第 1 章
The Epic That Shaped Modern Fantasy
In a world where fantasy literature has exploded into mainstream popularity, few works have had the lasting impact of Robert Jordan's "The Shadow Rising." As the fourth installment in The Wheel of Time series, this 1992 masterpiece represents the moment when Jordan's epic truly found its stride. Beloved by millions worldwide, including celebrities like Patrick Rothfuss and Brandon Sanderson (who would later complete the series after Jordan's passing), this novel marks the point where the series transcended from popular fantasy to cultural phenomenon. The book's exploration of destiny, identity, and the weight of leadership resonates deeply with readers, while its intricate worldbuilding has influenced countless fantasy writers who followed. With over 90 million copies of the series sold worldwide, "The Shadow Rising" stands as the pivotal turning point where Jordan's vision fully blossomed, expanding the scope of what epic fantasy could achieve.
第 2 章
Seeds of Conspiracy in the White Tower
Min approaches the White Tower with growing dread, disguised in a blue farm dress rather than her usual boyish attire. The magnificent Tower, with its Ogier-crafted bridges and fluted spires, fills her with anxiety rather than awe. Inside the circular entry hall, petitioners huddle nervously on the worn stone floor - farmers, merchants, and servants all equal in their unease before Aes Sedai power.
When an Accepted named Faolain approaches to help her, Min keeps her face lowered and demands her right to speak directly with the Amyrlin Seat, giving her full name "Elmindreda" - a name she hates but hopes will be recognized. As she waits, her unique ability to see images and auras around people reveals disturbing visions. Three Aes Sedai appear with signs of impending death - one with a sickly brown halo, another with a skull on her shoulder, the third seen through a curtain of blood.
Throughout the Tower, she sees more omens of violence - Warders with bloody faces, servants in chains, an Aes Sedai with a silver collar. These visions aren't merely symbolic; they're glimpses of a future rapidly approaching. Have you ever had that feeling of impending disaster, where the air itself seems charged with foreboding?
Meanwhile, Elaida, a Red Ajah sister, strides through the Tower corridors with mounting fury. She's certain the Amyrlin is hiding something critical about Elayne, Egwene and Nynaeve, with Min somehow connected to them all. Her Foretelling ability once revealed that the Royal line of Andor would be key to defeating the Dark One, which is why she attached herself to Queen Morgase. Now she believes Rand al'Thor lies at the heart of the Amyrlin's deceptions.
Elaida suspects Siuan and Moiraine, once close friends as novices, are conspiring together regarding the three ta'veren from Emond's Field. Determined to stop Siuan before she "destroys the Tower," Elaida begins recruiting allies, starting with Alviarin of the White Ajah. The pieces are moving into place for a power struggle that will shake the foundations of the White Tower itself.
第 3 章
Doorways to Dangerous Knowledge
In the Stone of Tear, Mat Cauthon paces restlessly before a twisted red stone doorframe standing freely in the middle of a storeroom. This ter'angreal, an ancient magical artifact, supposedly grants three true answers to any three questions. Despite his reluctance to involve himself with anything connected to the One Power, Mat's curiosity and desire for answers about the strange holes in his memory drive him forward.
Stepping through the doorframe, Mat finds himself in a strange chamber with three-sided walls, facing three bizarre, snake-like creatures with human faces. These beings agree to answer his questions but warn that "the price must be paid." Mat asks about removing a medallion from around his neck (they tell him to "go to Rhuidean"), about whether he should go home to help his family (they tell him to "go to Rhuidean"), and about how to escape his connection to Rand and the Pattern (again, "go to Rhuidean").
Frustrated by their cryptic answers and alarmed when they demand their "price" - apparently feeding on his life experiences - Mat barely escapes back through the doorway. The encounter leaves him with more questions than answers, but with a clear direction: Rhuidean, a mysterious city in the Aiel Waste.
Meanwhile, Rand al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn, struggles with the burden of leadership in the Stone of Tear. Having claimed Callandor, the powerful crystal sword sa'angreal, he now faces the challenge of ruling a nation while preparing for his inevitable confrontation with the Dark One. The High Lords of Tear resist his authority at every turn, and Rand finds himself becoming harder, colder, more calculating - changes that disturb him deeply.
When Egwene, Elayne, and Nynaeve discover that some of the Black Ajah they hunt may have fled to Tanchico, they face a difficult decision. Should they pursue these dangerous darkfriends, or return to the White Tower for guidance? The decision becomes more complicated when Egwene's dreamwalking abilities reveal a mysterious object in Tanchico that might be used to control Rand - a male a'dam, a collar designed to enslave male channelers.
These doorways - literal and figurative - represent turning points for our heroes. Each must choose which threshold to cross, knowing that once they step through, there may be no returning to who they once were.
第 4 章
Shadows Rising in Tear
The Stone of Tear, supposedly impregnable for three thousand years until Rand claimed it, becomes the target of a massive Shadowspawn attack. Trollocs and Myrddraal pour through the corridors, slaughtering guards and servants alike. This assault represents something unprecedented - never before have Trollocs been seen this far south, and never in such numbers outside the Borderlands.
During the attack, Perrin Aybara finds himself fighting alongside his beloved Faile when suddenly his axe animates with malevolent purpose, attacking them both. Despite his immense strength, Perrin struggles to control the weapon as it fights with cunning, trying to kill either of them. When he orders Faile to flee, she refuses to leave him, demonstrating her fierce loyalty even in the face of supernatural danger.
Elsewhere in the Stone, Mat sits playing cards with young Tairen lords when the attack begins. Though he's been trying to distance himself from Rand and the Pattern's pull, he finds himself rushing to help defend the Stone. His newfound combat prowess, mysteriously gained memories of ancient battles, and the luck that seems to follow him all come into play as he fights to survive.
Taking up Callandor, Rand feels the True Source hammer through him with thunderous power, the taint of saidin rushing like a flood of blackness. Without conscious thought, he obliterates a Myrddraal completely. The Power throbs in him "like the heartbeat of the world," making him feel invincible. He creates a whirling vortex above his head that sends silver lightning streams throughout the corridors, killing every Trolloc and Myrddraal in the Stone.
When Moiraine finds him shaking with power, she appears shocked at what he's accomplished. Seeing a dead child nearby, Rand attempts to resurrect her with the Power, manipulating her body like a puppet before Moiraine stops him, gently explaining, "Death cannot be Healed. You are not the Creator." Howling in grief and frustration, Rand finally releases saidin, though the taint remains, weighing him down with darkness.
This battle marks a turning point. The forces of the Shadow are growing bolder, and Rand's power is becoming both greater and more dangerous. The line between using power and being consumed by it grows increasingly thin. After the battle, Rand makes a momentous decision - he will travel to the Aiel Waste to fulfill their prophecies about "He Who Comes With the Dawn," taking Moiraine, Mat, and Egwene with him, while sending Perrin back to the Two Rivers to protect their homeland.
第 5 章
Journey to the Waste
The journey to the Aiel Waste begins with Rand's party traveling by ship along the coast before striking inland through increasingly barren terrain. Egwene finds herself drawn to the Aiel culture, particularly through her growing friendship with Aviendha, a former Maiden of the Spear now reluctantly training to become a Wise One. Though initially hostile toward Rand, Aviendha's attitude is complicated by the Wise Ones' inexplicable order that she spend time with him.
As they travel deeper into the Waste, the harsh landscape tests them all. Water becomes precious, shade nonexistent during the scorching days, and the nights bring bone-chilling cold. Yet the Aiel move through this punishing environment with ease, having adapted to its extremes over generations.
For Mat, the journey is particularly frustrating. He had planned to leave Rand's company at the first opportunity, yet finds himself inexplicably continuing eastward into the Waste. His new spear with the raven mark, acquired in Rhuidean, draws curious looks from the Aiel, though none will explain why. When he attempts to gamble with the Maidens of the Spear by suggesting a game called "Maidens' Kiss," he finds himself surrounded by spearpoints at his throat while the women laugh at his ignorance - a humbling experience for the usually lucky gambler.
The party eventually reaches the Jangai Pass, where they witness an astonishing sight: thousands of Aiel from different clans gathered, all waiting for Rand. This unprecedented gathering underscores the magnitude of Aiel prophecy about the Car'a'carn, the Chief of Chiefs who will unite and destroy them. Couladin, an ambitious Aiel warrior who resents Rand's claim to leadership, challenges him at every turn, creating tension that threatens to erupt into violence.
When they finally reach Cold Rocks Hold, the home of clan chief Rhuarc, Rand learns he must travel alone to the mysterious city of Rhuidean to prove his claim as Car'a'carn. According to Aiel custom, only those who enter Rhuidean and return marked by the city can lead a clan. Many who enter never return, and those who do often come back changed or broken. Despite the danger, Rand knows he must go - both to fulfill prophecy and to learn the secrets of his own heritage, as he now knows his birth mother was Aiel.
Mat, driven by the ter'angreal's cryptic answers and his own restlessness, decides to accompany Rand to Rhuidean, though for very different reasons. As they prepare to depart, the weight of destiny hangs heavy over them both. What secrets await in the ancient, forbidden city? And will either man return unchanged by what they discover there?
第 6 章
Revelations in Rhuidean
Mat and Rand approach the strange wall of fog that shrouds Rhuidean, hesitating before this unnatural mist that never burns away despite the desert heat. When they plunge into the dense fog, it swallows all sound and sight until they suddenly emerge beneath an enormous hollow dome of glowing blue mist. Before them stands Rhuidean - an immense, unfinished city of marble, crystal and glass palaces with broad streets, towering columns and spiraling towers piercing the clouds above.
At the heart of the city, they discover an enormous plaza surrounded by palaces. At its center stands Avendesora, the legendary Tree of Life, with leafy branches spreading over concentric rings of glittering glass columns. The plaza is filled with thousands of objects - statues, strange artifacts, and ter'angreal of various forms. When they sit beneath Avendesora's branches, they feel immediate contentment and peace washing over them.
Rand approaches the glass columns while Mat discovers a twisted redstone doorframe identical to the one he'd encountered in Tear. Despite his misgivings about channeling, Mat steps through, reasoning one more brush with the Power makes little difference. The doorway transports him to a star-shaped chamber where fox-faced beings grant his three requests but demand a steep price - memories and experiences they somehow extract from him, along with hanging him from the Tree of Life as payment.
Meanwhile, Rand experiences visions through the eyes of his Aiel ancestors, traveling backward through time. He witnesses the painful history of the Aiel people, discovering they were once peaceful followers of the Way of the Leaf who refused to use weapons. Through successive generations, he sees how they gradually abandoned their pacifist beliefs after the Breaking of the World, eventually becoming the fierce warriors of the present day.
In the earliest memory, he sees that the Aiel were originally servants of the Aes Sedai during the Age of Legends, entrusted with preserving artifacts of the Power during the chaos of the Breaking. Their original mission - to find a place of safety for these sacred objects - evolved over generations into their current warrior culture, with only fragments of their original purpose remaining in their customs and taboos.
When Rand emerges from the columns, he bears dragon markings on both arms - proof he is the Car'a'carn. The revelation of the Aiel's true history shakes him deeply, as he knows this knowledge will devastate their culture and sense of identity. Mat, meanwhile, returns with a medallion that protects against the One Power and memories of ancient battles filling the holes in his mind.
As they prepare to leave Rhuidean, they encounter Asmodean, one of the Forsaken, attempting to claim a powerful sa'angreal. In the ensuing battle, Rand manages to partially shield Asmodean from the Dark One, forcing the Forsaken to become his reluctant teacher in using the One Power. This unexpected development gives Rand hope that he might learn to control his growing powers before they consume him.
第 7 章
Trouble in the Two Rivers
While Rand journeys east, Perrin reluctantly travels west, drawn by rumors of Whitecloaks hunting for him in the Two Rivers. Accompanied by Loial, Faile, and a small group including Aiel warriors, he travels through the Ways - dangerous paths outside normal time and space. Despite the threat of Machin Shin, the soul-devouring Black Wind, they emerge safely near Perrin's homeland, only to find the situation far worse than imagined.
The Two Rivers is under siege from two directions: Whitecloaks have established a large camp under Watch Hill, holding prisoners including Mat's mother and sisters, while Trollocs attack farms nightly. The people are caught between these threats, with many farms already destroyed and families seeking refuge in the villages.
In Emond's Field, Perrin discovers his family's farm burned and his parents and siblings murdered by Trollocs. Grief-stricken and furious, he takes up the mantle of leadership, organizing defenses and hunting Trolloc bands. The villagers begin calling him "Perrin Goldeneyes" for his strange yellow eyes and ability to sense Trollocs, a name that makes him uncomfortable but becomes a rallying cry for the beleaguered Two Rivers folk.
Complicating matters is the arrival of Verin and Alanna, two Aes Sedai who claim to be helping but clearly have their own agendas. Perrin distrusts them but recognizes their power might be necessary against the mounting Trolloc threat. There's also the mysterious Lord Luc, who appears to be helping organize defenses but whom Perrin suspects may be connected to the Trolloc attacks.
As refugees from outlying farms flood into Emond's Field, Perrin finds himself thrust into the role of leader despite his reluctance. When he successfully rescues prisoners from the Whitecloaks, his legend grows, and people increasingly look to him for guidance. Even the arrival of Tinkers seeking refuge becomes his decision to make, as the villagers turn to "Lord Perrin" despite his insistence he's just a blacksmith.
The situation reaches a crisis point when Dain Bornhald, son of Geofram, arrives with his Whitecloak soldiers and brings news that Trollocs have destroyed Taren Ferry. Tension escalates when Bornhald attempts to arrest Perrin as a Darkfriend, accusing him of betraying his father to death at Falme. Mayor Bran al'Vere firmly refuses the arrest, standing with the Two Rivers folk against the Whitecloaks.
Seeing the dangerous standoff developing between the villagers and soldiers, Perrin offers a compromise - the Whitecloaks may stay in Emond's Field to help with the defense against Trollocs, delaying any arrest until after the immediate threat is handled. As the Trolloc attacks intensify, Perrin must prepare the Two Rivers for the greatest battle in its history since the fall of Manetheren.
第 8 章
The Battle for Emond's Field
With Trollocs surrounding Emond's Field and attacking in ever-increasing numbers, Perrin works tirelessly to prepare defenses. The villagers dig ditches, build walls, and prepare sharpened stakes, while Perrin organizes archers and fighting groups. Though not trained soldiers, the Two Rivers folk are renowned for their bowmanship, and their determination to protect their homes gives them courage.
In the Winespring Inn, Perrin writes a heartfelt letter to Faile, whom he's sent away for safety: "When the sun shines on you, it is my smile. When you hear the breeze stir through the apple blossoms, it is my whisper that I love you." Though he refuses to ask forgiveness for sending her away, his love for her strengthens his resolve to survive the coming battle.
Outside, the women of Emond's Field form protective circles around the children, ready to flee if Trollocs break through. When the Whitecloaks threaten to abandon the defense, Perrin convinces Bornhald to stay by offering himself as prisoner after the battle, though Bornhald vows to kill him personally.
As night falls, the attack begins with thousands of Trollocs charging from the surrounding woods. The initial assault is repelled by Two Rivers archers, whose accuracy and power decimate the front ranks of attackers. But the Trollocs keep coming in waves, eventually reaching the hastily constructed walls. Fierce hand-to-hand fighting erupts as villagers defend their homes with pitchforks, axes, and whatever weapons they can muster.
Throughout the night, Perrin moves from one threatened section to another, his hammer rising and falling as he fights with grim determination. Loial stands beside him, his massive form wielding a tree trunk as a club. The Aiel warriors dance their spear-dance among the Trollocs, while Faile, who returned secretly, fights with her knives despite Perrin's attempts to send her away.
Just when it seems the defenses might hold, a new threat appears - Myrddraal, the eyeless half-human commanders of the Trollocs, whose mere gaze can freeze humans with fear. As dawn approaches and the defenders tire, the Trollocs breach the eastern barricade. In this desperate moment, Perrin rallies the villagers for a final stand around the Winespring Inn.
Unexpectedly, horns sound from the woods, and arrows rain down on the Trollocs from behind. Reinforcements have arrived - farmers from Watch Hill, Deven Ride, and other settlements, drawn by the legend of "Perrin Goldeneyes" and the ancient battle cry of Manetheren. With this new force attacking the Trollocs from behind, the tide turns, and by midday, the battle is won.
In the aftermath, the Whitecloaks depart Emond's Field in defeat, having betrayed their agreement by merely watching from the Green while the battle raged. Perrin coldly orders them to leave the Two Rivers entirely. Despite his protests that he's just a blacksmith, the mayors of surrounding villages pledge loyalty to "Lord Perrin," recognizing his leadership has saved the Two Rivers.
第 9 章
The Chief of Chiefs
At Alcair Dal, a massive natural amphitheater in the Aiel Waste, clan chiefs gather for a historic meeting. Rand approaches with his Aiel escort, passing through Shaido warriors who reluctantly part before the overwhelming numbers of Taardad fighters singing their battle song. Inside the canyon, clan chiefs debate on a ledge beneath an overhanging cliff when Couladin shocks everyone by stripping off his coat to reveal Dragon markings on both forearms.
Declaring himself the Car'a'carn, Couladin promises to lead the Aiel across the Dragonwall to reclaim ancient wealth. Rand calmly removes his own coat, revealing identical Dragon markings, and counters Couladin's claims by citing the prophecy - born of Aiel blood but raised beyond the Dragonwall. The clan chiefs and thousands of watching Aiel stand balanced between the two claimants, waiting to see who truly is He Who Comes With the Dawn.
In this tense moment, Rand makes a fateful decision. Rather than simply asserting his claim, he reveals the truth he learned in Rhuidean - that the Aiel were once peaceful followers of the Way of the Leaf, that they abandoned their oaths to become warriors, and that their true purpose was to serve the Aes Sedai. This revelation shatters the Aiel's understanding of themselves, causing many to throw down their spears in shame and despair, becoming the "lost ones" or Bleakwalkers.
Couladin and his Shaido followers reject this truth and flee northward, while those remaining acknowledge Rand as Car'a'carn despite their shaken faith. By fulfilling the prophecy that he would "break them" by revealing their true history, Rand has both claimed leadership of the Aiel and fractured their unity. The price of truth is high, but necessary for the battles to come.
Meanwhile, Rand confronts Lanfear, who reveals that Asmodean has been teaching him while disguised as the gleeman Jasin Natael. When Rand severs Asmodean's connection to the Dark One, the Forsaken has no choice but to continue teaching him to use the Power or face the wrath of the other Forsaken. Lanfear creates a shield that will allow just enough Power through for Asmodean to teach while preventing him from challenging Rand directly.
As Rand prepares to leave with his strange entourage - Asmodean, Aviendha, Mat, and the Maidens of the Spear - Rhuarc reminds him that while this journey began long ago, the question remains where and how it will end. Rand has no answer as he rides slowly across the canyon, surrounded by his peculiar retinue, while the Aiel part before him, staring and waiting as night's cold descends.
The Shadow Rising has begun in earnest. Across the world, ancient powers stir, prophecies unfold, and the pattern of the Age Lace shifts around three ta'veren who find themselves at the center of a gathering storm. Whether they will save the world or break it remains to be seen, but one thing is certain - nothing will ever be the same again.
