WoT Reread New Spring Chapter 8: Shreds Of Serenity

WoT Reread New Spring Chapter 8: Shreds of Serenity

·So based on the fact that it seems the searchers are the ones that are giving Moiraine lessons AND that they seemed focused on Artur Hawking (previous huge ta’veren that conquered the continent), ancient writing and philosophy, I think that they were planning on Moiraine hiding the Dragon Reborn. I’m serious! They were probably thinking of having Moiraine becoming Queen of Cairhien after attaining the shawl. She would then be extremely connected to the White Tower so Aes Sedai could come there frequently. Then, once they found the Dragon Reborn, they could drop him off there. His family could come as refugees or servants and if they didn’t want to keep the child, he could be her ward. From there, he would get the best lessons in politics in the place where it was the most ruthless. There would be the best education one could afford thanks to the resources a queen of Cairhien would have, not to mention that the Aes Sedai being welcome means that those that are helping protect or educate him could visit frequently to see how he was progressing. Once the Dragon Reborn would be unveiled to the world, he would have been a ward for the Queen of Cairhien (maybe they would have Moiraine step down and let him be King or just back him heavily) and have the strong alliance of one country already as well as a positive connection to the White Tower. Not to mention they wouldn’t have to keep this secret from Moiraine, because I doubt Tamra didn’t tell the searchers that Moiraine and Siuan were there at the foretelling… Now I wish I was writing this fic instead, but I really am attached to what I’ve got planned. Possibly something for another time.

·Moiraine is extremely bisexual in this moment admiring Elid.

·I’m kind of curious if there were any other foretellings done by Gitara Moroso that specifically foretold the birth of the Dragon Reborn. I don’t necessarily think that what she told to Tigraine counts. On that note, I wonder if Gitara told Tamra about that foretelling. If that was the case, you’d think she would be looking in the Aiel Waste instead.

·The sheer mention of Myrelle makes me angry. I don’t care how helpful she is to Moiraine; she’s an awful person.

·Ah yes. ‘beneath her breasts’. To be fair, this is Moiraine who is extremely bisexual and would notice such a thing.

·Also thank you Elaida for being creepy and unnecessary

·I can’t tell if this is supposed to be a reflection of how the military trains people to do things by instinct under immense pressure, a comment on how people generally underperform under pressure and don’t show their true capabilities, or both. I have no experience in the military and the people I do know don’t talk about it, so I have no confirmation of the former, and I am not inclined to treat Aes Sedai serenity as a concept favorably (I’m sure I will get more into this as the story continues, specifically in the Great Hunt, but also in this book).

·I think what makes me angriest about this whole plot line is the resolution. The simple fact that Elaida gets in trouble for showing favoritism and not for abusing Siuan and Moiraine (or that the White Tower is built in such a way that means this was considered helping by abusing them to the point where Elaida probably genuinely thought that’s what she was doing). Don’t get me wrong, I think it makes sense in context and points out that there are numerous flaws in how systems govern themselves. It makes me angry in a way where the story is unfair, not that the author is a bad author.

·Part of what makes me so angry is the fact that, despite the fact that there are laws within the White Tower to prevent people from being punished with the Power, they make it explicitly clear that people do not follow them. Furthermore, when Accepted complain about the abuse, they somehow suffer for it and if a Novice does it, it is explained to them that they must accept things as they are. I think it should be rather obvious why I dislike the White Tower as an organization.

“Oh Siuan! Aes Sedai do not go about harming one another,” said Moiraine to Siuan about Elaida. After book 10.

WoT Reread New Spring Chapter 7: The Itch

·The moment this chapter title popped up, I assumed it was about them putting itching powder in Elaida’s clothes and her getting back at them for it. I’m probably wrong, but that would be hilarious.

·Moiraine is definitely trying to think several steps ahead about this baby thing.

·I kind of wonder if it was this sort of experience that led Siuan to making the wonder girls her Black Ajah hunters. This is a random thought for this chapter, but here she thinks she’s perfectly capable of finding the Dragon Reborn and saving the world (or at least Moiraine does) as Accepted. Later, the two of them would have to deal with the Black Ajah as newly minted Aes Sedai, which might as well mean that they are Accepted. She probably saw their potential and decided that if she could do it, so could they.

·I’m just going to say this: making lists also help settle me. I’m sure Moiraine doesn’t actually mean it, but sometimes if I get antsy, I start organizing weird things (like finding out all of the stuff I need to gather for crafting every item in a video game, or trying to plan out a writing schedule or when I will play a video game in what order; a lot of it has to do with video games, I’ll admit). I won’t always follow through, but it settles me. If this is actually the case with Moiraine, we can bond over it.

·KERENE! I know you’re going to die, but I’m excited to see you!

·More reminding me that the Green Ajah don’t actually go to battle. Seriously, why not just say they help out in the Borderlands occasionally? I don’t think this is actually true, because the Borderlanders get so excited when Moiraine shows up in Eye of the World, and I recall believing that it meant Aes Sedai came by every now and then to help out. This is definitely one of those times where I like the tv show more, because (while I get the commentary on resting on laurels or a standing military that isn’t actually necessary means nothing) the fact that this organization is made up of exclusively women means that instead of equating it with the institution, it is equating it with women.

·It is also because of the above thing that I believe the Ajah best prepared for the Last Battle was the Red. They have the most experience in battle and fighting channelers. I’m not sure that I don’t believe it even in the show because Green still don’t fight against channelers, but at least the gap is smaller.

·Rena or Rina or Reena? Hafton is Elyas’s Aes Sedai! We know he still seems to be a warder in the book series so I’m trying to figure out if Rina is in the main series at all. It is possible that he was released and it is just not mentioned. It’s so strange that the beginning of the series made it sound like releasing the bond was practically impossible and then towards the end people just… do it. This is without having communicated it with someone that discovered it, which makes it more confusing.

·I’m guess the lacquer on the doors represents their ranks, since they seem to follow military ranks.

·Stepin! Narrow shoulders and sad brown eyes. That makes sense.

·Also, the implication of the items in the room is that Kerene has seen combat. Maybe it’s just not in battle. So much about the Green Ajah just doesn’t make sense.

·It felt like about halfway through the series itself, women were fainting and crying and vomiting left and right so it’s nice to see an Aes Sedai receive what is probably extremely terrifying news (about the Dragon being reborn) and remaining unflappable like they were presented at the beginning of the series.

·Okay so she wasn’t told about that but being told to visit the Amyrlin urgently is probably worrying.

·All of these people being sent to search are going to be killed and probably tortured by the Black Ajah.

·This Keeper is not going to be important. Why am I getting an extensive description of her clothing and jewelry.

·The itch being Moiraine’s curiosity is adorable.

Baby Moiraine is so tenacious and adorable. She is going to be trying to leave a lot sooner after Tamra dies and the next Amyrlin starts pushing for her to become Queen. I’m also wondering what Tamra thinks Siuan and Moiraine are doing and how she would deal with it if she knew or what would change if she didn’t. I’m pretty sure the Black Ajah are going to kill her any time now, so I’m kind of waiting for the next big plot point. It is either Tamra’s death or the Aes Sedai test. The order those two fall in will alter a lot of the framing of how my story goes depending on if I decide to follow New Spring’s timeline. A lot of this part of the story will be gone, since the search is gone, which is changing a lot more than I remember.

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WoT Reread New Spring Chapter 5: The Human Heart

·I just love this peek into young Moiraine’s character. She is so shocked at the idea of a noble person shouting. Scandalizing.

·Siuan is so quick to take charge. It’s in sharp contrast to earlier when she had trouble with it. She’s more in her element calming down a riot than convincing someone to go a certain way. I would worry that it only works because she’s shouting at women (and what that would say that she couldn’t convince a man but women listened to her) BUT it is stated that entire camp went quiet with her voice. This also speaks to Siuan’s strengths. She needs to learn how to be subtly persuasive, but her sheer presence is affecting. In a ttrpg (Chronicles of Darkness) I play, there is a separate ability stat for Manipulation and for Charisma (both are under the social tree). I think Siuan at this moment in time is a perfect illustration of the difference between these two and what it means to be high Charisma and low Manipulation. Furthermore, it also contrasts with where Siuan was in the story while this was published. As of the Crossroads of Twilight, Siuan is the opposite in that she’s learned to lessen her presence even among non-Aes Sedai. This is mostly through doing Bryne’s laundry which I have thoughts on. She’s learned to up her Manipulation in the intervening years between New Spring and Crossroads of Twilight, and relies on it then.

·Babes. I hate the word babes, and it is thanks to this series.

·This noble lady has so much Karen energy.

·Moiraine does not think this adventure is that great. She would like to file a complaint with the Pattern.

·Moiraine believes in not making others suffer for her bad day. My history in customer service thanks her greatly.

·One thing I do think that the Amyrlin (and Moiraine) did not consider was that the child could have been born Aiel. There is a lot of assumption going around that the child will be on this side of the Dragonwall. I mean, Rand is. That does not change my opinion though.

·There is a really sweet moment here that makes me think of Rand, Moiraine, and how they are at the beginning of their journey vs later. Look, I will always find parallels between Rand and Moiraine, because I think there are a lot and that they are good foils in what is the same vs what is different about them. Anyway. Moiraine enters a woman’s name down in the books because she sympathizes with her plight, and she gives her money to take her child to a healer. She and her child are going to starve if they don’t receive help and they aren’t going to get it from the people around them. Now, I don’t think older Moiraine would not do the same in this relatively harmless situation, but she does place an emphasis when she gets older on helping who you actually can but focusing on the greater good. I’m thinking of the inn that got burned down in Eye of the World that Nyneave yelled at her for. There, Moiraine says that she will have the White Tower send money, but if she went back to help the inn she would be putting people that are more important at present in danger. She has shades of it here because she initially wasn’t going to put down the names, but Siuan made her take a closer look. It’s definitely a show of there being a small sense of idealism early on and believing you can save every person you meet and then a more pragmatic viewing of saving the world later on.

·Ah yes. Here comes Elaida. I don’t remember the name of the Aes Sedai with her which means she is either a background character or dead. It’s an ‘m’ name, so probably dead. We are also getting hints of the Aes Sedai hierarchy here, so it’s likely she’s more powerful than Elaida. I don’t think there was anyone more powerful than Elaida, Moiraine, and Siuan already in the Tower when the series started, so dead then.

·It’s sweet that Siuan wanted to stay until the last possible moment so that they could get as many names down as they could.

· Moiraine being a supportive girlfriend.

·Is Katarina one of the darkfriend reds in the series or is that a Katarine? I don’t remember.

·Okay so I remember Merian (I’m sure I didn’t spell that right. I listened/am listening to these books, okay?) the Keeper of Novices was a darkfriend. I think. I may be completely wrong about that, but I remember when I first listened to the book SOMEONE that seemed really nice and important was secretly a darkfriend, but this was only revealed super late into the book after they got to the Borderlands.

·I love that Moiraine hears her uncles are dead and just goes, “Sure. Probably deserved it.” Not in so many words, but that was definitely the vibe that she had going. Merian has no clue, and I don’t blame Moiraine for not sharing. I also didn’t remember that she got told this early. I thought that they had at least another day of taking names and that she got told around the same time they decided they wanted her to be Queen of Cairhien.

·Siuan being a supportive girlfriend.

· It is not wrong to not feel bad for the deaths of horrible family members. Do not punish yourself for it.

·This was such a sweet moment between the two of them, comforting each other between nightmares. We of course know who and what the Dragon Reborn is, but I can see how it would scare them and it’s nice to get the perspective of someone that is afraid of Rand, but pragmatic about it, and also does not know him.

I don’t really have any extra thoughts about this chapter. I made sure to pause the audiobook so that I could get everything out as it was coming to me. Maybe part of the reason that I paid better attention was the fact that I’m in less of a brain fog now or the fact that it is roughly in this chapter where I was planning to start the fic. We’ll see.