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The Shadow Rising picks up shortly after the end of book three, with everybody still in Tear. Rand is apparently the de-facto ruler of Tear now, and Perrin and Mat both are getting the lordly treatment, which both claim to not want, and yet both are slipping rather inevitably toward.
The Seanchan
Apparently the Corenne isn't over, the high lady Suroth has taken over in the wake of Turak's failure and death. We get a little scene where she is on the Sea Folk island of Tremalking, preparing for another invasion attempt on the mainland.
Whitecloaks
The Padan Fain/Mordeth being, now calling itself Ordeith, has attached himself to the Whitecloaks and is preparing an invasion force into the Two Rivers. Fain still burns to get revenge on Rand whom he sees as the cause of his condition. Ordeith means "wormwood" in the Old Tongue, and I can only assume, given how he acts and manipulates, that RJ intended an homage to Tolkien's Wormtongue character. It's certainly apt.
Bubbles of Evil
Perrin gets attacked by his axe, suddenly given life of its own, and intent on slaying him. Mat, whilst playing cards with some of the Tearian lords and gambling for gold (gee Mat gambling? I wonder if this if going to be a character trait
) gets attacked by the face cards he holds in his hand. The painted figures growing to life size and stepping out of the cards before some quick knife-work fixes their cards to the walls and ends the threat. I'm reminded of a criminally under-watched movie Young Sherlock Holmes, which featured a very early CGI stained glass window come to life to murder a character.
All of this is apparently the result of the continued weakening of the Dark One's prison. Somehow bubbles of concentrated evil are emanating from him/it and twisting reality in dangerous way. Stop feeding the Dark One baked beans people, this brings silent but deadly to a whole new level; and, yes, I just made a fart joke.
The Seanchan
Apparently the Corenne isn't over, the high lady Suroth has taken over in the wake of Turak's failure and death. We get a little scene where she is on the Sea Folk island of Tremalking, preparing for another invasion attempt on the mainland.
Whitecloaks
The Padan Fain/Mordeth being, now calling itself Ordeith, has attached himself to the Whitecloaks and is preparing an invasion force into the Two Rivers. Fain still burns to get revenge on Rand whom he sees as the cause of his condition. Ordeith means "wormwood" in the Old Tongue, and I can only assume, given how he acts and manipulates, that RJ intended an homage to Tolkien's Wormtongue character. It's certainly apt.
Bubbles of Evil
Perrin gets attacked by his axe, suddenly given life of its own, and intent on slaying him. Mat, whilst playing cards with some of the Tearian lords and gambling for gold (gee Mat gambling? I wonder if this if going to be a character trait
) gets attacked by the face cards he holds in his hand. The painted figures growing to life size and stepping out of the cards before some quick knife-work fixes their cards to the walls and ends the threat. I'm reminded of a criminally under-watched movie Young Sherlock Holmes, which featured a very early CGI stained glass window come to life to murder a character. All of this is apparently the result of the continued weakening of the Dark One's prison. Somehow bubbles of concentrated evil are emanating from him/it and twisting reality in dangerous way. Stop feeding the Dark One baked beans people, this brings silent but deadly to a whole new level; and, yes, I just made a fart joke.
