Meanwhile, Perrin and Egwene ride with the wolves, and neither of them are really all that comfortable with the prospect. Egwene and her horse are paranoid that the wolves hiding in the shadows are going to turn on them, and Perrin is weirded out by the fact that he can sense the wolves lurking in the shadows. Egwene extends the offer to share her horse with Elyas this time, but he isn't having any of that civilization crap, no sir. His own two feet are enough for him!
I was all set to tell Perrin to enjoy his gift for once, but he ends up doing just that in his dreams. Not only has he not had a visit from Ba'alzamon since he met Elyas, but he's dreaming of a normal life, with the addition of having wolves watch over him and his loved ones. It's an interesting idea and I wish that it had been shown instead of just told.
But then, after days of traveling, the party has another chance encounter, this time with the Traveling People of the title. Also known as the Tinkers or the Tuatha'an, these are a nomadic people who travel in wagons and are unfairly judged and misunderstood by the rest of the world. In other words, Roma (or gypsies, as they're more commonly known). I don't think real Roma seek a song that can bring world peace or practice the Way of the Leaf, though:
- "What was that about a song?" Egwene asked.
"That's why they travel," Elyas said, "or so they say. They're looking for a song. That's what the Mahdi seeks. They say they lost it during the Breaking of the World, and if they can find it again, the paradise of the Age of Legends will return." He ran his eye around the camp and snorted. "They don't even know what the song is; they claim they'll know it when they find it. They don't know how it's supposed to bring paradise, either, but they've been looking near to three thousand years, ever since the Breaking. I expect they'll be looking until the Wheel stops turning."
(As a side note, Mahdi is an Islamic term for a prophesied savior who will redeem the world along with Jesus Christ. Interesting that Jordan would use the term here in a rather different context with a different meaning.)
- "The Way of the Leaf?" Egwene said. "What is that?"
Aram gestured to the leaves, his eyes fastened intently on hers. "The leaf lives its appointed time, and does not struggle against the wind that carries it away. The leaf does no harm, and finally falls to nourish new leaves. So it should be with all men. And women." Egwene stared back at him, a faint blush rising in her cheeks.
"But what does that mean?" Perrin said. Aram gave him an irritated glance, but it was Raen who answered.
"It means that no man should harm another for any reason whatsoever." The Seeker's eyes flickered to Elyas. "There is no excuse for violence. None. Not ever."
This revelation causes a bit of tension between Elyas and the Mahdi, as this difference in their philosophies is hinted to have caused clashes between them in the past, and I have to admit it's an interesting dynamic. Elyas and the Tinkers have a lot in common, after all. They both follow a philosophy that removes them from mainstream ways of thought so much that they've eschewed living with other people and instead live off the land, the natural way.
Yet their disagreements on the matter of violence ensures that they can never coexist with each other, either. The Tinkers are absolute pacifists (which would make them vegetarians or vegans as well if that nonviolence applies to all animals and not just other people), and they've managed to stay true to such an inconvenient moral principle and make a decent life out of it. Elyas, on the other hand, lives by his bond with a wolf pack, and nonviolence simply isn't an option when living with carnivores like them.
Neither side comes off as right or wrong here. It's just a difference of opinion, and thankfully the two parties involved are able to set their differences aside as long as they only occasionally run into each other.
I also kind of had a chuckle at Aram, the pretty boy who's clearly making a move on Egwene and acts condescending to Perrin when he hears that Perrin would at least use violence in self-defense. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that Aram decided to join the Tinkers for selfish or self-righteous reasons. Not all religious pilgrims are perfect saints, after all.
And just when we're getting immersed in a new fantasy culture, we hear about another one, one that lives far away in the Aiel Wastes. The Wastes are the Here There Be Dragons lands beyond the mountain range at the eastern border of the book's large map, much like the Blight is for the mountains at the northern border. (The artificial geography on display here is still the biggest sticking point for me here.) But while the Blight is home to the hordes of the Dark One, the Aiel Wastes are home to the Aiel people, a savage warrior race who avoid other people and hunt Trollocs for fun.
But one day, Mahdi Raen explains, Trollocs actually ventured into the Waste, and the lone survivor of the warrior women who fought them back told some Tinkers that the Dark One was trying to "blind the Eye of the World" and "slay the Great Serpent", and that people should "stand ready for "He Who Comes With the Dawn". Nobody knows what to make of this story, and they find the idea of the Dark One destroying such vague, world-sustaining forces ludicrous, to say the least.
I think we may have found the plot that's central to this first book, as opposed to the entire series as a whole. Up until now most of the setup has been towards long-term character arcs and the overarching conflict. It's an odd way of telling a story, but it's worked before.
Then again, maybe I'm just grasping at straws. I don't really have enough information to pinpoint where the plot's going beyond generalities like "the good guys win" or "Mat turns evil". I'm really just along for the ride at this point. This is probably the part where Mark would say that shit just got real in all capital letters. I'm just going to stroke my chin and go, "hmmm."
NEXT TIME: I was not prepared.
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