Chapter 37 - What Might Be

Summary

At a Portal Stone in Stedding Tsofu, Verin Sedai guides Rand al’Thor to transport the party to Toman Head; as Rand channels, he is overwhelmed by visions of countless alternate lives he might have lived, causing a chaotic surge that knocks everyone unconscious. Upon waking in a barren, autumnal landscape on Toman Head, Verin reveals they have lost four months of time, though they have arrived in the correct location. Ingtar Gladion is calmed by Verin’s touch after his trauma, and the shaken companions recover their resolve. With no time to waste, the group mounts their horses and rides westward from the Stone to search for Padan Fain and the Horn of Valere.

Characters

• Rand / Rand al'Thor — Rand channels the One Power through the Portal Stone, enduring a violent surge that forces him to experience a kaleidoscope of alternate lives, from dying in the Two Rivers to ruling as a king or dying mad. He collapses after the surge, later standing to reassure his shaken friends before joining the group in riding west.
• Verin / Verin Sedai — Verin guides Rand in using the Stone, explaining its mechanics and the risks involved. After the chaotic arrival on Toman Head, she calms Ingtar’s panic and declares they must ride west immediately to begin their search, refusing Rand’s request to avoid her help.
• Ingtar — Ingtar expresses doubt about the necessity of using the Stone but vows to follow Verin to recover the Horn. He is shaken by the time distortion but is soothed by Verin’s touch before the group departs.
• Loial — Loial sits sprawled and stunned by the psychic surge of the Stone, later recovering enough to mount up and ride with the group toward Toman Head.
• Mat — Mat is huddled in a ball during the surge, then desperately assures Rand he will keep his secret about Rand’s channeling. He rides west with the group, worried about Fain’s head start.
• Perrin — Perrin struggles with the visions, his yellow eyes hidden as he reflects on fate and choice. He recovers and rides west with the party.
• Hurin — Hurin looks around anxiously after the surge, seemingly searching for a place to run, before mounting up to ride west.
• Uno — Uno kneels on the ground, scrubbing his mouth after the psychic assault, and eventually stands up with the others.
• Masema — Masema weeps openly after the surge, his face streaked with tears, before recovering to ride with the group.
• Red — Red stands stiff-legged and quivering with wild, rolling eyes alongside the other horses during the psychic surge, then is mounted by Rand to ride west.