Like Winternight, not a TON happens here, but enough. A lot of pieces are certainly falling together. Rand's small world is growing - he has questions for his father, who he can no longer see as indestructible. His Wisdom who could fix everything, is no longer infallible. Even the Mayor had to be given outside help from Thom to point Rand in the right direction.
The fact that Fain has disappeared while Thom has stayed, and Thom hops down to help Rand without even being asked, helps me like and trust Thom even more. As well as the fact that although we know from the Gleeman chapter that Thom doesn't quite trust Moraine, he still points Rand in her direction to help with Tam. On first read I wasn't sure if I was supposed to trust Aes Sedai or not, and that's a convoluted answer, but naive or not, as I mentioned earlier, Moraine, I seemed to like. As a matter of fact, as soon as Tam was injured and Rand got it into his head to take Tam to Nynaeve, I had a feeling that the Healing would be beyond Nynaeve and this would be where Moraine stepped in. Was anyone else inclined to feel that way?
Revealed also is that Lan is Moraine's Warder, although we as the readers don't know at all what that means except that he is quite protective of her. First read I wondered why she needed Lan, who "was a whirlwind…is a weapon", if Moraine could "call a ball of lightning from a clear night sky." This time I simply was impressed again at how fierce his protective instinct was when Rand asked her to hurry. The first, but not the last time we will see it, for sure.
We have earlier the first mention of the "Wheel weaving as the Wheel will" and later Moraine asks about Rand's dreams - seemingly out of the blue. Before he can even speak more than her name…hmm…is that clumsy foreshadowing, or trying to make her sound mysterious, or…suggestions?
Upon ending this chapter I was left with two observations, one that even on first read I caught, that Moraine doesn't speak of the price for her to help Rand. Partly included in that I noticed that she told Lan that they have something small to celebrate. Do you think that is because someone came to her for help, or is it because she has snared one of the three? Or am I just totally off base and it's something else entirely? The second observation I am left with is just this- Rand is quite perceptive. Moraine's calm, firm voice belied the fierceness in her eyes. Rand might be committed to his path now, but he is still alert.
After seven chapters, what did you think? Were you hooked, or did you need to make yourself finish book one? I'll admit I did skip over a lot of the embellishments first time through, but I was hooked, I'm not sure when, exactly, but definitely by this chapter. Now just waiting for A Memory of Light and then many more re-reads to come. What about you?
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