— Loial
- For other articles by the same title, see The Hunt Begins.
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In the Shadow
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<<< The Hunt Begins >>> |
Setting: Shienar and points south |
Summary[]
- Point of view: Rand al'Thor
Rand wonders if Ingtar plans on killing the horses with the pace he has set. It seems that he wants to find the Horn in one day. Rand wants to talk privately with Mat and Perrin to apologize and explain, but Mat always prompts Perrin to avoid him. Ingtar finally decides they cannot continue on horseback their current pace and they alternate between riding and running along with the horses.
When they camp for the night, Rand checks his bags and is annoyed that all his clothes are too fancy. Ingtar tells him to stop complaining and jokes that Rand will be well dressed for their celebration feast after they find the Horn. Rand is perplexed by Uno and Masema's behavior toward him. Ingtar says that Uno is just trying to gauge Rand to see if he is worthy of that heron-marked blade. Masema, on the other hand, only sees an Aiel when he sees Rand, and he fought the Aiel for many years. Rand insists that he is a shepherd from the Two Rivers, but Loial reminds him that Loial was mistaken on their first meeting too. Ingtar speaks of the unparalleled hardiness and fighting ability of the Aiel.
The next morning, they find where the Trollocs camped for the night. There is evidence that the Trollocs killed humans and ate them, perhaps some of the Darkfriends with them. Hurin says they have turned northeast now. They follow the trail until they find a dead man nobody recognizes, and the trail turns south again. They continue this zigzag pattern for several days, where they follow the trail northward for a few hours in the morning before spending the rest of the day going southward. Ingtar considers going just south as a shortcut but quickly dismisses the idea because the pattern may change at any time. They are gaining ground slowly each day. Ingtar speaks frequently of their glory being immortalized in history once they find the Horn, which disturbs everyone. Shienarans seek duty, not glory.
They come to the river Erinin and an empty village. Uno spots a white-dressed woman[1] in the otherwise empty village but they cannot find her. Perrin smells something very wrong and warns Mat and Rand to prepare themselves as they cross the river. On the south bank, they find the bodies of Changu and Nidao skinned alive, hanging from trees. Ingtar orders a proper burial for them, as they may have been coerced and not actually Darkfriends.
A little while later, they come upon another village, and Rand goes into one of the houses. He sees a half-eaten dinner on the table. Rand has a vision several times of a family sitting down to eat, and the door flies open. The mother grabs the children and starts to run, the father drops the carving knife he had been using, and the vision starts again. Rand reaches for the Void and finally breaks from the vision.[2][3] When they meet in the town square, Mat says he saw the same thing Rand did, the empty chairs around the dinner table, but no vision of a family. The party meets in the town square, and walks to what used to be a village meeting place, where they find a Fade spreadeagled and bound to the front doors of the building. They are wondering what could manage this. Speechless, they can only leave and follow the trail southward.
Characters[]
Referenced[]
Groups[]
Places[]
Referenced[]
- Stedding Shangtai
- Fal Dara
- Eastern Marches
- Ankor Dail
- Two Rivers
- Cairhien
- Aiel Waste
- Blight
- Spine of the World
- Taren Ferry
- Field of Talidar site of ancient Hawkwing victory
- Harad Dakar
- Hardan
- Maredo
- Goaban
- Caralain
- Mar Haddon
- Haddon Mirk
- Almoth
- Kintara
- Altara
- Murandy
- Sea of Storms
- Borderlands
- Emond's Field
Items[]
Events[]
Notes
- ↑ Lanfear, as proven later.
- ↑ This was a trap set by Padan Fain. Rand channeled to escape.
- ↑ Robert Jordan originally intended this to be a trap set by Lanfear. Lanfear may have used it to test whether Rand could channel strongly enough to escape the trap; the Dragon Reborn must be a strong channeler.