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The Great Hunt: Chapter Summaries

Prologue: In the Shadow (Amadaine 1 N.E. 998)

The Darkfriend Bors meets with others wrapped in dark cloaks. Ba’alzamon implants orders in their minds and instructs them to watch for Rand, Mat, and Perrin.

Chapter 1: The Flame of Tar Valon (Amadaine 2 N.E. 998)

Rand trains with Lan in Fal Dara. He has delayed leaving because he isn’t ready to say goodbye to his friends. Trumpets announce the arrival of the Amyrlin Seat, leader of the Aes Sedai.

Chapter 2: The Welcome (Amadaine 2 N.E. 998)

Rand attempts to leave before the Amyrlin can gentle him, but finds that all of his clothes have been replaced by fancy ones, some embroidered with a dragon. Lord Agelmar welcomes the Amyrlin. Rand attempts to ride out, but all the gates have been ordered shut.

Chapter 3: Friends and Enemies (Amadaine 2 N.E. 998)

Rand searches for another way out of Fal Dara, and fails. He insults Mat, Loial, and Perrin, trying to distance himself from them. Egwene suggests that Rand hide in the dungeons, where Padan Fain is imprisoned, but Rand’s presence makes Fain crazier than normal. Egwene decides to hide Rand in the women’s quarters.

Chapter 4: Summoned (Amadaine 2 N.E. 998)

Moiraine is briefed on events down south. The Great Hunt for the Horn of Valere has been called, and there is fighting on Almoth Plain.

Chapter 5: The Shadow in Shienar (Amadaine 2 N.E. 998)

Moiraine presents the Horn of Valere to the Amyrlin Siuan Sanche and reports the recent movements of the Shadow. Moiraine and Siuan have been searching for Rand for the last twenty years.

Whitecloak Captain Geofram Bornhald has been sent to Almoth Plain to face a new enemy from across the sea. Liandrin Sedai orders the women of Fal Dara keep to find Rand, Mat, and Perrin.

Chapter 6: Dark Prophecy (Amadaine 2 N.E. 998)

Rand wakes in Egwene’s room; Nynaeve tells him Egwene has gone down to visit Padan Fain again. Alarms ring. Rand dodges a Myrddraal, then Liandrin, and finds Egwene and Mat unconscious in the dungeon. Padan Fain has escaped⁠, taking Mat’s dagger with him⁠, and the Horn of Valere is missing.

Chapter 7: Blood Calls Blood (Amadaine 3 N.E. 998)

Verin Sedai translates the dark prophecy which was written on the walls of the dungeon. She believes the Forsaken Lanfear, once the Dragon’s lover, is free. Verin also startles Moiraine and Siuan by revealing that she knows one of the boys from Emond’s Field can channel.

Perrin attempts to visit Mat, and is chased out by Leane. Rand is summoned by the Amyrlin Seat; Lan coaches him on what to do and say.

Chapter 8: The Dragon Reborn (Amadaine 3 N.E. 998)

The Amyrlin asks Rand whether he intends to join the hunt for Mat’s dagger and the Horn. She knows Rand can channel, but does not intend to gentle him because he is the Dragon Reborn. Moiraine recounts the Foretelling which sent her and Siuan searching for him. Rand believes they want to use him.

Chapter 9: Leavetakings (Amadaine 3 N.E. 998)

Lan corners Nynaeve and gives her his signet ring. Nynaeve has decided to go to the White Tower so she can learn enough to confront Moiraine. Rand says his goodbyes to Egwene; he will help Mat recover the dagger.

Chapter 10: The Hunt Begins (Amadaine 3–9 N.E. 998)

As both groups prepare to set out, an arrow narrowly misses both Rand and the Amyrlin.

Rand’s party is led by Sheinarans Ingtar and Uno, and guided by the Sniffer Hurin⁠—a man who can smell the trails of criminals. Every village they follow Fain through is empty. At the second, Rand steps into a trap which he only escapes by using saidin. They find a Myrddraal murdered.

Chapter 11: Glimmers of the Pattern (Amadaine 9 N.E. 998)

Ingtar tells Rand that he is second in command, despite Rand’s protests. Ingtar gives Rand a wrapped bundle containing the Dragon Banner; Perrin and Mat confront him about it and learn that he can channel.

Chapter 12: Woven in the Pattern (Amadaine 3–9 N.E. 998)

Egwene and Nynaeve head south with the Amyrlin’s party. Verin Sedai gives a lesson on the One Power. Moiraine vanishes before the party boards ships for Tar Valon. Egwene learns that she might be a Dreamer.

Chapter 13: From Stone to Stone (Amadaine 10 N.E. 998)

Rand, Hurin, and Loial wake to find the others missing. They discover a Portal Stone, which Loial believes has transported them to an alternate world; Rand tries to use it to return, but fails. Hurin can still smell Fain’s trail, and they follow it south.

Chapter 14: Wolfbrother (Amadaine 10 N.E. 998)

After Rand and Hurin’s disappearance, Perrin reaches out to the wolves to help track Padan Fain. The wolves have given Perrin the name Young Bull.

Perrin leads the party south, past where the captured villagers have all been murdered. Verin catches up with them, claiming Moiraine sent her.

Chapter 15: Kinslayer (Amadaine 10 N.E. 998)

Rand, Loial, and Hurin traverse an eerily empty landscape. Ba’alzamon appears before Rand in a dream-like vision, reminiscing over their Ages-long battle. Rand’s sword burns him, leaving a heron branded across his palm.

Chapter 16: In the Mirror of Darkness (Amadaine 11 N.E. 998)

Rand’s party finds a monument which was supposedly built to commemorate a battle of Hawkwing’s, but the version in this mirror world is a tribute to the Shadow. They find a woman called Selene being chased by a _grolm_⁠—a three-eyed, froglike bear creature⁠—which Rand slays. Selene insists on calling Rand a lord and tries to entice him with talk of glory.

Chapter 17: Choices (Amadaine 11 N.E. 998)

Rand’s party, plus Selene, are chased by another pack of grolm. Despite Rand’s desire to follow the trail, the grolm chase them toward a Portal Stone Selene has told them about. Selene wants Rand to live in the Oneness⁠—what Rand’s father called the flame and the void⁠—which he enters when he draws his bow. Rand intentionally seizes saidin to use the Portal Stone.

Chapter 18: To the White Tower (Amadaine 13 N.E. 998)

Egwene dreams of Rand and Ba’alzamon. The Amyrlin gives Egwene and Nynaeve a lesson, which goes poorly for Nynaeve. They arrive in Tar Valon.

Chapter 19: Beneath the Dagger (Sunday N.E. 998)

After days of waiting, Rand’s party spots Fain’s campfire. They sneak down and recover the Horn and Mat’s dagger, then ride for Cairhien.

Chapter 20: Saidin (Amadaine 15–16 N.E. 998)

Rand’s party passes a dig site where a huge statue is being unearthed. The statue resonates with saidin, tempting Rand to seize it; he resists.

Chapter 21: The Nine Rings (Amadaine 16–17 N.E. 998)

Rand’s party stops at an inn, where Rand is again mistaken for a lord. He plays the flute, drawing the attention of a Cairhienin captain, Caldevwin. When Caldevwin offers to escort the party to Cairhien, Hurin warns Rand about Daes Dae’mar, the Cairhienin Game of Houses. Selene vanishes, leaving only a note.

Chapter 22: Watchers (Amadaine 16 N.E. 998)

Moiraine studies old texts with sisters Adeleas and Vandene. She informs Lan that, should she die, his bond will transfer to a Green sister named Myrelle. A Draghkar attempts to kill her; neither she nor Lan could sense it.

Chapter 23: The Testing (Amadaine 16 N.E. 998)

Nynaeve is taken to a room with three silver arches, a ter’angreal which she must step through⁠—and return⁠—to become Accepted. Inside the first arch, Nynaeve is chased by, then chases and confronts Aginor. Through the second, she finds Emond’s Field in the hands of a sadistic Wisdom. Through the third, Lan is her husband, and begs her not to leave.

Chapter 24: New Friends and Old Enemies (Amadaine 17 N.E. 998)

Egwene meets her neighbor and fellow novice Elayne Trakand. Elayne introduces her to Min, and points out the gentled Logain. Min explains that she can see auras around people. Elayne then introduces Galad, Gawyn, and Elaida. Elaida interrogates Min.

Chapter 25: Cairhien (Amadaine 17 N.E. 998)

Rand’s party arrives in Cairhien. They are there for less than half a day before invitations from noble houses start arriving. Rand burns the invitations, then heads to the Foregate⁠—a haphazard warren of streets outside the main city. He finds Thom Merrilin, who he believed to be dead.

Chapter 26: Discord (Amadaine 17 N.E. 998)

Rand takes Thom’s harp and flute to Thom’s inn in the foregate. Rand and Loial meet Dena, Thom’s new apprentice. Thom refuses to help Rand deliver the Horn of Valere.

Chapter 27: The Shadow in the Night (Amadaine 17 N.E. 998)

Returning to their own inn, Rand and Loial are attacked by Trollocs in the streets of the Foregate. Selene rejoins them briefly, then vanishes again. They hide inside the Illuminator’s chapterhouse; Rand shoots fireworks at a Trolloc and sets the chapterhouse on fire.

Chapter 28: A New Thread in the Pattern (Amadaine 18? N.E. 998)

Perrin’s party encounters an Aielman looking for the prophesied He Who Comes With the Dawn. Mat and Perrin speculate whether he means Rand.

Chapter 29: Seanchan (Amadaine 22? N.E. 998)

Bornhald is concerned because a contingent within the Whitecloaks⁠—the Questioners⁠—are stirring up trouble on Toman Head but ignoring the invading Seanchan.

Bayle Domon’s ship, the Spray, is attacked by a Seanchan ship and forced to surrender. The Seanchan captain, Egeanin, orders Domon to sail to Falme. Egeanin takes Domon’s cuendillar disk as a gift for High Lord Turak. Turak takes a liking to Domon.

Chapter 30: Daes Dae’mar (Amadaine 23 N.E. 998)

After burning every invitation from every lord and lady in the city, Rand receives letters from the king of Cairhien and his bitter rival, Lord Barthanes. Hurin convinces him not to burn them.

Rand visits the guardhouse to ask whether Ingtar has arrived, and returns to find the inn burning, Hurin injured, and the chest with the Horn of Valere and Mat’s dagger gone. Perrin’s party arrives, too late.

Chapter 31: On the Scent (Amadaine 23 N.E. 998)

Verin Heals Hurin, who tracks Fain to Lord Barthanes’ manor. Verin tells Rand the half-buried statue they passed is a sa’angreal, attuned to saidin and powerful enough to destroy an entire country.

Chapter 32: Dangerous Words (Amadaine 24 N.E. 998)

Rand uses his invitation to gain entry to Lord Barthanes’ manor and schmoozes while Mat⁠—dressed as a servant⁠—searches with Hurin. Barthanes remarks that Rand resembles Andoran royalty. Rand sees Thom entertaining Barthanes’ guests, and speaks with him.

Chapter 33: A Message From the Dark (Amadaine 24 N.E. 998)

Fain’s trail dead-ends at a Waygate inside the manor’s garden. Rand opens the Waygate, but finds Machin Shin waiting for him. He channels fire to keep it from escaping while Loial shuts the gate. As they leave, Barthanes delivers a message from Fain: he will wait on Toman Head.

Chapter 34: The Wheel Weaves (Amadaine 25 N.E. 998)

Thom returns home to find Dena murdered. The men who killed her claim Barthanes sent them to pump him for information on Rand. Thom kills them, learns they actually worked for King Galldrian, and sets out to commit regicide.

Padan Fain reaches Toman Head and ingratiates himself with Lord Turak by giving him the Horn of Valere in its chest. Turak opens the lock (which defeated Fain), but refuses to return the Shadar Logoth dagger.

Chapter 35: Stedding Tsofu (Amadaine 26 N.E. 998)

Rand’s party travels to the nearest stedding in search of a Waygate. They meet Erith, a young Ogier woman, and three Aiel women supposedly there for sung wood. Loial worries that he’ll end up married if the Elders learn he is outside his stedding without permission.

Chapter 36: Among the Elders (Amadaine 26 N.E. 998)

Rand’s party asks permission to use the Ways, and are shown an Ogier who encountered Machin Shin⁠—he is a mindless husk. The Elders grant permission, but Machin Shin is waiting at the gate again. They determine to use a Portal Stone.

Chapter 37: What Might Be (Amadaine 26–Nesan 19 N.E. 998)

Rand uses the Portal Stone. He and each of his party experience thousands of alternate lives, and arrive on Toman Head in the autumn⁠—four months later than when they started.

Chapter 38: Practice (Choren 23 N.E. 998)

Liandrin tells Egwene and Nynaeve that Rand and the others are in danger, and says to meet her in the Ogier grove. Elayne and Min overhear from the next room; Min’s viewing convinces them they all need to go.

Chapter 39: Flight From the White Tower (Choren 23 N.E. 998)

Egwene and her friends sneak down to the stables and ride to the Ogier grove. Liandrin leads the group through the Ways.

Chapter 40: Damane (Choren 24? N.E. 998)

Arriving on Toman Head, Liandrin betrays Egwene and her friends to the Seanchan High Lady Suroth. Nynaeve and Elayne escape, but Egwene is put in a collar called an a’dam and leashed to the sul’dam Renna. Renna informs Egwene that she is damane, and that she can only channel when given permission.

Chapter 41: Disagreements (Nesan 22 N.E. 998)

Rand feels a ta’veren pull toward Falme. Ba’alzamon appears to Rand in the night; Rand channels at him, to no avail. Ba’alzamon offers to teach Rand to channel, then vanishes.

Chapter 42: Falme (Nesan 23 N.E. 998)

Nynaeve and Elayne scope out the damane kennels. Min visits Egwene, who despairs of ever getting free. Renna returns and finds that Egwene has been trying to channel without permission; she strips Egwene of her name and calls her Tuli.

Chapter 43: A Plan (Nesan 23 N.E. 998)

Min runs into Elayne and Nynaeve, and takes them to Bayle Domon. Nynaeve negotiates passage away from Falme.

Chapter 44: Five Will Ride Forth (Nesan 25 N.E. 998)

Perrin barely dodges Bornhald and his Whitecloak army. Bornhald prepares to engage the Seanchan, ordering Byar to watch from a distance and report the outcome to Bornhald’s son. Verin sends Rat, Mat, Perrin, Ingtar, and Hurin into Falme.

Chapter 45: Blademaster (Nesan 26 N.E. 998)

Nynaeve, Elayne, and Min kidnap a sul’dam named Seta and steal her dress. They put the a’dam on Seta. Bayle Domon grows impatient to leave. Rand’s group sneaks into Lord Turak’s house and retrieves Mat’s dagger and the Horn. Rand spots Egwene across the street, but Turak returns and confronts them. Rand duels Turak⁠—a blademaster⁠—and defeats him by entering the void.

Chapter 46: To Come Out of the Shadow (Nesan 26 N.E. 998)

Rand’s distraction allows Nynaeve to free Egwene; they leave Seta and Renna collared in the kennels. Bornhald begins his assault. Ingtar admits to being a Darkfriend, and takes on a suicidal task as penance.

Chapter 47: The Grave Is No Bar to My Call (Nesan 26 N.E. 998)

Trapped between the Whitecloaks and the Seanchan, Mat sounds the Horn of Valere. Heroes out of legend appear, including Artur Hawkwing and the famous archer Birgitte. Perrin raises the Dragon Banner. Rand duels Ba’alzamon, baiting him into leaving himself open by taking a wound in his side.

Chapter 48: First Claiming (Nesan 26 N.E. 998)

The Heroes of the Horn drive the Seanchan into the sea. Min finds Rand, alive but wounded. Selene appears, tells Min she is the Forsaken Lanfear, then vanishes again.

Chapter 49: What Was Meant to Be (Danu 3 N.E. 998)

Rand wakes and learns that his duel with Ba’alzamon was visible to everyone in Falme. His other palm is now branded with a heron, fulfilling prophecy, and a second seal on the Dark One’s prison has broken. The Shienarans acknowledge Rand as the Dragon Reborn.

Chapter 50: After (Danu 3 N.E. 998)

Rumors of the Dragon’s rebirth spread across the world.