Chapter 54 - Into the Stone

Summary

Mat Cauthon scales the walls of the Stone of Tear and uses a bundle of fireworks to blast open an arrowslit, creating a diversion before joining forces with the thief-catcher Juilin Sandar to infiltrate the fortress. Meanwhile, Rand al’Thor climbs the fortress walls and hastens through the corridors toward Callandor, while Egwene al’Vere enters Tel’aran’rhiod to rescue Nynaeve and Elayne by trapping the Black Ajah sister Joiya Byir in the dream. In his own dreams, Perrin Aybara finds Faile bound to a stone block but loses her to the shifting nature of the Dreaming before Hopper urges him to continue the hunt.

Characters

• Mat (gambler, nameless youngling, nameless one) — Mat Cauthon sneaks across the rooftops of Tear, studies the Stone of Tear, and climbs the city wall to plant a bundle of fireworks in an arrowslit, causing a massive explosion that widens the opening and allows him to enter the fortress while fighting off Defenders with Juilin Sandar's help.
• Juilin Sandar / Juilin (thief-catcher, thief-taker) — Juilin Sandar confronts Mat on the rooftop, reveals he is also trying to enter the Stone, and agrees to guide Mat to the cells by pretending to capture him as a thief, fighting alongside Mat against the Defenders of the Stone.
• Rand — Rand al’Thor climbs the sheer face of the Stone of Tear, ignoring the pain of his reopened wound, and hurries through the dark corridors with a crooked smile, anticipating the moment he will finally wield Callandor and end his torment.
• Egwene (girl) — Egwene al'Vere uses the twisted stone ring to enter Tel'aran'rhiod, finds Joiya Byir near Callandor, shields her from the Source, and beats her with Air to exact revenge and secure their escape, realizing she has learned to weave independent flows of power.
• Joiya Byir / Joiya (Black sister, Darkfriend) — Joiya Byir appears in Tel'aran'rhiod guarding Callandor, expresses fear upon being shielded from the Source, and is beaten by Egwene to ensure her compliance before being left trapped in the dream.
• Perrin (Young Bull, blacksmith) — Perrin Aybara hunts through the Stone of Tear in Tel'aran'rhiod, finds Faile chained to a stone block, shatters the lock and chains with his hammer, but loses her to the shifting nature of the dream before Hopper urges him to continue the hunt.
• Hopper (wolf) — Hopper appears as a wolf in Perrin's dream, kills a Darkfriend attacker, and advises Perrin that the Stone is a place of men and urges him to hunt again after he loses Faile.
• Faile — Faile appears in Perrin's dream as a vision chained to a stone block, smiles at him as he frees her, and then fades away as the dream shifts.
• Darlin (High Lord Darlin) — A High Lord named Darlin, dressed in a gold-striped coat, fights Mat and Sandar in a corridor of the Stone, but is defeated by Mat's quarterstaff and left unconscious.
• high_lord (High Lord) — A second High Lord, half-dressed with tousled hair, attacks Mat and Sandar but is quickly knocked unconscious by Mat's staff.