In the aftermath of the protagonists getting separated, we get a chapter following Nynaeve. The chapter consists almost entirely of conversations, since we're cooling down from an action scene. At first it seemed jarring to me that the story kept switching between action and conversation as though Jordan kept flipping a switch, but then I realized that this is ubiquitous in nearly every story with action that I've read. I suppose there's variations, like working banter and exposition into a fight scene, or having a conversation erupt into a fight, but most stories normally follow this sort of pattern, and for good reason. Putting all scenes of a certain type in one unbroken chain tends to tire out the audience and get them to lose interest. So I guess Jordan passes remedial storytelling for now, I suppose.
Back to the actual book. I'm going to essentially summarize the two conversations that take place here (yet another two-part chapter, take a shot), the first between Lan and Moiraine with Nynaeve eavesdropping, in which they ask themselves how this many Trollocs can move around and chase them without getting military attention, and the second with Nynaeve and Moiraine regarding Nynaeve's magical potential. I like the first one better because it surprises me just a little bit more, by having Moiraine's motives seem no less noble than they are in public, even in a private conversation with her close confidant. But then again, there are a couple of caveats to this. First, Moiraine reveals that she knew Nynaeve was spying on them the whole time. Second, just because she has good intentions doesn't mean she'll always do the right thing. Good intentions and all that.
I can't believe I didn't see the fact that Nynaeve is Aes Sedai material coming. When Moiraine mentions that there was another like Egwene in Emond's Field, Nynaeve was the only other girl from there with any established character, and the irony of having a woman so hostile to the Aes Sedai becoming one herself was just too much of a low-hanging fruit for Jordan to pass up. If I were in a better mood about this book right now, I'd be intrigued about where that plotline is going and about Nynaeve becoming a foil for Egwene, but I guess those feelings can wait for another day. There's more to this conversation, of course, mostly regarding how Nynaeve first discovered her powers and Moiraine convincing the most stubborn woman in Two Rivers that she isn't just pulling stuff out her ass. I would be much more easily convinced if I was in Nynaeve's place.
Honestly, I'm beginning to regret reading this book a chapter a day. Clearly this wasn't how the book was meant to be read and being given this much time to think about the plot is probably ruining it for me. Then again, any story that can be spoiled by thinking about it clearly isn't that great to begin with. I'm not that great at pointing out plot holes, but I do have a general idea of where stories tend to go, and so far the surprises have mostly come from low expectations on my part. Not even the first chapter from the perspective of my favorite character thus far excites me, as her inner monologue tells me nothing I didn't already know about her. She's suspicious of the Aes Sedai, she wants to prove herself, she's quick-tempered, tell us something new.
Probably the biggest letdown of the chapter comes when Moiraine reveals that the silver coins she gave the boys are in fact magical tracking devices she used just in case they got separated. Oh no, I thought to myself just then! Mat and Rand gave those coins to the merchant captain as payment for taking them down the river! Then Moiraine says that she knows they lost track of the coins, which doesn't make a damn bit of sense to me. How is that possible? Does the spell only work when the target is carrying the coin? I just don't get this at all. I guess I should be grateful that it's still going to be trouble getting Rand and Moiraine to meet up again, making for a better story, but I'm kind of sick of Jordan taking the obvious story path instead of throwing a story-ruining surprise at us. Those can't be the only two options, can they?
NEXT TIME: Not that much, really.
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