Wind
Wind has always been significant as imagery in this fantasy series. Every single opening paragraph of every single opening chapter of every single books set the stage by announcing that a wind has risen somewhere within the geography. In this particular instance, it has risen in the Mountains of Mist. To get an idea of just how especially significant the wind is as imagery in this final volume in the series, however, consider that the word “wind” appears in the first sentence of eight of the first thirteen paragraphs of the first chapter in addition to appearing in the chapter title itself. And that is just the beginning of its pervasive recurrence throughout the text, popping up in both literal and figurative terms and being referenced robust amounts in both narration and dialogue.
Leadership
Texts are exceptionally important to the series. Ancient texts are quote as the Epigraph in every volume and within the narrative, one character or another is always quoting one of the invented books that make up the mythology of the world in which the story is set. One such example in this entry is a recollection by the hero on the nature of being a leader:
“Rand calmed himself, finding peace, turning to Tam. He remembered, from his old memories, something from a book. The key to leadership is in the rippling waves. You could not find stillness on a body of water if there was turmoil underneath. Likewise, you could not find peace and focus in a group unless the leader himself had peace within.”
Action!
This is the big one, after all. The final thrilling climax to the long-awaited showdown between good and evil. Are there battle sequences? Oh yeah, there are battle sequences. In fact, much of the book—a fantastically huge deal of the book—is put to the purpose of describing in vivid imagery the battles comprising that apocalyptic war:
“Egwene doubled her attack. She hit a rank with a wave of exploding earth, then slammed a wave of air into the bodies as they fell, pushing them back so they dropped onto the ranks behind. She ripped holes in the earth and made the stones in the ground explode. She butchered Trollocs for what seemed like hours. Finally, the Shadowspawn broke, the Trollocs pulling back despite the whips of the Myrddraal. Egwene took a deep breath—she was starting to feel limp—and struck down more Fades. Finally, they too broke and fled back away from the hills.”
The Light
The big bad of this series is known as the Dark One. It does not take a great leap of imagination, therefore, to get how The Light is imagery associated singularly with the forces of goodness. In fact, this imagery is reiterated casually through expressions like “The Light willing” or even just simply saying “Light” as a kind of curse. But it is also used as imagery in more extensive passages:
“If we are to have the Light again, we must make it ours! We must reclaim it and cast out the Shadow! He seeks to make you despair, to win this battle before it begins. We will not give him that satisfaction! We will destroy this army before us, then destroy the one behind. And from there, we bring our blood—our life, our fire, our passion—to the others who fight. From there it spreads to victory and the Light!”
