The Wheel of Time book club: Egwene unites the White Tower in The Gathering Storm

The Gathering Storm is the 12th installment of the epic The Wheel of Time series, and the first written by Brandon Sanderson. After the death of original author Robert Jordan, his family asked Sanderson to take the notes and dictation Jordan produced in his final months and complete the series. Initially intended as a single book, the story proved to be so extensive that it was eventually divided into three volumes.

Sanderson did a masterful job of telling Jordan’s story. While Sanderson has his own style, he maintains Jordan’s voice. Sanderson’s three books are faster paced, as he uses shorter chapters and changes points of view more quickly than Jordan did.

Still, the best compliment I can offer is that if you didn’t know a different author wrote these final three books, you likely wouldn't even notice. The transition is that seamless. It's evidence of how incredible a writer Sanderson truly is.

The Gathering Storm concludes a couple of story arcs that the previous book left open, most involving Rand and Egwene.

Points of view in The Gathering Storm

Egwene’s storyline dominates this book, with whopping 21 percent of the novel told from her point of view. Rand takes up another 15 percent, followed by Mat at nearly 11 percent, and the oft-forgotten Nynaeve at almost nine percent. Her narrative intertwines with Rand’s.

The rest of the book is told from the points of view of 23 other characters. Interestingly enough, Perrin and Elayne are nearly absent in this book, with Perrin getting 3% of the novel; we don't slip into Elayne's point of view at all. Both concluded major story arcs in the previous book Knife of Dreams, so it makes sense that other characters receive more of the spotlight this time.

Egwene finally reunites the White Tower, with a bit of help

For most of the book, Egwene is still an aloof, subtly defiant captive of Elaida in the White Tower. Her quiet campaign focuses on reunifying the White Tower as the rebels besiege it from without. Slowly, she builds up allies within the White Tower, even if they are still reluctant.

After Egwene stands up to Elaida publicly and is severely beaten with weaves of air, she is sent to a cramped cell in the dungeon. She continues to win admirers among those in the White Tower. Meanwhile, the sisters in the rebel camp are still vying for power if Egwene never returns.

Although Egwene predicts that a Seanchan attack would come sometime in the future, no one believes her. When that attack comes in this book, the White Tower is unprepared. Many Warders, Aes Sedai, and Tower troops are killed in the attack. Despite her captivity, Egwene finds a way to resist, as do other Aes Sedai. Eventually, the Seachan are driven off, but many sisters are killed or captured. Elaida is one of those believed to be carried away by the enemy. In the aftermath, the sitters in the tower decide Egwene should be the Amyrlin Seat for all the Aes Sedai.

The way Egwene comports herself with dignity throughout her captivity and her message of unity resonates with some of the sitters. Her relationship with the Dragon Reborn plays a part, as did her position among the the rebels. The Hall meets and names her Amyrlin Seat, and Egwene brings the rebels in. She knows she has a lot of work yet to do to heal the White Tower physically and mentally.

Rand comes close to his breaking point

As the books have progressed, Rand has become increasingly emotionless and mentally unavailable. Cadsuane has been trying to show him that he can’t be so hard that he has to be more human, but she’s been exiled from Rand’s presence for allowing the Forsaken Semirhige access to the male sul’dam.

Rand moves to Bander Eban in hopes of bringing Arad Doman under his command. The king has disappeared, and Rand suspects the Forsaken Graendal is hiding somewhere in the kingdom.

While Rand brings a degree of order to Arad Doman, he is unable to help as he did in Cairhien, Tear, and Illian. The Dark One’s touch is spoiling food as fast as he can get it there. People are still starving, and the Seanchan are threatening the country from the south.

Rand attempts to make peace with the Seanchan, but negotiations break down when Tuon insists on her goal of leashing Aes Sedai. Rand cannot accept a truce under those conditions, and he leaves the meeting.

He does, however, track down Graendal. He destroys her palatial retreat with balefire in an attempt to kill her. It is a brutal decision because he also destroys all the innocents working the estate. Nynaeve is shocked that Rand no longer feels guilty over doing something he thinks he has to do.

Overall, his time in Arad Doman is a failure. The country is lost to chaos. With the Last Battle approaching, Rand doesn’t waste any more time. He returns to Tear and tries to meet with the Borderlands army that has been searching for him. When they set their meeting in Far Madding, a city protected against channeling, Nyneave has to convince him not to destroy the army or the city of innocents.

Rand feels his madness progressing, and he disappears without his Aiel Maidens’ entourage. He finds himself near the peak of Dragonmount, at the place of his birth. He finally has the epiphany that Cadsuane and Nyneave have tried to drill into him: to succeed, he cannot be so hard and unfeeling. He must be able to bend. If he is not, he will break, and the Dark One will win.

It's a big moment for Rand, something his story has been building toward since the end of book two. He needed to relearn empathy and not see everyone and everything as a tool to be used in the Last Battle.

Darkfriends

One of the biggest surprises in The Gathering Storm is the culmination of Verin Sedai’s storyline. Very early on in the series, Moiraine warns Rand not to trust any Aes Sedai, including the quirky Brown sister, Verin. She did not elaborate, but for the most part, Rand heeded her advice.

In this book, Verin visits Egwene in the White Tower, hours before the Seanchan attack, and reveals that she is a Darkfriend. She gives Egwene a coded book filled with details about Darkfriends, and a long list of sisters who are of the Black Ajah.

Verin is bound to protect her secrets “until the hour of her death.” She circumvents that oath by poisoning herself before she meets with Egwene, knowing she would soon be dead. Egwene uses that information in the next book.

Moiraine might be alive!

Before disappearing into the framed door ter/angreal in her battle against Lanfear in The Fires of Heaven, Moiraine sent a letter to Thom Merrilin. Thom does read the letter until book 11, Knife of Dreams. In it, she tells him she will be held captive by the Aelfin and the Eelfinn and will need to be rescued. She leaves particular instructions for how that might be accomplished. Mat and Noal agree to accompany Thom when he goes to rescue her. What happens during this attempt is a story for a later time.

We're approaching the end of this incredible, epic story. Having read these books multiple times, emotions still take over. These characters have been a part of my life for 35 years, and knowing their fates evokes a strange sense of anticipation.

The Gathering Storm is the beginning of the end for this tale. Savor every word!

The Wheel of Time book club:

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