Rand al'Thor
Chapter 1 - An Empty Road
Rand / Rand al'Thor
Rand travels with his father, carrying his bow and arrow while grappling with the unsettling feeling of being watched by a menacing black-cloaked rider. He interacts with Mat Cauthon, confirming the stranger's terrifying presence, and helps unload goods at the Winespring Inn before the attention of the village turns to the gleeman and festival preparations.
Chapter 2 - Strangers
Rand
Rand assists Mat in hauling barrels into the inn's cellar. He later encounters Moiraine in the Green, accepts her silver coin and request for assistance, and questions her presence before watching her move toward the Wagon Bridge with Lan.
Chapter 3 - The Peddler
Rand / Rand al'Thor
Rand watches Fain's arrival with a mix of fear and excitement about the news of the Dragon Reborn. He sits on a stone foundation while Mat and Perrin approach him to discuss the rumors, during which Perrin recounts his sighting of a mysterious rider, a claim Rand supports. Rand later engages in an awkward and tense conversation with Egwene about her future as a Wisdom and her potential departure from the Two Rivers.
Chapter 4 - The Gleeman
Rand — aliases: lad
Rand observes Thom Merrilin's performance with amusement and interacts with Egwene, who requests stories about Lenn. He later joins Mat and Perrin to discuss the black-cloaked rider and plans to find more witnesses before departing with his father.
Chapter 5 - Winternight
Rand
Rand tends to the farm chores and prepares for the night before fleeing the Trolloc attack into the woods as instructed by his father. He hides in the forest, re-unites with a wounded Tam, and later returns to the farmhouse to kill a surviving Trolloc named Narg before gathering supplies and preparing the cart to carry his father away.
Chapter 6 - The Westwood
Rand
Rand tends to Tam's wounds and constructs a litter from blankets and cart shafts to transport his father through the forest. He struggles with physical exhaustion and fear, narrowly hiding from a silent black-cloaked rider and twenty Trollocs on the Quarry Road. He attempts to maintain his sanity and identity while enduring Tam's feverish ramblings about past battles and the Tree of Life.
Chapter 7 - Out of the Woods
Rand / Rand al'Thor — aliases: sheepherder
Rand drags his litter through the woods into the burning village, struggling with exhaustion and grief. He brings Tam to Nynaeve, who refuses to heal him, and then to Mayor Bran, who suggests seeking help from an Aes Sedai. Rand locates Moiraine and Lan, accepts their offer to help Tam, and leads them back to the inn, rushing to save his father's life.
Chapter 8 - A Place of Safety
Rand
Rand stays by his father's bedside, desperate to know Tam is safe. He questions Lan and Moiraine about the attackers and the implications of their attack, eventually realizing the terrible truth that he is the target. He struggles with the news that he must leave home but accepts it to protect the Two Rivers, planning to tell Mat and Perrin.
Chapter 9 - Tellings of the Wheel
Rand
Rand endures a vivid nightmare where he is drawn toward a white tower by unseen forces and confronted by a Myrddraal before waking in terror. He later shares his breakfast and conversation with his recovering father, Tam, before being rushed out of the inn by Lan to join the confrontation in the yard, where he watches Moiraine address the villagers.
Chapter 10 - Leavetaking
Rand
Rand exchanges nervous smiles with his friends, trying hard to appear eager to be off. He helps saddle Bela for Egwene and mounts the spirited gray horse Cloud, which tosses and prances as he struggles to settle into the saddle.
Chapter 11 - The Road to Taren Ferry
Rand
Rand gallops behind Lan and Moiraine, constantly checking for the Draghkar and worrying about Egwene on Bela. He is shaken by the Draghkar's appearance and Moiraine's fog magic, eventually helping the group reach Taren Ferry where he observes the sly reputation of the locals.
Chapter 12 - Across the Taren
Rand
Rand walks through the heavy fog to the ferry landing, copying Lan's defensive posture and worrying about the potential betrayal of the ferryman. He questions Lan about the danger of Darkfriends and watches in gloom as Moiraine sinks the ferry, later crawling into the hidden hollow to listen to Moiraine's lesson on the One Power.
Chapter 13 - Choices
Rand — aliases: sheepherder
Rand rides Cloud, learning to shoot and fight while secretly worrying about the Dark One. He argues with Egwene about Aes Sedai, then eavesdrops on Moiraine and Egwene before hiding and watching Moiraine return to the camp. He marvels at the size of Baerlon and walks with Thom toward the inn.
Chapter 14 - The Stag and Lion
Rand
Rand takes a hot bath with his friends, feels the weight of their isolation and distrust, and later struggles with a recurring headache and a vivid dream. In the dream, he confronts Ba’alzamon in a surreal stone room, who mocks his fate and claims responsibility for Lews Therin's madness, leaving Rand shaken and suspicious of Moiraine's motives upon waking.
Chapter 15 - Strangers and Friends
Rand / Rand al'Thor
Rand wakes with a headache, encounters Min Farshaw who reveals her Sight, chases Fain through the streets, and channels a surge of One Power during a confrontation with Whitecloaks before being intercepted by Thom.
Chapter 16 - The Wisdom
Rand / Rand al'Thor
Rand ignores Min's warning to join the meeting, insists to Nynaeve that they cannot return home due to the hunting Trollocs, and later confronts the Wisdom about his origin, receiving reassurance that Tam is his father.
Chapter 17 - Watchers and Hunters
Rand
Rand dances in the common room, attempting to forget his troubles, before being confronted by a Faceless Myrddraal in the hallway. He survives the encounter thanks to Lan's arrival and flees Baerlon at dawn with the rest of the group.
Chapter 18 - The Caemlyn Road
Rand
Rand rides Cloud through the hills, fighting off Trollocs with a catchpole and hook while struggling to stay mounted. He witnesses Moiraine's powerful use of the One Power to create a wall of fire and later helps lay a false scent trail before spotting the ruins of Shadar Logoth.