10 chapters from the first Wheel of Time book fans can’t wait to see on TV

“Chapter 30: Children of Shadow”

I’ve got to stress again how exciting things get in The Eye of the World once the group we’ve grown familiar with is forced to split up. It’s then that we really start to get to know characters who up to that point had felt like hangers-on, like Egwene and Perrin, who find themselves separated from their friends. On their way to reunion, they travel through the wilderness and have run-ins with groups that will prove important throughout the story, like the traveling Tinkers or the zealous Whitecloaks. They also meet a strange lone man named Elyas, who sends Perrin down a path he’ll be walking for a long while.

In this chapter, Egwene and Perrin are being chased by ravens, feared to be servants of the Dark One. Growing larger and larger, the cloud of ravens closes in, and our heroes have to dash for safety. I’m already picturing how frightening this cloud of birds could be onscreen, especially after we glimpse what kind of damage they can do.

Just as Perrin and Egwene are about to collapse from exhaustion, Perrin feels a chill run through his body. They have entered a stedding, a home of the ancient Ogier race, tall, tufted-eared creatures who love peace and are renowned for their skill with stonemasonry; they built a lot of the cities humans now occupy. Egwene notices the remains of a statue that looks like it has been for generations. It’s a statue of Artur Hawkwing, a king who ruled all the land long ago. This the perfect time to add some depth to the world and its history.

But the peace afforded by the stedding, which repels magical creatures at its borders, does not last. Men with torches are searching the hills. They are the Children of the Light, or the Whitecloaks, a religious order with noble goals and draconian measures. The chapter ends with a fight sequence I’m already itching to see play out.