*****SPOILERS*****
Humour
My
favourite humour came from the interactions between Alanna of the Green Ajah
and Maksim, her living Warder.
Alanna
says, “I thought you were eyeing up that baker boy?” to which Maksim replies,
“I was, but have you tasted his bread?”
Alanna
asks if the villagers Maksim are training are ready. He answers with, “We’re
all going to die here.” Then, a little later, Maksim admits that Alanna was
right and he was wrong. Then he asks, “Does that comfort you, now that we’re
all going to die here?”
Maksim
asks Alanna if she wants boiled turnips or figs. She gets really excited for
figs but then he hands her a bowl of boiled turnips. Alanna’s face was
priceless at this moment.
As
always, Matt was a steady source of humour.
During
the first meeting between the Amyrlin and Matt is hilarious, he tries to be
humble. But she doesn’t take his bullshit and instead takes him down a peg.
Matt
complains about how eating with chopsticks is impossible. Then Nynaeve does it
perfectly. Matt groans, “You’re doing this to hurt me, aren’t you?”
Min
asks what the collar looks like. Matt says, “Well, like a collar.” So helpful.
The
eelfinn keeps asking Matt, “What is your need?” One of Matt’s responses is,
“What I need is to stop getting bollocked around.” Another is, “I need to get
the fuck out of here.”
A
few more moments made me snort.
Moraine
tells Rand and his friends, “I know you’ll ignore me. I know you’ll do what you
want.” So funny.
An
Aiel girl says to Rand, “Goatherders herd goats. What do shepherds herd,
sheps?”
Before
the battle, Faille turns to Perrin and says, “You’re no fun when you’re waiting
to die.”
Thought-Producing
Several
different burial practices are depicted. All are incredibly special.
In
Perrin’s family, the dead are given an apple blossom to hold so that a tree
grows above their burial site. Another one is Rand’s ancestors, burying the
dead under a cairn with a window left for the eyes and a single flower.
Alanna’s
culture practices cremation. They then mix the dead’s ashes with water and
clay, making a mask. She says it disappears as the person works through their
grief (presumably because of tears, sweat and cracking from constant face
movements). Considering she’s wearing a mask right now and one of her warders
just died, we see Ihvon with her in both life and death.
Different
moments made you sit back and appreciate how a few words can inspire many
thoughts.
Verin
asks Moraine, “I know you trust in the Dragon, but can you trust in Rand?”
Trusting in a person is harder than trusting an idea. For the world’s fate to
depend on someone you might not trust is frightening.
Siuan
tells Moraine she’ll find her in the next life. If this wasn’t romantic enough,
Moraine then tells Siuan, “I’ll be waiting.” Very sappy but I appreciated it
nonetheless.
Perrin
tells Loial, “Three more fighters here tonight won’t make a difference. Your
book might.” That is, if they don’t win, Loial’s book could help people in the
future fight back against the dark. (As a reader, hearing a book can win a
fight better than fighting is appreciated.)
Rand
is properly smiling as he hangs out with Matt and Perrin.
It
was really nice to see him like this, to not be as frowny as before. The smiles
are genuine and aren’t weighed down with his concerns. After pretending he’d
died, thinking he’d never see his friends again, it’s no surprise talking shit
with them has him looking happier.
They
sit down for a drink, a typical thing for young men. Normalcy for unnormal
people. When doing serious things (like saving the world), it shows that a lack
of happiness is also a serious thing.
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