Archery Competition at Bel Tine

Items

• Spring Pole
• Scales of Office

Concepts

• Wheel of Time
• Third Age
• Flame and the Void
• Listening to the Wind
• Creation

Culture

• Stones

Sayings

• "Maybe sheep will fly..."
• "The Dark One and all of the Forsaken are bound in Shayol Ghul, beyond the Great Blight, bound by the Creator at the moment of Creation, bound until the end of time. The hand of the Creator shelters the world, and the Light shines on us all." (see religious beliefs).