Saidin sang, and the sphere pulsed - even without looking he could feel it - and the thought came that if he sang the song saidin sang, that huge stone face would open its mouth and sing with him.
— Rand on encountering the Choedan Kal
- For other uses of the word "saidin," see Saidin.
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In the Shadow
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| <<< Saidin >>> |
| Setting: northern Cairhien |
Summary[]
- Point of view: Rand al'Thor
Rand, Hurin, Loial and Selene continue through the night toward Cairhien and away from Fain and his Trollocs. Selene wants to see the Horn of Valere again in daylight but Rand stops her. Although he is tempted himself, he wants to keep the Ruby-hilted dagger in there shielded away from them. Rand keeps thinking that Selene seems like Aes Sedai, but she fervently denies it. They come upon a village which they want to visit to sleep in a proper bed, but Selene wants to stay away, preferring to stay away from dirty men who would want the Horn for themselves if they discover it.
Nearby Rand can see what looks like an enormous statue with a hand holding a sphere coming out of the ground. It is the male Choedan Kal. He is instinctively drawn to it and goes to the site, where men are digging the statue out of the ground. Rand recalls Bayle Domon mentioning a giant hand holding a sphere sticking out of a hill on the island of Tremalking. Selene tries to get him to move away from it, but Rand won't leave. Rand suddenly realizes that he is within the Void and feels saidin flowing through him as the sphere pulses with energy. Selene gets desperate and agrees to go to the village with him. Everyone tells Rand to come away from the statue, but Rand finds that he cannot let go of saidin. To the others he appears in a trance; to himself, Rand feels glorious, like he could hold more saidin than ever. Finally he breaks free but the guards at the bottom of the excavation have noticed them.
They come to The Nine Rings inn in the village of Tremonsien. The inn is named after one of Rand's favorite adventure stories. Selene says she was very frightened at the statue and that Rand could have killed himself. Selene asks Rand take the Horn and ride on with her and she will stay with him forever; Rand only says that the Horn is not his. She turns her back on him and refuses to speak.
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