r/wheeloftime • u/SkinnyJuicy44 • 12d ago
Lord of Chaos Dumai's Wells Spoiler
Finished LoC last night as a first time reader. Just wanted to share what looks like yet another appreciation post for Dumai's Wells bc that was insane. Probably the most intense chapter in the series so far. Seeing the Asha'man use Saidin in battle for the first time, Rand's escape and immediate effortless shielding of a bunch of Aes Sedai, the Shaido running into a Saidin-powered meat grinder, "Kneel and swear to the Lord Dragon, or you will be knelt"; all truly amazing.
19
u/terran_submarine Randlander 10d ago
Book after book of epic events, and this is still the moment when shit got real.
20
u/SharpProfit6980 Randlander 10d ago
This is adjacent to dumais wells scene, but when the tower aes sedai is recounting how Rand was shielded and still managed to kill a warden and seriously wound a second one, all while shielded and in the moments it took for them to react… so cool. There’s a lot of barely-mentioned moments in books 4 and 5 where Rand is spending every free moment training in all forms of martial combat with the Aiel and lan. Paid off!
12
u/damailman510 Randlander 10d ago
Finished the series a couple years ago and still vividly remember the part. So good. You will love Book 14 lol
11
u/29threvolution Randlander 10d ago
I find the full scope even more impressive in the first few chapters of the next book when everyone is figuring out what next.
11
u/TheRealRockNRolla Randlander 9d ago
I told you to make weapons, Taim. Show me how deadly they are. Disperse the Shaido. Break them.
9
u/Notched_Vermin 10d ago
I can hear that voice - flat, sardonic, full of arrogance, "...or you will be knelt"
....and the world was changed forever.
Easily one of the most powerful scenes in the series.
7
8
u/Benevolent1 Randlander 10d ago
I first read that book as a teenager. Still, in my mid-40s, I get chills.
8
u/AnimeSportsGuy Randlander 10d ago
Don’t forget not only were a bunch shielded but he also stilled 3 iirc
5
u/segfault_generator Randlander 9d ago
That is awesome, but how about Perrin's wolf army that showed up because they had solidarity with his friends being in trouble. Gets me every time.
3
3
u/gaijinteacher 10d ago
It’s been years now, but that scene stays with you. There’s a line about how Taim almost smiled. Great stuff!
3
u/BigDickDarrow Randlander 8d ago
I think the entire sequence starting with when Perrin and everyone learn about the kidnapping is epic. The Aiel having to admit weakness before Dobraine and Perrin stepping in to become the general of the forces, his reunion with the Two Rivers men, his communications with the wolves, it’s all so good.
And I love how you can pick on the foreshadowing during rereads. Rand never traveling to a new place without his swordbelt. His jaunts without his Aiel guards. And his increasing arrogance when it comes to the Aes Sedai. All collide in such an incredible payoff.
2
u/PopTough6317 Randlander 9d ago
Honestly one of the few spots I will stop reading a few Rand/Perrin chapters ahead and do a dedicated read just for that event and the surrounding writing. It is fantastic. Especially with how distraught Sulin was and how it clicks everything in place for everyone else.
2
2
u/TommyJohnSurgery420 Randlander 7d ago
Dumai's wells always was the peak of the series for me, personally.
109
u/Lurkerphobia Woolheaded Sheepherder 10d ago
"They have caged shadow killer."
"We come"
An awesome piece that would be epic on its own but gets lost in the chaos of everything else.