Question about The Dragon Reborn

[Lisana]

I'm rereading the books because I've forgotten heaps of details, and I noticed in Chapter 36, The Daughter of the Night, of the Dragon Reborn, Rand kills a woman.

When did his I'll-never-kill-a-woman thing come about, if it was not from the start? In The Eye of the World, Rand tells Mat not to kill that darkfriend lady, but now kills this one for her horse. Unless I'm totally mistaken.

 

"You have chosen a good campsite, young man," she said. "I have often used it on my way to Remen. There is a small spring nearby. I trust you have no objection to my sharing it?" Her guards were already dismounting, hitching their sword belts and loosening saddle girths.

"None," Rand told her. Careful. Two steps brought him close enough, and he leaped into the air, spinning - Thistledown Floats on the Whirlwind - heron-mark blade carved from fire coming into his hands to take her head off before surprise could even form on her face. She was the most dangerous.

 

And then another man appears after he's killed the lady and her guards, and lined them up neatly :roll: ..

Frowning, he peered at the line. He had been sure that there were only ten men, but eleven men knelt in that line, one of them without any armor of any sort but with a dagger still gripped in his hand.

 

Who's this guy? Is all of this explained later on? Because I most certainly don't remember it! :?

[Ishydin]

the extra guy is a grey man, one of those assassins that are all the rage in TDR and TSR

[Mr Ares]

I believe that RJ has stated that the woman was a darkfriend, and as already stated the extra man is a grey man

[KaptainKaos]

There are several things about this scene that are not obvious until we look at them in retrospect. The main thing being that the woman who seems to be the leader of this group must have been contacted by Ishamael or another Forsaken at some point to know Rand's exact circumstances, what he looked like, what direction he was coming from, where he was headed and not to mention to have a Grey Man placed in her company. This all means she was probably linked to the Shadow very closely and tightly.

 

As we all know channelers have what is almost described as a sixth sense when it comes to Shadowspawn and Moiraine even claims that if someone is deep enough in the Shadow she might be able to sense it. Rand is definitely no exception to this rule, he even seems to have more of a knack for it than others as the series progresses as we see in this scene he knows that the woman was sent and that "she was the most dangerous." He also sticks to the standard that Moiraine makes when she tells Perrin after they are attacked by all those Grey Men that she and Lan cannot feel the presence of Grey Men like other Shadowspawn. We also have to notice how quickly the men are dismounting, messing with their sword belts and so on because this is what is confirming in Rand's mind (which by the way isn't in the most solid state on this journey) that these people are here to kill him. I believe that at least once later on in the series Rand remembers having to kill this lady and even has her on his list of woman that have had to die because of him, that is if I remember correctly.

[Asgard Thorin]

I have always had a problem with this scene. To me, other then them just being there, there is no reason for Rand to up and kill them. I do not find any justification for it in the scene itself, nor have I found any other scene that justifies it. He just goes a little mad, it seems, in his frenzied state, then recovers completely. Thoughts anyone? If someone could explain it, please do. The author is not showing us, in mine opinion he is telling us.

[Isam]

Regarding Rand's killing of the woman and her guards, I always thought RJ's intention was basically "if the Dragon Reborn is convinced you're a Darkfriend, then you're a Darkfriend."

[vegetattack15]

Just a thought, a reference was made that Rand wasn't in his normal state of mind on this journey. I'd have to agree with that. I think that his obsession with Callandor at the time made him less Rand and more like an unthinking arrow focused on its target, for lack of a better analogy.

Please feel free to rip this apart and give a better explanation.

[V1zharan]

I will admit, there is no justification. But I DO believe that no, he wasn't quite right in his head on that journey.

Not only was he focused on Callandor, but think of his dreams, having the people he loved and/or knew coming to him just to end up making attempts upon his life.

Ok, if your parents, siblings, best friends, all came to you trying to kill you, wouldn't you be just the slightest bit suspicious of a bunch of people you don't know coming to you while you are sitting there alone, saying they want to share your campsite?

I don't quite agree with the whole "he sensed the Shadow" theory. It's just like the darkfriends in the earlier books, and even just like Padan Fain, they were the closest to him, Padan Fain was a merchant who was well known in that area, and who came there every year, so naturally he was chosen. There is the darkfriend woman who came when Rand was sick, she doesn't seem like the strongest assassin, deep, deep into the Shadow, but she was chosen anyway, most likely for location more than anything else. So I think that merchant was just the closest darkfriend available, and on top of that, had about a dozen armed guards with her.

About her being the most dangerous...I doubt that could be linked to being deep in the Shadow, unless being a dedicated darkfriend gives you super powers I don't know about.

 

~V1zharan~

[RobertAlexWillis]

Regarding when Rand started becoming pathological about killing women and women who have died for him, it seems to really start to pick up in The Shadow Rising, and is accelerated by three things that I can see.

 

1) I believe the underlying cause is Lews Therin Telamon. Rand has an alternate personality in his head whose main obsession is the wife he murdered in his madness.

 

2) Moiraine's death in The Fires of Heaven. She tops his list now, and he feels a keen personal responsibility for her death, for many reasons, some valid, some not.

 

3) The Maidens of the Spear. Being forced to let them die for him would be difficult, given his upbringing, under any circumstances. In combination with the other two factors, it becomes debilitating.

 

Anyway, thats my take on it.

[DemandredFO]

That female Darkfriend that attacked Mat and Rand when Rand has a Touching Saidin reaction is Mili Skene(Lady Sheane)sp. Mat recognizes her in ACoS and someone, I forget who, says she a good assassin.

[Kaznen]

The woman Rand kills in tDR still has a place on his list of "women I killed." Like all the maidians who died, Coravale(?), and Moiriane.