Most Emotionally Jarring Moment?

[joeron bigelow]

How do you know that name?????

[Darksister]

What name??

[shortkut]

Rand's reaction to the prophecy

[Luckers]

Cup of Sleep. Heavy, heavy moment.

[pamela]

For me it was the scene where Rand tries and fails to bring the little girl back to life in The Stone of Tear.

Definitely, I forgot about that scene.

[pamela]

Rand - Aviendha non-goodbye in LoC in Mat's tent

+ 1

The Battle for the Two Rivers and the Rand's vision of the Aiel are the reason my favorite book is still The Shadow Rising. Every time I read the series, the only time I get choked up is the end of the Battle when Faile shows up and reunites with Perrin. Gets me every time.

Finally! I already thought nobody but me was moved by that.

[demonspawn]

The part just after Perrin and Faile meet after the Battle of Emonds Field TSR where the little dude runs up to tell of the help from the south too. When Perrin asks who he is and it turns out he is his cousin... That just about tops off the whole scene and gives me a football sized lump in me throat.

[Whizbang]

Suian being deposed was jarring, the first read. I just read this part in tSR. Here we get her PoV, and she's going over reports, anxious because there is no word from Moiraine. We, as the spectator, have no reason to suspect that anything is all that amiss. Last we saw of her PoV, she had just received the note that says, "The sling has been used. The shepherd holds the sword." She is happy and relieved to finally be able to work in the open. There will be some opposition and fighting, but she is more than confident she can handle it. Then BAM, the next PoV of Suian has 14 women walk in and take her prisoner. We see her warder dead with a knife in the back. It is quite shocking to see this woman go from being the most powerful to nothing in a few moments.

 

She wasn't really a sympathetic character up until this point, but from here on out her perseverence and dedication in the face of what she has lost, and everything she still has to overcome, makes her a much more interesting character.

[garfoofafuffel]

A few people mentioned Rand trying to resurrect the girl after the battle in the stone of tear, I just read it and thought it deserved a post for people who might have forgotten how excellent that passage truly is:

 

Rand pulled his gaze away from her, and it fell on the body of a dark-haired girl, little more than a child.

She lay sprawled on her back, eyes wide and fixed on the ceiling, blood blackening the bosom of her dress.

Sadly, he bent to brush strands of hair from her face. Light, she is only a child. I was too late. Why didn’t I do it

sooner. A child!

“I will see that someone takes care of her, Rand,” Moiraine said gently. “You cannot help her now.”

His hand shook so hard on Callandor that he could barely hold on. “With this, I can do anything.” His

voice was harsh in his own ears. “Anything!”

“Rand!” Moiraine said urgently.

He would not listen. The Power was in him. Callandor blazed, and he was the Power. He channeled,

directing flows into the child’s body, searching, trying, fumbling; she lurched to her feet, arms and legs

unnaturally rigid and jerky.

“Rand, you cannot do this. Not this!”

Breathe. She has to breathe. The girl’s chest rose and fell. Heart. Has to beat. Blood already thick and

dark oozed from the wound in her chest. Live. Live, burn you! I didn’t mean to be too late. Her eyes stared at

him, filmed. Lifeless. Tears trickled unheeded down his cheeks. “She has to live! Heal her, Moiraine. I don’t

know how. Heal her!”

“Death cannot be Healed, Rand. You are not the Creator.”

Staring into those dead eyes, Rand slowly withdrew the flows. The body fell stiffly. The body. He threw

back his head and howled, as wild as any Trolloc. Braided fire sizzled into walls and ceiling as he lashed out in

frustration and pain.

Sagging, he released saidin, pushed it away; it was like pushing away a boulder, like pushing away life.

Strength drained out of him with the Power. The taint remained, though, a stain weighing him down with

darkness. He had to ground Callandor on the floor tiles and lean on it to stay on his feet.

“The others.” It was hard to speak; his throat hurt. “Elayne, Perrin, the rest? Was I too late for them,

too?”

“You were not too late,” Moiraine said calmly. But she had come no closer, and Lan looked ready to

dart between her and Rand. “You must not - ”

“Are they still alive?” Rand shouted.

“They are,” she assured him.

He nodded in weary relief. He

[avernite]

Aviendha's vision for the 'NOOOO I DONT WANT THAT FUTURE DAMNIT!'

 

Manetheren's fall and the rallying of the Malkieri, for the awesomeness.

 

Egwene's accepted test. Because she abandoned him and couldn't help it. Aes Sedai are sadists, really, all their tests are mean, nasty, and foul.

 

And Egwene's captivity under the A'dam. Rand was beaten, which was mean, but Egwene was in a completely FUTILE struggle. Rand at least was awesome enough to kill a warder.

 

The flashback of the Aiel, and Aram's denunciation. Because their choice to pick up arms was so understandable, yet could their families truly do otherwise? They could, I suppose, but I can understand they'd throw them out. Being cast out of your family just for defending yourself.,,

[vanderwoolf]

TGS chapter 33: Conversations with the Dragon

 

Taken from encyclopaedia-wot:

 

After she is finished, Kerb is a bare shell of a mind. Rand questions him again and he whispers, "Natrin's Barrow" then dies. Nynaeve is angry that he could not be Healed. Rand is heartless. She tells Rand that his anger will destroy him and he agrees, shocking her. He tells her a story from Tam, that no one has ever climbed Dragonmount because, after reaching the top, they would be too exhausted to climb down and so die up there. Rand only has to reach the Last Battle. He will die then so there does not need to be anything left of him to salvage. He can accept Nynaeve because she truly cares about him, unlike Cadsuane.

 

So very sad to see him say those things with such acceptance.

[CauthonsLuck]

I'm on my re-read and just read the part when Herid Fel dies, that was really sad to me. It was the first time I had really ever seen Rand show some emotions. But Cup of Sleep is always going to be the saddest.

[Carnacarn]

Ch 32 A Storm of Light from ToM, with Ituralde finally getting rescued. All hope is seemingly gone for him and his men, he's given it his all to defend Maradon for that 'fool boy'. Rand finally comes to his rescue to live up to his end of the deal. Rand I think finally truly assumes the mantle of Lord of the Morning, the Savior of Mankind, in this scene. This is what I had been waiting for since LoC

[shadowofomioc]

My mind keeps going back to the days of Ewgene being captured by the Seachan. You learn of their ways toward Aes Sedai very quickly and how they train them like you would a dog. The torturing and the baiting was pretty jarring. Especially when Min is running and you " hear Ewgene screaming ", only to run into Nynaeve right at that moment. Then the moment when Ewgene is freed and leaps onto her torturer and does the same to her. Strong and tense moment.

[MasterAblar]

My mind keeps going back to the days of Ewgene being captured by the Seachan. You learn of their ways toward Aes Sedai very quickly and how they train them like you would a dog. The torturing and the baiting was pretty jarring. Especially when Min is running and you " hear Ewgene screaming ", only to run into Nynaeve right at that moment. Then the moment when Ewgene is freed and leaps onto her torturer and does the same to her. Strong and tense moment.

 

Yeah, the scenes of Egwene as damane are particulary hard to read. Egwene's reaction when she was freed was just as bad as the torturing to me.

[TNine]

My mind keeps going back to the days of Ewgene being captured by the Seachan. You learn of their ways toward Aes Sedai very quickly and how they train them like you would a dog. The torturing and the baiting was pretty jarring. Especially when Min is running and you " hear Ewgene screaming ", only to run into Nynaeve right at that moment. Then the moment when Ewgene is freed and leaps onto her torturer and does the same to her. Strong and tense moment.

What i always found incredible is how long Egwene remains absolutely terrified after that ordeal. Two months later when they get back to Tar Valon, she lashes out the second that she thinks something bad might happen, multiple times. When they're taken by the Black Ajah, she needs to be beaten into unconsciousness. When they Seachan is brought up in FoH, she looks away and tries to hide the fact that she's scared out of her mind (unsuccessfully). And even in TGS we get this:

Egwene could sometimes feel that band on her own skin, itching, impossible to move. Sometimes, it still made her faintly sick to move around freely, as if she felt that she should be locked away, chained to the post on the wall by a simple loop of metal.

 

I think getting held by the a'dam is also the point where Egwene goes from free-spirited and almost careless, just wanting to learn, to being far more cautious, cynical, and determined. Look at her thoughts about Tar Valon, it went from "place where i can learn to be Aes Sedai" to "place where i can learn to defend myself". The transformation is just so sad.

[BFG]

^ actually I find it very believable - she was held for several months and by her own admission was starting to break. That's not something you get over easily.

[axtimusprime]

My number one emotional moment was probably after Rands awakening and seeing his father and hugging him on the steps. He didn't care who saw him. He was just a boy and his dad again.

[TNine]

^ actually I find it very believable - she was held for several months and by her own admission was starting to break. That's not something you get over easily.

Depending on how you define it, she did break. She gave up all hope that she would ever get rescued or could live a better life--look at her conversation with Min. She still resists, but she stopped thinking there was a point to it. I didn't think it was unbelievable, in fact i'm shocked that her massive fear of captivity didn't come up when she was in confinement after her fight with Elaida.

 

Another great moment:

Do you think I would run away? he had said when Perrin suggested he could slip off into the night after Faile. His ears had dropped with weariness and hurt. I came with you, Perrin, and I will stay until you go. And then he had laughed suddenly, a deep booming sound that almost rattled the dishes. Perhaps someone will even tell a story of me, one day. We do not go in for such things, but there could be an Ogier hero, i supposed. A joke, Perrin. I made a joke. Laugh. Come, we will tell each other jokes, and laugh, and think of Faile flying free.

No dialogue, just a recollection of a conversation. As Perrin is moving through a dream, cause it's the last day of his life. And Loial, knowing that there is no way out, stays behind. And tries to get Perrin to cheer up, thinking about the life that will go on because he paid for it with his. Beautifully written.

[Sagacious Lu]

A few people mentioned Rand trying to resurrect the girl after the battle in the stone of tear, I just read it and thought it deserved a post for people who might have forgotten how excellent that passage truly is:

 

Rand pulled his gaze away from her, and it fell on the body of a dark-haired girl, little more than a child.

She lay sprawled on her back, eyes wide and fixed on the ceiling, blood blackening the bosom of her dress.

Sadly, he bent to brush strands of hair from her face. Light, she is only a child. I was too late. Why didn’t I do it

sooner. A child!

“I will see that someone takes care of her, Rand,” Moiraine said gently. “You cannot help her now.”

His hand shook so hard on Callandor that he could barely hold on. “With this, I can do anything.” His

voice was harsh in his own ears. “Anything!”

“Rand!” Moiraine said urgently.

He would not listen. The Power was in him. Callandor blazed, and he was the Power. He channeled,

directing flows into the child’s body, searching, trying, fumbling; she lurched to her feet, arms and legs

unnaturally rigid and jerky.

“Rand, you cannot do this. Not this!”

Breathe. She has to breathe. The girl’s chest rose and fell. Heart. Has to beat. Blood already thick and

dark oozed from the wound in her chest. Live. Live, burn you! I didn’t mean to be too late. Her eyes stared at

him, filmed. Lifeless. Tears trickled unheeded down his cheeks. “She has to live! Heal her, Moiraine. I don’t

know how. Heal her!”

“Death cannot be Healed, Rand. You are not the Creator.”

Staring into those dead eyes, Rand slowly withdrew the flows. The body fell stiffly. The body. He threw

back his head and howled, as wild as any Trolloc. Braided fire sizzled into walls and ceiling as he lashed out in

frustration and pain.

Sagging, he released saidin, pushed it away; it was like pushing away a boulder, like pushing away life.

Strength drained out of him with the Power. The taint remained, though, a stain weighing him down with

darkness. He had to ground Callandor on the floor tiles and lean on it to stay on his feet.

“The others.” It was hard to speak; his throat hurt. “Elayne, Perrin, the rest? Was I too late for them,

too?”

“You were not too late,” Moiraine said calmly. But she had come no closer, and Lan looked ready to

dart between her and Rand. “You must not - ”

“Are they still alive?” Rand shouted.

“They are,” she assured him.

He nodded in weary relief. He

 

This is great because you have Rand, with all his power, trying and failing to do the one thing that everyone wishes they could but simply can't, which is to defeat death. The image of the little girl is heartbreaking, and what happens when Rand tries to defy death is nightmarish. I think there's a bit of foreshadowing going on because if Rand can't even save this child from death he certainly can't save himself.

[Maleshub]

One of the most jarring moments, chilling moments, is when Rand threatens to kill Cadsuane. That was just over the edge. Easily one of Dark Rand's worst moments.

[MasterAblar]

It was the other voices Perrin wished he could not hear.

"Where is Kenley?" Mistress Ahan was a handsome woman, with streaks of white in her nearly black braid, but she wore a fear-filled frown as she scanned faced and saw eyes flinch from hers. "Where's my Kenley?"

"Bili!" old Hu al'Dai called uncertainly. "Has anyone seen Bili al'Dai?"

". . . Hu . . . !"

". . . Jared . . .!"

". . . Tim . . . !"

". . . Colly . . . !"

In front of the inn, Perrin fell out of the saddle in his need to escape those names, not even seeing whose hands caught him. "Get me inside!" he grated. "Inside!"

". . . Teven . . . !"

". . . Haral . . . !"

". . . Had . . . !"

The door cut off the heart-lost wails, and the cries of Dael al'Taron's mother for someone to tell her where her son was.

[Asmodeanisdemandread]

 

Another great moment:

Do you think I would run away? he had said when Perrin suggested he could slip off into the night after Faile. His ears had dropped with weariness and hurt. I came with you, Perrin, and I will stay until you go. And then he had laughed suddenly, a deep booming sound that almost rattled the dishes. Perhaps someone will even tell a story of me, one day. We do not go in for such things, but there could be an Ogier hero, i supposed. A joke, Perrin. I made a joke. Laugh. Come, we will tell each other jokes, and laugh, and think of Faile flying free.

No dialogue, just a recollection of a conversation. As Perrin is moving through a dream, cause it's the last day of his life. And Loial, knowing that there is no way out, stays behind. And tries to get Perrin to cheer up, thinking about the life that will go on because he paid for it with his. Beautifully written.

mostly because loial doesn't consider himself to be a hero that what makes this so bad@$$. He knows whats going to happen and accepts it. Like a BOSS.

Dunno if this one was mentioned and I'm trying to stay awAy from those that have but when the maidens beat the hell out of rand(although ignoring his double wound) and the follow up when he says something similar to this "I go to battle. Bring no more than twenty." And his inner monologue throughout that whole ordeal.

Ok I'm gonna mention one already said, rand crying into tams shirt and then introducing him to min (at least formally). That one gets me.

[pamela]

Ok I'm gonna mention one already said, rand crying into tams shirt and then introducing him to min (at least formally). That one gets me.

Yeah, me too. It's the very simplicity of that scene which makes it so special. There are few simple things in Rand's life.

[Morden]

On a lighter note... One of the funniest moments of the books to me is when Bashere tells Rand about his former General who had them cut down two dozen Oak Tree's because they were looking at him, then make his men give them proper burials.. Damn even thinking about that now makes me crack up.