Chapter 3: The Peddler

Picking up where we left off, we continue to see just how big the wagon is by its wheels, which are taller than a man each. Come on, eight horses is hard enough to swallow. How do you even move a wagon that size without it falling apart? Is this like the land version of Noah's Ark, or a fantasy version of a moving truck? It's ridiculous.

The driver of this truck wagon is named Padan Fain, a cheerful fellow who comes into Emond's Field every spring. He doesn't just bring wares to sell, he also helpfully provides information about the outside world. I'm not sure why this is such a big deal ... don't these country guys pride themselves on being separated from everybody else? Why would they be so interested in things that don't concern them in the slightest? Maybe life in Emond's Field is just that boring.

Suddenly, Rand's other friend Perrin Aybara appears behind the two boys! He shows up pretty randomly, actually, only there to provide an amusing opportunity in the form of Rand shouting "Later, I said!" when the rest of the noise had died down. Fain is not amused by this assumed order, and launches into an explanation on how the winter has been even worse outside of Emond's Field. There's more wolf-slamming here, which is again pretty unfair. But Fain has even worse news: war is breaking out in the name of the Dragon Reborn, which seems to be occurring fairly often recently. Cenn argues with the rest of the village over whether it's another false Dragon or not, which I would normally be pleased about if I wasn't still puzzled over why Perrin was introduced like that.

An interesting tidbit is mentioned by Ewin, who remembers how men who channel the One Power always go insane and die, while women can use it without being affected. Thanks Ewin, I was wondering when we would get some world-building that will still be relevant in a hundred pages. Cenn adds that these women are called Aes Sedai, and I guess they're a hiss and a byword because they're witches or something?

Bran shuts the crowd up by taking Fain into the inn, where the Village Council will get to ask questions from him first. Rand muses on adventure for a bit which isn't the least bit foreshadowing at all surely, but is interrupted when Mat and Perrin wander over to him. Even though they were standing next to him in the crowd the whole time. Mat's only concerned about "how the gleeman could beat this" while Perrin says he doesn't want to see the false Dragon in Two Rivers, but "somewhere else, maybe." Way to jinx yourself there, buddy. Rand remarks that it was actually the Aes Sedai that broke the world, even if the Dragon caused it. I can see why they dislike them if they actually believe this, but since we've read the prologue already it just seems silly.

Mat tells a story about how he heard that the Dragon Reborn would actually be the one to save the world in its greatest need, and how Nynaeve got ticked off at both him and the storytelling guard for it. Since the guard also mentioned that the Dragon's coming would nearly destroy the world, I'd get ticked off too at the self-fulfilling nature of the world-saving, as Perrin points out. Then they go into how Aes Sedai might be Darkfriends, which leads to how people can literally speak of the devil and bring bad luck on themselves. I'm not sure whether this is supposed to be dumb superstition or horrifying foreshadowing, so I'll just settle for being annoyed with it as usual.

Then Nynaeve shows up and insults Mat, and I'm not sure whose side I'm supposed to be on here. She isn't actually much older than them, but she goes ahead and lashes into them anyway? (Literally, she carries a stick.) Someone's sure letting power go to her head. Egwene has tagged along, and Rand stares at her until Nynaeve taunts him for that as well as talking about Darkfriends. Rand is reasonable and points out that of course they're going to talk about them, what with the news that Fain's just brought. Nynaeve is haughty and claims that "it will take the Women's Circle to find out anything useful," and disappears into the inn. Not even here for a full page, and my hatred for her is already perfectly justified.

Egwene sticks around though, teasing Rand about getting caught up in Mat's nonsense. Somehow this inspires him to ask her to dance with him tomorrow, and she agrees that she can in the afternoon. Then she reveals that she's of a marriageable age now by bringing out her new braid (?!), before adding that she might not ever marry anyway because Nynaeve is training her to be a Wisdom. What kind of mixed message land have we found ourselves in? They argue for a bit over whether it's actually possible for her to be a Wisdom, and then she feels insulted and turns her back on him. Is it her time of the month or something? She seems too easily annoyed for a normal human being.

Thinking that Egwene can't hear them despite her being about five steps away, Perrin reveals that not only did he see the mysterious Rider, but he also received a coin from Moiraine similar to the ones Rand and Mat got. I hope that doesn't mean he's going to be important, because he's only been boring so far. Egwene asks what's up with their conversation and then, in true Wheel of Time woman fashion, she insults their maturity, believing them to have wild imaginations.

Luckily her lecturing is cut short by a shaggy old man scampering from the inn, and that's where the chapter ends. Does Jordan have a thing for ending chapters with "Suddenly, X appeared!" moments that aren't actually exciting, or what? We have a truck wagon and an old man so far; does that mean we'll have a modern major general show up at the end of chapter four? I just wish something would actually happen, because so far my emotional investment is still pretty low. Oh well.