Remember me
This week on Reading The Wheel of Time, Morgase contemplates her new place in life and stands up to her “lord” when she needs to. Galad and Perrin also contemplate their roles, and what to do about each other’s presence. It’s chapters six and seven of Towers of Midnight. Let’s get to it!
Morgase serves tea while Perrin holds a meeting. As she works and observes the assembled group, she reflects on how much she has changed since she abdicated her throne. She has particular opinions about Perrin’s promise as a leader, and ideas about advice that would make him better, but she also dislikes him as he appears to be a rebel, and was flying the flag of Manetheren. The fact that Faile and Perrin are perfect compliments to each other and that the marriage connects Perrin to the Saldaean throne is especially worrying.
Perrin is planning to send Alliandre and her people home, including those who have joined them during their march, as soon as making gateways is possible again. Alliandre asks why Perrin would recruit an army just to send it away, and she and Berelain both remind him that he will need every soldier he can get for the Last Battle. Perrin insists that they can go follow Rand, and goes so far as to order that every wolfhead banner in the camp be burned.
“Alliandre, you’ll swear to Rand as soon as we find him. You won’t ride beneath my banner, because I won’t have a banner. I’m a blacksmith, and that’s the end of it. I’ve stomached this foolishness for too long.”
“Perrin?” Faile asked. She looked surprised. “Is this wise?”
Perrin answers that he doesn’t know if it is wise, but it is what he is doing. Masuri calls Perrin a fool, while Tam reminds Perrin that frightened people need something to believe in. Perrin continues to make plans to send everyone to their respective homes, despite the protests and even offense of his listeners. Even Morgase finds herself feeling a little betrayed by his rejection of those following him.
It is eventually decided that Perrin will send out scouts first before putting large numbers of refugees through gateways to other lands. It is also decided that a party will go to Cairhien to fetch supplies, gather news, and try to contact the Dragon Reborn.
Edarra, who has been learning about linking from the Aes Sedai apprentices, suggests they try making a circle in order to give the Asha’man greater strength for making gateways.
Morgase cleans up after the meeting ends, worrying about Balwer betraying her true identity and whether or not Elayne has managed to become Queen of Andor. As she leaves the tent she sees Tallanvor waiting for her, as he often does. Since Malden, Morgase has realized that she has feelings for him.
Perrin calls her back, and Tallanvor as well, and the two go to stand before him and Faile. Perrin remarks that it was suggested to him, when they first arrived at camp, that he marry Maighdin and Tallanvor, and that it is high time he does so; they’ve been mooning about the camp like lovestruck youths. He tells them to return in an hour with any witness they would like to be present.
Outraged at being treated like a silly child, Morgase refuses, telling him that he has no right to order them to marry, as though they are a pair of hounds he wants to breed. Perrin tries to insist that he didn’t mean it that way, but she replies that he said it, and that even a Queen would have no right to order such a thing.
“If I choose to marry a man, I will make that decision on my own. For a man who claims he doesn’t like being in charge, you certainly do like giving commands. How can you be sure that I want this young man’s affections? Do you know my heart?”
Tallanvor stiffens and then quickly leaves the tent. Morgase feels bad for making him believe that she doesn’t want him, but she is tired of being pushed around by the likes of Gaebril and Valda, and now Perrin Aybara.
Morgase measured Perrin, who was blushing. She softened her tone. “You’re young at this yet, so I’ll give you advice. There are some things a lord should be involved in, but others he should always leave untouched. You’ll learn the difference as you practice, but kindly refrain from making demands like this one until you’ve at least counseled with your wife.”
She goes to find Tallanvor, but when she sees a group of Maidens headed to Perrin’s tent, curiosity gets the better of her. Eavesdropping, she hears Sulin report that there is a large party of Whitecloaks on the road directly ahead of them.
Somewhere near the border of Kandor and Saldaea, Lan and Bulen are traveling on the least used roads, mostly at night. Lan is determined not to run into any more people who would like to ride with him. However, while passing an inn along the road, they see three men get up from lounging outside, mount their horses, and begin to follow them. For a moment, Lan thinks they are highway men, until Bulen notices that two of them are wearing the hadori. Lan recognizes fellow Malkieri Nazar and Andere, as well as Rakim, a Saldaean who served in Lan’s army during the Aiel War.
Lan tells them not to follow him, insisting that he is not raising the Golden Crane. The men ride in front of Lan, pointing out that he does not own the roads. In desperation Lan orders them to leave. Rakim laughs, and tells Lan that he is not Rakim’s captain anymore.
“We’d obey a king, of course,” Nazar said.
“Yes,” Andere said. “If he gave us commands, perhaps we would. But I don’t see a king here. Unless I’m mistaken.”
Lan insists that this is his destiny, and that they will die if they come with him. They respond that death is lighter than a feather; if they ride only to their deaths, the trail will be easy. Lan realizes there is nothing he can do, and rides on, now as a group of five.
Galad is eating breakfast in his tent when Byar comes to report. They have established the location of Perrin’s army, and seen that it is flying the flags of Ghealdan and Mayene, though the wolfhead has just been taken down. “Goldeneyes” has been confirmed to be among them. Galad commands Byar to tell him everything about the man.
Perrin prefers to eat meat in the morning, when he can, and is brought a large ham for breakfast. When Gaul comes to report to him, Perrin moves to the floor with his breakfast. Gaul remarks that Perrin does not need to sit on the floor because of him; Perrin responds that he isn’t doing it because he needs to.
Galad is astounded when Byar claims that they fought Trollocs in the Two Rivers, and that Aybara was raising an army there.
“That man, this Perrin Aybara,” Byar continued. “He’s Shadowspawn, as plain as day. They call him Goldeneyes because his eyes are golden, no shade that any person has ever known. We were certain that Aybara was bringing the Trollocs in, using them to force the people of the Two Rivers to join his army. He eventually ran us out of the place. Now he’s here, before us.”
Byar also tells Galad about his first encounter with Aybara two years ago, when Bornhald’s men encountered him running with wolves like an animal. He killed two Children before he could be captured, and later escaped in the night. Byar believes that the Light has delivered Goldeneyes to them.
Gaul reports that the scouts have confirmed that Gil and the others are in the Whitecloak camp, and that they seem healthy and unharmed. Balwer has identified a flag flying over the camp that indicates the presence of the Lord Captain Commander himself. Perrin thinks back to the time he met a Lord Captain of the Whitecloaks, the night Hopper died.
Galad decides that, if what Byar is telling him is true, they must bring Aybara to justice. The prisoners have revealed that the Queen of Ghealdan has sworn allegiance to Aybara, and Byar suggests that freeing an entire nation from the grip of a Darkfriend could earn the Children the loyalty of the Queen—or her successor.
Perrin wonders if the Pattern has drawn him to encounter the Whitecloaks again, and decides that he can’t try to avoid this encounter. Also he will not leave his people in the Whitecloaks’ hands. Gaul reports that the Whitecloaks force is large, but Perrin’s is larger, and has the advantage of having channelers among them.
Galad makes the decision that he will go to Aybara and let him know that they hold his people, and ask him to meet them on the field of battle—that way Galad can draw them out and use his cavalry.
Perrin gives orders to find a better place to camp. He will go to the Whitecloaks to offer parley, and to demand the release of the prisoners.
We’ll give the Children a chance to return our people. If they don’t… well, then we’ll see.”
I want so much justice for Morgase.
Granted, if Perrin is going to be clashing with Galad and the Children of the Light, we may very well get to the point where Morgase is either going to be discovered, or decide that she must reveal herself. I don’t think she even knows that Galad joined the Whitecloaks, does she? I don’t remember that ever coming up, and she was well under Rahvin’s control before Galad left the White Tower, if my memory of events is correct.
I mean, not that I trust my memory when it comes to the various timelines in this series. I’m not great at that on a good day, and the way Jordan handles things is so confusing when it comes to what is happening when. I mean, he clearly knew exactly how the various events lined up with each other, and I assume Sanderson did as well since he had access to all Jordan’s notes. For me, though, I’m not sure what the point of jumping POVs so frequently is, if things aren’t going to mostly line up chronologically. Right now I’m pretty sure we’ve jumped back in time quite a bit for Perrin and Galad’s sections because at some point in The Gathering Storm someone had a vision of Perrin interacting with Whitecloaks—I think Rand or Mat had one of those swirling colors visions—so we at least know that these events are taking place before Rand’s transformation. But I’m not at all sure how long before.
In any case, Morgase may be surprised to find Galad among the Whitecloaks, and she will surely be very surprised to learn that he is now the Lord Captain Commander. I imagine she’ll be pleased that Valda is dead and that the Children following Galad have broken away from Asunawa, but that doesn’t mean she’ll be pleased that her stepson is a part of the organization now. And Galad will of course be shocked to learn that she is alive. I would really enjoy seeing a conversation between them about what they’ve both been through and where they both stand now.
I also completely forgot the consideration that Balwer could out Morgase if he wanted to, but it makes sense to me that he doesn’t. Balwer has a strict code that he adheres to, and it’s clear that while he wants to know everything, he doesn’t mess around with things that aren’t his business. He probably also dislikes what was done to Morgase, at least on principle, and might feel that she deserves whatever anonymity she wants.
I’m curious how Perrin and Faile will react to the revelation. I’m curious how Morgase will react. She considers in this section that it might have been better to kill herself, rather than risk being used against Elayne by enemies of the throne, but also that Elayne wouldn’t let herself risk the safety of Andor. More importantly, she realizes that she wants to live, and that she is in love with Tallanvor.
When you think about it, Morgase is on a very similar journey as Siuan. Removed from her position of power and responsibility by extreme circumstances, she now has to redefine who she is. And it’s even worse for Morgase than it is for Siuan. Siuan is no longer Amyrlin, but she is still an Aes Sedai, still dedicated to the same goal she has always had, which is to do everything in her power to prepare the Dragon Reborn and the White Tower for the Last Battle. That may look a little different than she thought it would, but in some ways this is a good thing, since Siuan never wanted to be Amyrlin in the first place, and would have preferred a role more like the one Moiraine had. Now she has less pressure on her shoulders than she once did, and the opportunity to focus on her goals in a new and exciting way. She does still struggle with her identity however, and one of the ways she gets support in that struggle is through Gareth Bryne.
Morgase, on the other hand, knows that she cannot go back to advise and guide Elayne, even if she wishes she could; she can’t risk people thinking that Elayne is her mother’s puppet, especially since Morgase made so many enemies at the end of her reign. She cannot even risk her true identity being discovered, for fear of it being used against Elayne. She is learning an entirely new identity, one that is not completely removed from her old world but is completely foreign for her to inhabit. This means that she must learn an entire new way of thinking of herself and he place in society, to learn new skills, and to carry different obligations and responsibilities than she once did. Like learning to serve tea.
Morgase was no longer the person she had once been. She wasn’t sure what she was, but she would learn how to do her duty as a lady’s maid. This was becoming a passion for her. A way to prove to herself that she was still strong, still of value.
In a way, it was terrifying that she worried about that.
It’s understandable that Morgase feels terrified by the desire to prove herself, but she has just lost basically her entire sense of identity. We see how unbalancing that is throughout chapter six; at some points she catches herself thinking politically about Perrin or the situation at hand, and then mentally upbraids herself for still thinking like a queen when she isn’t one anymore. And yet we also see evidence throughout the chapter of how she has already changed and the new perspective she has on everything that is happening.
I was particularly struck by Morgase’s musing that she no longer longs for her throne but rather for a sense of stability. This impulse is so powerful that she is momentarily offended by Perrin’s attempts to remove himself from his position as leadership and send his followers away—before she remembers that he is a threat to Andor, at least. Much in the way that Siuan is simultaneously jealous of and comforted by Egwene’s position as Amyrlin, Morgase is aware of how much she knows and how skilled she is as a leader, but she is also already adapting to the fact that those heavy responsibilities that she carried as Queen are no longer hers to bear, and there is a relief that comes with that, even if there is fear and loss as well.
Siuan trusts and admires Egwene, and as Bryne pointed out to her, she built the foundation for Egwene to be the Amyrlin she is today. Morgase did that for Elayne as well, raising her to understand the responsibility and teaching her all the skills, both political and social, needed to not only be a successful leader but a good one. The kind of Queen who is beloved, as Morgase was before Rahvin messed everything up. Morgase clearly trust that Egwene will take good care of Andor—she is even confident that Elayne wouldn’t endanger the nation even if someone tried to use Morgase against her—and so it is possible for Morgase let go of her sense of responsibility as the (former) queen. Just as Siuan is able to trust Egwene with the future of the Aes Sedai, and the leadership of the world into the Last Battle.
Morgase clearly believes that Perrin intends, or is at least considering, either conquering Andor or establishing his own kingdom out of a section of Andor. Her reasons for this are his declaring himself Lord of the Two Rivers as well as the flying of the Manetheren flag. I can certainly understand the former, but there is a pretty big jump from the Two Rivers deciding they need a lord and that man wanting to be a king.
Of course, plenty of the nobility of every country are covetous of the crown—we just saw what it looks like when succession isn’t smooth in Andor—and Morgase is used to dealing with those who have bloodlines and power. I don’t think she’s going to stay Faile’s maid much longer, but she may very well continue to learn more about what it is like to be a servant, a farmer, or an ordinary person and how different their perspective on the world really is. I think this would ease her suspicion of Perrin tremendously. Perhaps she will even realize what it would be like to be someone from the Two Rivers, technically aware that you are part of Andor but functionally disconnected from the concept of being ruled by the Queen. The Two Rivers never needed a lord in times of peace, but now it does, both to lead the people through the tumultuous times that have come upon them and also to advocate on their behalf with the Queen of Andor. The world is changing and places that were once far from each other are becoming easier and easier to access, now that gateways have been (re)discovered. The Two Rivers is not going to be isolated any longer, not from war, and not from politics.
If you had asked me when I began this series, I don’t think I would have guessed that Perrin would resist leadership and responsibility longer than Mat does. But now that we’re here, it actually makes perfect sense that Perrin is having a harder time. Mat has a reputation as a scoundrel who would rather play than work, but given how young he is, that’s not exactly strange. He’s also a person whose emotions are usually quite visible, which means he doesn’t always curtail his irritations, anger, or other negative emotions the way society expects him to—thereby making him seem irresponsible or annoying. But his positive emotions are visible too, even when he doesn’t want them to be. It’s clear that he cares about people. He can’t abandon the Aes Sedai or the Windfinders in Ebou Dar, even though he puts himself in danger freeing them. He can’t turn his back on the men who begin to follow him, and once he accepts that he has been chosen as their leader and that the Pattern won’t allow him to avoid that fate, he dedicates himself to being the best leader he can be. Sure, he makes mistakes, but his intentions are clear.
Mat is pragmatic that way.
One can hardly blame Mat for trying to avoid being caught up in war and becoming a general—war is bad and so is dying. But he has actually taken to leadership fairly easily, both because he is practical and because he is a people person. He inspires his men with his good luck and incredible tactical prowess, but also because he is the sort of person who is easy to like. He can make friends anywhere, with people from every walk of life.
Perrin is the opposite. Although he is as caring and warm as Mat, Perrin never allowed himself to have a playful or rebellious phase as a kid, because he was so worried that he might harm someone without meaning to. Even before he became a lord, even before he became a general, Perrin was very aware of how he could possibly harm others by making a mistake. When he took command of the battle against the Trollocs in Emond’s Field, he had to learn the hard lesson, one that Rand and Mat also learned, that being a general means being responsible for the deaths of those who follow you. Even if you do everything right, people die in battle, and you will feel like it is your fault.
Now, as a lord, things are even more complicated. Perrin feels immense guilt over how he prioritized rescuing Faile over all other duties, and is also aware that he would do the same thing again. He has argued with several people, including Faile, that this makes him a bad leader, but really, it just makes him human. Nobody is perfect, and no leader is always selfless in every situation for the entirety of their lives. But Perrin was already primed to think of himself as someone who is inherently dangerous. And then he made a choice to put down his blacksmith’s hammer and pick up an axe. And then he learned he was a wolfbrother. And then he became a general, and then a lord. And that concept of himself as dangerous was compounded.
Not to mention that if Perrin actually accepts his new identity as Lord of the Two Rivers, then he has to fully let go of his identity as a blacksmith. Which is his biggest shield against accepting the wolf. Perrin is so afraid that he will become like Noam, almost convinced that any part of dabbling in that side of himself will end in losing his human side entirely, despite the fact that Elyas has managed that balance just fine. He doesn’t want to think of himself as a wolf or a lord, and he’s been incredibly stubborn when it comes to realizing that he has already become both, whether he wanted it to or not.
Last week we saw him make the first steps towards understanding, and therefore accepting, the wolf inside of him. But this week we see him go back to old, failed habits, trying to send away the people who have come to him for protection, ordering that the wolfhead banner not only be taken down but actually burned. Perrin does not seem to realize, or maybe just can’t accept, that he can’t undo the transformation that has already taken place. He states that the Two Rivers men have gotten “too attached” to the wolfhead banner in a very dismissive way, as though they’re children who should know better than to covet something they can’t have. But this isn’t a whim, these men following the wolfhead, and all Perrin is succeeding in doing by doubling down on his insistence that he is not their lord and making them destroy the banners is causing the very kind of hurt he’s afraid of causing by being a lord in the first place.
I can appreciate his desire to send the Two Rivers folks home where they will be safe. Perrin can’t go home and be safe, after all, so of course he would long for that and want that for his people. However, he’s being intentionally naive if he thinks that anybody will be safe anywhere., and letting down the people who have put their trust in him.
Of course, Perrin is probably thinking about Aram in all this. Perrin decided that Aram had a right, that every man has a right, to take up arms in defense of his family and his home… and look how that turned out. He’s probably afraid of the same fate befalling the men of the Two Rivers. At least subconsciously.
Still, I think he really needs the reality check from Morgase, and also one from his wife. Maybe Tam, too.
I don’t really know what that “I’m just going to make you two get married right now,” thing was, exactly. I understand why Linni suggested it to him in the first place, because she’s like an overbearing mom who thinks she knows best for her daughter in all things, and that everybody should just let her make all the decisions. But what possessed Perrin to suddenly act on those words from months ago? It’s not like Tallanvor and “Maighdin” are causing a problem in the camp, even if people have noticed the way they are towards each other. Is this another example of Two Rivers prudishness, like we see from Nynaeve towards Rand and Min’s relationship? Or is Perrin just tired of the extra information his nose is giving him?
Morgase has a point about how he’s happy to play the lord when it serves him. It’s actually the same point that Berelain makes after Perrin says he’d like to “be rid” of her and she replies that he was hardly reluctant to demand the support of the Winged Guard to help rescue Faile. Perrin has changed more than he realizes, I think.
Perrin is not the only one shirking a leadership that isn’t his to shirk. It’s interesting to see how important the oath to avenge what cannot be defended is to Lan, but the idea of owing any kind of debt to those Malkieri who are still alive doesn’t occur to him. Or if it does, he shies away from admitting it, even to himself, out of some combination of survivor’s guilt and fear. He, too, refuses to fly his banner. He, too, denies being the leader and yet is happy to give orders (or try to) when there’s something he wants. Morgase tells Perrin off for trying to use a power that a lord doesn’t actually have, while Andere, Rakim, and Nazar remind Lan that he can’t order them to leave if he is denying being a king. Different situations, same vibe.
There are parallels between Perrin and Galad in chapter seven as well. We see both of them trying to be measured in their response to the other party’s presence, so much so that the POV sections are delivered in bite-sized chunks so that we can see them both tackling the same decisions at the same time. Neither is eager for a conflict, but both feel compelled to at least consider that there must be a fight—Galad because of what Byar told him, Perrin because he won’t leave any of their people in the hands of the Whitecloaks. Galad is willing to acknowledge the probable necessity of a battle, while Perrin won’t say it, but they both indicate they are willing to fight if they must.
(Man, Byar really is the worst. I wouldn’t be shocked if he turned out to be a Darkfriend, sowing chaos amongst a force that is dedicated to the light but easily swayed by zealotry. Some of his claims about Perrin could be put down to misunderstanding and prejudice, but some are clearly all-out lies. What he says about the occurrences in the Two Rivers especially.
Not that that needs to be an explanation for what he’s like. He could just be, you know, a zealot.)
The Whitecloaks would lose that battle, of course. But they don’t turn from a righteous fight even if it’s certain death. And Perrin will be trying to avoid any deaths if at all possible.
Somehow, I don’t think it will come to blows. Both Perrin and Galad are rational and measured men, and there are enough people in Perrin’s camp, like Balwer and especially Morgase, that I think they will be able to sway Galad into some kind of compromise or truce. You know, show him that it’s the right thing to do. Prove that Perrin is a good man and not a Darkfriend.
But the contrast between Perrin and Galad’s breakfast was what struck me the most. Galad, a high-ranking nobleman and stepson of the Queen, eats the same plain porridge as his men to show respect and prevent resentment or jealousy among the men.
Some Lords Captain Commander had dined far better than their men. That would not do for Galad. Not when so many in the world starved.
This is Galad doing what is right again, respecting not only his men but all the people of the world, regardless of bloodline or background or station. It also made me think of the conversation between Elayne and Elaida, way back when we first met them in The Eye of the World, when Elayne pointed out the fact that they had power-grown flowers in the palace was an affront to the people in the kingdom whose crops would not grow. Elaida responded that they could never fix that problem for everyone so why shouldn’t they use it for themselves. It was a factually true statement: Whether or not she grew roses in the palace did not affect how much she or any other person could help those who are struggling. But what Elayne realized is the same as what Galad is aware of here—that appearances matter, that the symbolism of the leaders having the same food and the same conditions as those who follow them matters, even if it cannot change the physical situation.
Perrin, on the other hand, the man who grew up in a small farming village and won’t stop insisting that he’s just a blacksmith, has a big ol’ hunk of ham for breakfast. It’s the wolf, not the lord, that hungers for all that meat, but it does make him look like he is enjoying the trappings of his new station, at least a little bit. Not so much that I think people would resent him, especially given that their food supplies seem less prone to spoilage than most (Perrin’s ta’veren presence at work, perhaps). And then we see Perrin treat Gaul with respect, as an equal, when he moves to sit on the floor with him.
I really did love the bit where Perrin got annoyed about utensils and wished he could just use his hands. He’s already thinking of himself as a wolf, whether he means to or not. Just as he is already acting like a lord sometimes, even though he doesn’t want to be one.
We’ll be catching up with Mat next week as we cover chapters eight and nine, and some of the vision Perrin saw in the Wolf Dream will come to pass. Until then, have a great week! icon-paragraph-end