Sabio, Yes it is still a bit frustrating who Rand chooses to trust, and why. Currently on chapter 36, Rand recently took them to Toman Head using the portal stone, but it apparently took 13 weeks real time. Rand is again suspicious of Aes Sedai, this time Verin despite her doing nothing wrong thus far, and essentially tells her off when telling him he needs to reign in control over his power. She's again one of the few Aes Sedai who has no intention of gentling him, and he says he doesn't want her help, despite the remark being a pretty sound one. Control your power over the source, don't go mad. Regarding Lan and Nynaeve, yes their whole romance does feel a bit forced. Lan went from not giving her a second glance (and according to Moraine a few chapters ago, he's ignored quite a few women and their advances), so even if she is pretty it seems odd he would just now fall for someone, especially over something as small as being able to track decently. Dawnflower, thanks! That seems to be the general consensus so I'm really looking forward to it. I just have a feeling someone (one or a few) is going to die for Rand's blatant stupidity (it is this at this point, he loss the right to use the 'ignorant' card a long time ago) before he gets his act together.

Presently, chapter 23. Moraine was just ambushed by the Draghkar. Not quite sure what Lan sees in Nyn, speaking of the previous chapter.

Hello Mb, Yes I thought 18 was a bit young for the three boys - a bit of quick reading confirms this. Page 94 of the Great Hunt (ebook) has Moraine speaking of when Rand was born. "Nearly twenty years ago the Aiel crossed the Spine of the World, the Dragonwall, the only time they have ever done so. They ravaged through Cairhien, destroyed every ..........(a bit more story and down the page)....And Gitara Sedai started up out of her chair, her arms and legs rigid, trembling, her face as if she looked into the Pit of Doom at Shayol Ghul, and she cried out, ‘He is born again! I feel him! The Dragon takes his first breath on the slope of Dragonmount! He is coming!" So they were roughly 20, thanks for giving me the nudge to make sure, too :). This doesn't make me feel any better about their behavior though, sadly. Still as everyone has said, I'm looking forward to their growth spurts, as it were.

Thanks for the replies everyone - I'll stay hopeful in that case :). I have read a bit more since then, and Rand's crazy mistrust for a figure who's saved his life on numerous occasions just keeps getting more and more insane. (SOME SPOILERS FOR BOOK 2 HERE ON OUT!) As they are pursuing the horn with Ingtar and his band they stopped for a night and Rand, Loial, and Hurin awake in a 'mirror world' Rand's FIRST suspicion is that Morraine has something to do with it. Seriously - as Sabio said, I understand they grew up with tales that Aes Sedai were essentially evil figures, but like I said; how many times does someone have to pull you out of danger before they get a bit of slack? Regarding the stories they grew up on in the Two Rivers, even Rand says what he knows has been turned upside down. Except for the ONE person seemingly not trying to give him to the dark one or kill him. His suspicion and mistrust is just so odd, and I've tried really hard to put myself in his shoes. Same with Nyn and her out of place hatred for Moraine - she says to herself multiple times she won't forgive Moraine for what she's done to the three boys. Which is...what; save them? It's just..blah. Rand might be the protagonist of the story but it's really feeling like Moraine and Lan are the unsung heroes at the end of the day. A bit further on in the mirror world, and Rand is 100% sure it is his power that brought them to the world. Then we enter Selene, who, never mind the screaming alarms of the suspicious way she is acting, is given a free pass on trust. Despite that she even said she came into the mirror world alone. Despite her saying she is not Aes Sedai, but Rand KNOWING the power was needed to enter the world. Now to his credit, he does begin to tell her off regarding her zealous attitude towards seeing the horn and staying beside him forever, despite them meeting approximately 24 hours ago. Yet despite this, she gets on his trust-list, whereas Moraine is still, STILL being accused of completely random encounters (soldiers in the bar as soon as they leave the mirror world). I love putting myself in the shoes of characters generally, but I for the life of me can NOT see where Rand is coming from, his back story and everything else taken into consideration. Or most of the Two Rivers characters, for that matter. Regarding communicating with wolves, Perrin has had the evidence of wolves not being evil beasts thrown in his face since book one when he begins to talk with them. He is told, and proven through sensing and communicating with the ex warder (I forgot his name) and the wolves, that wolves are the ones that HATE evil creatures (trollocs, fades, etc.). Hopper even sacrifices himself for Perrin, and yet the same way Rand mistrusts Morraine, Perrin too mistrusts his saviors. I'm really hoping that this is alluding to them paying a price for their foolishness, at least on some level. Anyway, these pet peeves aside I'm loving the series otherwise. I really hope a trolloc comes along and clubs some sense into them soon, though. :p

Hello everybody, new here and to the Wheel of Time series in general :) I'm hoping to keep spoilers to a very bare minimum, so bear with me! (I might spoil too for the first book and part of the second, so beware!) === So, I'm loving the book series and it's story so far (I'm reading them in publish order, so I'm on the second book), but one thing has been bugging me, and that's...well, most of the characters themselves. It's very hard to associate with Perrin, Mat, Rand, Nyn, or really anyone from Two Rivers. They all seem so intentionally dense. So far it feels like Lan and Morraine are the only two with even half a brain. I understand Rand's reluctance to begin with. Taken from home, monsters chasing him, alright. But how long does it take before one grows up? The three boys are more men - if I recall correctly he is around age 20 at the time of this book. So with that in mind, does he ever, or anyone in this series for that matter, actually have character development? I know Tam and the Gleeman told Ran to be way around magic users such as Moraine, but how many times do you have to be freakin' saved by someone before you trust them? He constantly tells himself how he's surprised he would rather be in Moraine's company at different parts of the book - or as in the first hundred pages of the second book, he immediately suspects Moraine of having him soon-to-be-gentled. Nevermind the fact that he himself defeated Baalz (can't remember his full name, sorry) in the first book, or that Morraine and Lan saved them more times than they could count. And yet, for all their efforts, all he does is suspect them. Consistently now, he keeps saying "I won't be used", despite the fact that he's the Dragon Reborn all but being shoved in his face. I understand the need for characters to have a starting point, but everything that was built up in the first book seems to be reset. It's like Rand forgot he saved the world (for a time), only thanks to Morraine saving his arse nearly every step of the way. Perrin too -- to a slighter degree. He is able to communicate with wolves, and he apparently thinks this is a curse somehow? Mat takes items from a place that he was warned beforehand was cursed. And while they're on the run and suspicious of everyone in the first book, Mat somehow thinks it would be a good idea to do the exact opposite of blend in and piss some Children of the Light off with prank. Really, for being 20 years old, they seem closer to the three stooges. Sorry if it seemed like a rant, but that's only because I'm interested/engaged enough to bother (and that's a good thing :p ) but with that being said, is there light at the end of the tunnel? Watching Rand intentionally troll with the fate of the world on the balance is getting a tad irritating..(I say this because he consistently says "I'll do the opposite of what you want" -- even Moraine and the Aes Sedai leader know of his aversion to reason). Hope to hear some good news!