#Wot book Spoilers

[veliseraptor]

also honestly love that by book two rand is already showing latent signs of suicidal tendencies because like. that didn't take long did it

icon of chosen one dysfunction. nobody's doing it like him and by that i mean 'already dwelling on his own death as a solution to problems'

[clearancecreedwatersurvival]

I love that in the book called the dragon reborn Rand himself has so few pov chapters and spends like a third of the book not lending his pov to the narrative at all because he’s too busy pulling the heist of the millenia in the background while the rest of the group does some looney tunes shenanigans on the rooftops of tear.

[ofthebrownajah]

It was brought up on Dusty Wheel asking if Mat's dialogue in this clip was him breaking the 4th wall. But the better suggestion was that he's saying all this to the artist he commissioned to draw him

[markantonys]

window architectural style analysis time! these windows look to be a match judging by the snippet of upper window we can see in the second image. so, the cuts on mat's neck might be from the spears. however, he does look genuinely shaken/upset in the second image and idk if maiden's kiss would upset him THAT much, so perhaps a bubble of evil strikes later on during this scene, echoing him being hit with it during Late-Night Party Time in TSR. will be interesting to see if bain, chiad, loial, and possibly perrin (in the other angle of this shot there's a bearded figure behind mat) are still around for a big ol' joint bubble of evil, or if some or all of them have left by then and mat and perrin have separate bubbles of evil. ooh, and could egwene and nynaeve get bubbles of evil too since they're ta'veren in showverse?

meanwhile, rand's bubble of evil window is a different window (obviously since it's a bedroom rather than a bar), but seems to be somewhat similar with that wobbly-edged square diamond shape that the bar window has. and it does make the most sense for this scene to be taking place in rand's room at the same inn the gang is hanging out at anyway, so i'll say these windows belong to the same building.

also! is that an andoran lion i spot in the bar window? i believe that per season 1, basel gill and the queen's blessing (renamed the light's blessing) are in tar valon in showverse, so maybe it's that same inn again in 3x01 and the windows are a little easter egg nod to the innkeeper's book andoran heritage and loyalty to morgase.

[asha-mage]

Apprehension; Elaida

[Send me a fandom, character, or pairing and a one word prompt and I'll write a quick drabble for you!]

When the last of the fit subsided and Elaida’s vision cleared, she found her mother’s face gazing down at her. 

Her mother had not been born a beautiful woman. Beauty was not a gift of anyone in the House of Roihan, and Elaida at fifteen knew that the best anyone would ever say of her was that she was handsome, and mean it as a softening of severe. But Donielia do Aclris a’Roihan did not even have that. Maybe it had been different once, but time and worry had carved early wrinkles into her face, and left her with more grey in her hair then dark brown. 

Worry had been her constant companion for so long, Elaida did not think her mother had ever a known day free of it for the entity of Elaida’s life.

A hand, soft and gentle, stroked through Elaida’s hair. Not her mother’s. Her mother’s hand would have shaken.

“It’s alright dearest.” A soft lilting voice said. “It’s alright.”

Elaida turned her head- ignoring the ache and the pain in her neck to gaze up at her step father. She realized her head was resting in his lap, and he was gently combing his fingers through her hair, working out the tangles that had formed during Elaida’s fit.

Elaida had never known her birth father. He had died before she had ever taken her first breath. Carinis Avriny had raised her though, and when she had turned fifteen earlier this year, it had been him that had presented her to the gathred nobles during her deschorye’pizanzi, and it was his surname- Avriny- announced when she came down the stairs as part of her honors. If her birth father had a surname, it was not one worth knowing or honoring.

“What-” Elaida began then cut off. The words came out in a dry croak that hurt her throat. She had screamed herself raw again.

Without needing Elaida to ask, her mother stood and retrieved a pitcher of water which was lifted carefully to her lips. Elaida drank greedily, needing Carinis murmured reminders to pause for breath. But the water felt to good on her dry throat not to gulp it down. She had drained the pitcher in a handful of minutes and her mother set it aside.

“What-” Elaida tried again. Still painful and dry, but less so. Bearable enough to go on. “What did I say this time?”

Her mother and stepfather exchanged looks. For a moment she thought they wouldn’t tell her But finally her step father spoke. He recited the words like he might have his poetry, though Elaida knew it would not have sounded that nice when she had said it.

“The end draws near. The end comes on the winds of the of the broken east and the shattered promises of water. Peace is carved down the by axes of men, and burning leaves shall rain across the mountains and blanket the land in spears and blood. The land weeps. Spears pierce the flesh of men and the earth drinks it’s fill of blood. The land weeps. All this to anoint his coming. All this to mark a day twice blessed. Twice damned. All this to make fertile the land on which the final battle shall one day be fought. All this to clear the path for the last war. The first war. The only war.” He hesitated then, and Elaida forced herself to sit up, pushing sweaty tangled locks out of her eyes.

“What else?” She asked, her voice tight.

Her mother rested a hand on her father’s shoulder. He nodded.

“If their is hope, it is to be the found in the Blood of Ishara. The Ancient Blood.” Her stepfather whispered. “In the maiden of the golden flower and in the ender of feuds. In the one who walks barefoot under the sun and the one who wages war for the Tree of Life. In the one who leaves all she has known to become something new, and the one who walks away from all that is for sorrows found only in snow. In the Lion’s Heir, and the Iron Mountain’s leader. Born of the Lion’s Heir and the Iron Mountain. The Lion’s heir and the Iron Mountain. That is the hope of the world.”

Elaida sucked in a breath, letting it rush in over her teeth. Then she staggered to her feet and walked over to the window.

“The last thing I remember was being out in the field with Joni. We were approaching the river and then…” And then the fit had come on, and the world had turned liquid and strange and she had been surrounded by rushing filaments of light and horrifying things she could not comprehend. She had felt as if her whole body were going to crack open. It was like being struck by lightning.

Her little sister had wanted to see the butterflies. Elaida had known it might be a risk going so far from the house. But she had wanted to take it. To try at least. She was so so sick of the nurses and the attendants sworn to secrecy and every fungus peddling wise woman who could do nothing but give her a belly ache. 

She had just wanted to see the butterflies with her little sister. She deserved that. That and everything else these fits kept from her.

“She was very brave.” Carinis said gently. “She brought you back to us all by herself- and we brought you to rooms to…”

Wait it out. The only thing that could be done.

No one spoke for a bit. Elaida gazed out the window and thought of all the things that should be, that would never be. The House and land she would never rule- a small house and small land, but still what should have been her’s. The lovers she would never take. The joys she would never know. Her whole life would never be lived farther away from this room then she could be carried.

Was this how her father had felt she wondered? Was this why he had done it? Despite the wife who had risked everything to wed a commoner and a daughter on the way. If it was…she cursed the man for being so weak. For not staying away from her mother, despite their passion for each other. For being so thoughtless that he passed on whatever…disease or defect or curse this was to his child. And for abandoning her to deal with it alone.

She had never hated anyone as much as she hated him. She wished, savagely and wickedly, that the poison had not taken him gently- that he gone in wretched violence and agony. It would be to unjust for him to have anything else.

Elaida took a deep breath and turned to face her parents. “Am I…” She licked her lips. “...Am I going to die?”

Would it better if I died was the real question. And they knew it. The horrified looks on their faces said it all. But they didn’t understand. They couldn’t.

Every time one of the fits hit her, she was sure she was dead already.

“Elaida.” Her mother said sharply. “You must not-”

“I don’t want to live as a mad woman!” Elaida snapped, cutting her off. Something hot and angry was trickling down her cheeks, and she didn’t care. “Nothing’s working and it’s getting worse and-! And it’s not- it’s not fair!” She wanted to hurl something against the wall, but all the things that might have been broken by accident  during her fits had been removed long ago. “I don’t want to die! but this- this isn’t living! Father knew it and-” She cut of. She was sinking to her knees. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair!

“I don’t want to live as a mad woman.” She repeated, staring down at her hands. “I didn’t do anything. I didn’t ask to be born to a lunatic. I don’t deserve this and it wont stop, not ever and-” She let out a choked sob. "I don't want to live as a mad woman.”

A choking silence fell on the room. It always did in moment’s like this. Like a blanket smothering a fire. Elaida felt cold and empty.

“Your father.” Carinis said softly. “Was not mad. And neither are you.”

“Carinis!” Elaida’s mother snapped furiously spinning to face him. Elaida blinked in shock. She had never seen her mother so angry or afraid before. Not just worried. Terrified. “We agreed-!”

Carinis shook his head. He had a muley look about him. Stubborn. “They're the only ones who can help my love. We’ve tried everything else. We have to accept-”

“No! Never!” Elaida’s mother spat.

“Help?” Something treacherous and wicked bloomed in Elaida’s chest. Hope. And yet she seized on it with all she was. It was all she knew how to do. “What help?”

For a moment, her mother and step father just stared at each other, and then her mother stood and turned to go. Her step fathered look so pained and anguished but he did not move to follow.

He turned to face her taking a deep breath. “Your father was not mad. Not yet. Not when he died. He…He was just trying to protect your mother. And you. He is to blame for your…fits. But not in the way you think.”

“Why?” Elaida demanded. “What was he if he wasn’t mad?”

But suddenly she knew. Maybe she had always known.

“He could channel Elaida.” Carinis said quietly. “And he took his own life before he could found by the Red Ajah. He did it to protect you, in case…”

“In case I was born a boy.” She let out a shuddering, terrible breath. She shook her head. “No. No. These fits- I don’t do anything. I just…I just rave. I’m not Aes Sedai just…just a stupid lunatic girl you’re trying to make feel better and it won’t-”

“You are not raving.” Carinis said firmly rising to take Elaida’s hands in his. “He could do it too. A talent he called it. Foretelling the future.”

Elaida felt true apprehension for the first time. Not fatalistic anger or fear. Dread of something distant and yet drawing closer.

“What did he Foretell about me?” She asked quietly.

Her step father inhaled. “Clever girl.” He muttered.

“I have a right-” She began drawing herself up.

“That you would cage kings. That you would stand atop the world and it would know your fury. That your name would never be forgotten- in this age or the next.” His voice had taken on a very sad cast, but Elaida could only feel painful hope growing more wild in her chest. “That you would lead the world through chaos and tribulation- and that would be your glory, and one day, your downfall.”

Elaida exhaled. Dread. Fear. Apprehension. And thorny wicked hope. Not a short nasty life of pain. But glory that would endure eons.

The last war. The first war. The only war.

“The Last Battle. It is coming.” She whispered.

And Elaida do Avriny a’Roihan would be at the forefront.

“Yes.” He agreed quietly. And she understood suddenly, why her mother didn’t want her to know. 

It will be your downfall.

But Elaida would rather fall one day, then never rise. Her mother knew that. Her step father knew that. And they had kept this from her in the hopes of sparing her from fate.

Dread threaded her every bone. But she would not give into it. Not ever. She would blaze brightly and never be forgotten. It wasn’t just senseless pain this….this- not a curse. This gift- it served a purpose. She served a purpose. She had been chosen by the Wheel for a task. Chosen to shape history.

“I have to go to the White Tower.” She said equal parts hope and apprehension. “I have to save the world.”

[butterflydm]

new WoT thoughts (Mat-centric)

I am getting more and more excited as we ramp up towards s3!

exciting gif set to be found here

Without getting into too many spoilers, The Shadow Rising is one of my favorite books in the series, so I am really pleased that we're getting to it this season (TFoH is also a favorite, so I am definitely crossing my fingers hard for s4 as well).

Last week we got some hints about mid-late season stuff with the Tanchico pics, but this week is all early-season clips, when Mat is still in Tar Valon/the White Tower. Very intriguing stuff! It does imply a considerable amount of time in the Tower before the split (since Loial, Bain, & Chiad are all in the final shot), though some of this might happen after the others leave Tar Valon.

We know at least the first one happens while Rand & co are still there, because @markantonys spotted Rand in the first couple of frames of the clip. Might be the same scene that we've already gotten a still of a couple of weeks ago - I think the outfits match. And so the second clip might be Mat sharing that drink with Rand and Perrin, and the still essentially takes place 'between' these two clips. You can really see Mat's brocade-y coat better here.

I'm guessing the third gif is going to lead into a very fan-favorite moment from the books involving two brothers, so I'm going to speculate that it comes from episode 2 (so we might see Mat only in Tar Valon in ep 1, then in the White Tower proper in ep 2?) since that's when Morgase makes her official entrance to the White Tower, per the stills. And, yeah, I agree with Rafe that that book moment makes a lot more sense after Mat has gotten a memory download of battles instead of before.

If I'm only considering what the show has given us, it might be the Horn itself that is Mat's reason for 'getting invited' to the White Tower, since he seems to be leaning into his fame (I am curious if we'll see a contrast here with the other two boys).

Then the final clip, which alludes to Maidens' Kiss but is on-screen instead of a memory by Mat. Loial in the back doesn't look like he's worried about Mat's life or anything. That one looks like it happens at night. It does look like Mat has the same outfit in all of these, he just takes off the coat in the last few.

No neck injuries spotted, which could mean that whatever we saw in that earlier clip hasn't happened yet or it could mean he got Aes Sedai Healing for it.

[outlandidol]

First drawing of the year! Starting off by adding Tuon to my WoT collection. Tried some new stuff with this one - I plan on doing a lot of experimenting with my process this year.

[pien-art]

I read @eve-is-obsessed ‘s fic “mysteriously missing moiraine” and my eyes have been opened to Moiraine / Melaine 👁️👁️ Everyone go read this fic (and every other amazing fic by eve bc hghn,, they’re really good)

I can’t wait to see Moiraine in the Aiel Waste with the Wise Ones in s3

(click image for optimal quality)

[sugarcube-stillabookworm]

what wot fandom spaces and especially mat enjoyers are like rn

[wibblyrlin]

Moiraine laughed and hugged Siuan. She could not help it. She truly had come home. They had come home.

—New Spring, Robert Jordan

[thenotoriousscuttlecliff]

THERE THEY ARE!!! THAT'S THEM!!! THAT'S MY QUEEN AND HER WIFE!!!

[highladyluck]

Taim, his vibes rancid

[lordgolden]

“we are finally getting canon avilayne!!!” Avilayne is already canon if you are pure of heart and clear of mind. This will just be a formality

[ofthebrownajah]

Rand and Moiraine's stories have always been intertwined and I think the show is making that a lot more clear. Moiraine, the niece of the king who started the Aiel war, and Rand, the son of the clan chief who led the Aiel across the Dragonwall to kill him

[markantonys]

now for the training yard scene, i would hazard a guess that this is nynaeve on the right and elayne on the left (mostly hidden by the tree, but i can see a bit of long reddish hair peeking out)

i know it would be insane and illogical to have egwene and gawyn miss meeting each other by 1 episode, but if the andoran arrival isn't until 3x02 and we also have an image of rand and lan training somewhere outside tar valon in 3x02, possibly indicating they've headed out on their trip, and now we're seeing possibly only our tanchico crew still around in the white tower for the quarterstaff fight, i can't help but worry! of course, it's entirely possible that egwene is somewhere in this scene too but just not visible from this particular angle, or that this takes place later in 3x02 and she's met gawyn earlier in the episode before leaving with rand & co, or that the quarterstaff scene isn't until 3x03 (which i actually think might make the most sense since if the tanchico crew aren't reaching tanchico until the back half of the season, they'll need a little something to fill up a 3x03 in the white tower, and then i'd guess they'll sit out the big rhuidean ep4; this would also allow gawyn and galad's 3x02 screentime to be focused on just getting to know them and the family dynamics, and then 3x03 we see more of them in a new setting here with the fight scene)

[bluenoisen]

currently reading through the Wheel of Time (and loving it) and this dynamic in The Shadow Rising is so funny to me, Rand get HELP!!!