Wheel of Time: Don’t Choose Me!
See this cat? This cat is problems.
Siouxsie was born feral, and either she had birth defects or something hardcore happened to her very early, because the rescue had to do tons of operations on her as a kitten. She’s a tripod (one back leg is gone). Between starting out feral and medical trauma, she’s also skittish AF and yet in her way, she’s also really lovey and wants attention.
Just from me. I am the one trustworthy person in the world (if I don’t try to hold her or make any sudden moves…also my husband can occasionally be tolerated for brief periods but he needs to be lying prone on the floor).
She has periods where she is more or less paranoid. When she’s good, as in the picture above, she will come out to the living room when she wants some attention. She will let me skritch her from where I’m sitting, although she’ll very often sit just a bit out of reach and glare at me for not reaching her because her ability to judge distances is for shit.
When she’s less good, like right now, she will refuse to leave her hidey-holes to fetch me. But that doesn’t mean she’ll go without. No. She will meow and meow and meow until I come to her. For hours if need be. Day or night. Loudly.
What does this have to do with The Eye of the World? Just this:
Being the Chosen One sucks.
That’s the take home message of this first book for me. We start with a group of fresh-faced young people. It’s been a lean year so far, but they’re poised to have some big fun at their Bel Tine festival. Play some games, flirt, run around! Life looks pretty well laid out for them, and while some of them think that sounds a bit dull it also sounds safe. Cozy. Pretty amenable all in all.
And then, suddenly, hundreds of pages of nonstop chaos. All five of them – I’m counting the whole Emond’s Field gang here, the three ta’veren boys and the two girls both gifted in the Power and thus possible future Aes Sedai – find themselves marked off as pieces of importance in potentially earth-shattering matters. They’re all hunted by monster hordes and manipulated by people in power.
It’s not quite as dire for the girls. Egwene seems to actually be looking forward to studying with the Aes Sedai – she doesn’t mind, as Nynaeve does, the sense that there may not be that much choice in the matter. But if they acclimate to Tar Valon, they can at least look forward to being relatively safe and accepted in a setting where they have value.
Mat has the least worry about being “chosen” for something so far, but that’s because he’s too busy worrying about how he picked up a cursed dagger that’s slowly killing him. Perrin’s weirdo destiny involves him having a psychic link with wolves, and he’s plenty worried about that. Is he a monster himself now? Can he control it? Will girls like him?
And then there’s poor Rand.
So look, you’re some kid from out in the sticks, living with your dad. And suddenly one day your village is attacked by Trollocs, your dad’s hurt, he mumbles something like he’s not really your dad. You run off with an Aes Sedai and the Trollocs follow you and your friends, because they want you for something. The three of you in particular! You run and run, and you’re all having nightmares about someone who might be the Devil who also wants you three in particular. You’re never more than one step ahead and sometimes not even that, and oh, by the way, one of you might be gifted with the Power yourselves, which while it’s fine for women is a death sentence for men and might also be a sign that it’s your destiny to rip your entire world apart.
You get to think about that a lot, out running constantly. For a long time when it’s just you and Mat, who’s going dagger-bonkers but also shares your nightmares and wakes up screaming about his eyes when you’ve been dreaming that the Devil went after your eyes. And weird things keep happening just when you need them to, big things, things like people getting hit by lightning. But you don’t want to think too much about that, do you? Because death sentence, ripping apart the world, etc. Anyway, much too busy hiding from monsters and any random person you see who might also be trying to get you.
Tag, you’re It
And for me, that’s the most powerful thing about the final battle in the first book. Amidst war and quake and fire, my eye goes to the shining young man down on his knees screaming please, no!
So often we paint being The Chosen as something marvelous and special. We think we want to be the princess, the Jedi, the whatever else. Because it’s a weight we don’t have to really measure, let alone carry. But in this instant, Rand can see it, and he falls to the ground begging it to go away. Because who wouldn’t? Who in the world would want to be the Dragon?
I think before he even starts trying to control his abilities and fulfill his mission, Rand is going to need some time just to absorb it all emotionally and mentally. It’s too big to just step right into.
Poor kid.
