Refusal to accept the truth
From the very start of the book, Rand is described to be in a distressed state. He is having trouble coping with the responsibility and weight of his new identity as the Dragon Reborn. He is also struggling with identity because everyone tells him that he is Lews Therrin, someone not himself, the rebirth of a legendary person. This only triggers Rand to leave everyone behind and become vulnerable to the influence of the Dark One. Rand refuses to accept the truth, but still follows his destined path. Similarly, Perrin has the same identity issues and trouble coping with the truth of being able to communicate with wolves. He is glad to not being able to sense them the further away he goes from nature and into the urban areas, but still acknowledges the emptiness he feels. Finally, Mat also doesn’t want to face the truth that he is the one who sounded the Horn of Valere and might need to do it again, and escapes Tar Valon and Aes Sedai the first chance he gets. It seems that all three of the ta’veren are running away from responsibility, yet the responsibility catches up to them at the end.
Battle of good and evil
The battle of good and evil is yet again the central focus of the novel. Dark One stirs again, but this time he uses his minions more efficiently for his work, with a couple of the Forsaken being on the loose and secretly taking over the central cities of Illian and Tear. He engages the Black Ajah to capture Egwene, Elayne and Nynaeve to perform a ritual while luring Rand into the Stone of Tear and destroy him. The Dark One fails yet again, and is defeated by the Dragon Reborn with the sword from the Age of legends, but he is still not destroyed.
Trust
Trust is a dangerous thing in a world in which the Dark One is slowly, but surely, spreading his influence. Nynaeve, Egwene and Elayne learn this the hard way when they put the trust into the wise woman of Tear, and end up being captured by the Black Ajah. Moiraine withholds information to her companions until the very critical moment, which makes her untrustworthy as well. Yet, Aiel fighters, against whom the three Accepted have prejudices and mistrust, prove themselves reliable and worth of trust. Trust is broken and gained in unexpected ways and unexpected places in this novel.
