Thom Merrilin

[WolfKing]

Apologies if this answer is obvious or already discussed, but was it ever known why Thom was in the Two Rivers in the beginning?  He had never been there before so why then?  A specific reason or just a pull from the pattern?

[ErikTheBald]

Thom was invited by the Village Council for Winternight

 

"When I finally do arrive, chilled to the bone and ready for a warm bed, your innkeeper grumbles about the hour as if I were a wandering swineherd and your Village Council hadn't begged me to display my art at this festival of yours."

[mb]

Thom mentions a hill just before the quoted sentences; I take that to be Watch Hill.

 

Thom was invited by the Village Council for Winternight

That would probably have been the reason Thom stayed.

A gleeman I take was not requested, and no one in the area seemed to know Thom before he came.

 

 

Thom might have found out about Two Rivers in Baerlon and decided to come for the celebration.

 

[The Fisher King]

Yeah, if you go back in early parts of TEOTW, it almost seemed like The Two Rivers Folks were almost as excited about The Peddler (one padan fain) coming as they were by the prospect of The Gleeman.

 

In fact some were a little miffed that good, hard-earned money was going towards The Gleeman's salary. I think Cenn was mostly behind that though...maybe Jory Congar.

 

 

Fish

[alligator]

Pretty sure Thom was asked by Bran to come down for Winternight. They didn't want everyone to get excited just for him to not show, though, so it wasn't spread around.

 

I asked a similar question in the 'Ask a Simple Question' thread, and the answer I got said that it's simple coincidence :)

[Luckers]

Yes, Bran and the Villiage Council did send a request for Thom to come (and for fireworks).

 

Keep in mind that Thom was evidently meant to serve as a red herring for Fain in who brought the Trollocs--his deep interest in the boys for no explained reason (at the time). Lan's comment that he saw nothing of Thom during the fight. The subtle antagonism Thom shows Moiraine, and his manipulation of the boys against her--all explained by Oweyn, but still, his early presense in the book was meant to seem suspicious.

[Norm]

Just speculation, but Moiraine and Thom seemed to know each other already in TEOTW. Obviously this proves true later. Given Thom's initial feelings about AS, it seems he came across Moiraine and Lan prior to the opening of TEOTW and likely decided to follow them to Emond's Field and see what they were "stirring up". If a prequel ever gets written, I expect this to be one of the last scene's with Thom saying something like "I wonder what that fool woman is going to get me into now." Kinda Thom-ish...

[HuntSeat_Hero]

Thom, being the well-travelled and well-informed person that he was, knew about the Damodreds and other royal families.  Having spent time in the royal court at Caemlyn certainly gave him an advantage.  The Damodreds may share certain aspects of their facial appearance, combine that with the fact that Moiraine was obviously a noblewoman by her mannerisms, and it would not be out of the question for Thom to have figured out who she was early on in the story.  He may have met several Damodreds early on in his career and recognized something familiar in her appearance.

 

 

[mb]

Obviously this proves true later.

I guess you are implying their discussion in Shadow Rising.

That to me only proves knowledge about each other; not necessarily personal knowledge.

 

Yes, Bran and the Villiage Council did send a request for Thom to come (and for fireworks).

I take they actually asked Thom to stay, not to come.  The first time any Two Rivers person met Thom I take is after he came.

 

[jaldy3]

Thom, being the well-travelled and well-informed person that he was, knew about the Damodreds and other royal families.  Having spent time in the royal court at Caemlyn certainly gave him an advantage.  The Damodreds may share certain aspects of their facial appearance, combine that with the fact that Moiraine was obviously a noblewoman by her mannerisms, and it would not be out of the question for Thom to have figured out who she was early on in the story.  He may have met several Damodreds early on in his career and recognized something familiar in her appearance.

 

 

 

Thom was court bard for Morgase and her lover for a time. So he would have known the Royal family of several nations. Not to mention that Elyane's father was a Damodred( I forget his name) and Moraine's uncle, making her and Elayne cousins.

[Zaphod Beeblebrox]

Apologies if this answer is obvious or already discussed, but was it ever known why Thom was in the Two Rivers in the beginning?  He had never been there before so why then?  A specific reason or just a pull from the pattern?

 

I like to think of it as Ta'veren pulling Thom to the Two Rivers similar to Matt pulling the Band to him in Knife of Dreams or Rand pulling Perrin to him in Lord of Choas.  The boys (Rand especially) need help to keep free of Aes Sedai strings and Thom was perfect person.

[Suttree]

Yes, Bran and the Villiage Council did send a request for Thom to come (and for fireworks).

I take they actually asked Thom to stay, not to come.  The first time any Two Rivers person met Thom I take is after he came.

 

 

"When I finally do arrive, chilled to the bone and ready for a warm bed, your innkeeper grumbles about the hour as if I were a wandering swineherd and your Village Council hadn't begged me to display my art at this festival of yours."

 

So Bran after complaining to him about his time of arrival turns right around and begs him to display his art for the festival? Thom was traveling there because the Village Council requested him...they might not have met in person before that but the "wandering swineherd" part makes it pretty clear he came for a reason.

[mb]

The sentence before that sentence::

The yokels in that village on the hill tell me I can get here before dark, neglecting to say that that was only if I left well before noon.

 

I take that to indicate that Watch Hill directed him toward Emond's Field.

The way Thom speaks of the village people in these sentences to me implies that someone/something else sent him to Two Rivers.

 

His career might be the most likely reason.

 

[NetSlider]

I always found it interesting that Thom knew Fain for some time (not really clear how long) before the Two River events.

[Druugan]

Moiraine and Lan have a private conversation with Thom and she addresses him as "Master Bard" implying that she at least knew from his time as Caemlyn's Court Bard, though I think their personal knowledge of each other goes further than that; not intimate knowledge, but I think she maybe used to be a friend before the incident with Owyn. 

 

I think it likely that Thom was already in the area from possibly stalking Moiraine for some yet unknown reason.  Sure, he got the invite from the Two Rivers for the festival; however, it is unlikely that he was requested by name as it is unlikely that he had ever been there before for any Two Rivers folk to know him.  I like the think that he had followed Moiraine to Baerlon and word spread to the Two Rivers that a Gleeman was in Baerlon; thus prompting the invite (begging) to perform for Winternight.

[MikeRiley]

The gleeman being hired was a secret kept close by the village council for a while before he actually arrived. They weren't sure if he'd make it due to the bad winter. Two Rivers folk do leave the area from time to time and it's likely gleemen have ways of being hired anyway. Somebody from the village council might have gone a little north and met with him just before the winter set in, or else a message and gold were both sent north with a tabac seller. It's not likely he was hired in Caemlyn, so Baerlon would fit well enough. It's far enough away that he wouldn't be worried about the queen's guard.

 

In The Great Hunt after Rand meets up with Thom again, he seems interested in Moraine. It hinted at something between them, but nothing romantic like we see in the later books. I doubt he'd be stalking her though, given the friendly nature between the two after leaving the village.

 

I think Thom's presence in Emond's Field is similar to the Aiel giving the tree to Cairhien, Tigraine disappearing, Laman cutting the tree, an Aiel giving birth on Dragonmount.. The Wheel was weaving the pattern in such a way for certain major events to happen. Rand needed Thom and so Thom was there. We know it wasn't a Ta'veren pull because Rand wasn't one until after Moraine arrived, according to Robert Jordan.