The Green Man leads the group to the Eye, which turns out to be pure saidin untouched by the Dark One. Moiraine finally explains why they came here — just in time for Aginor and Balthamel, two of the Forsaken, to crash the party. The Green Man dies killing Balthamel, Moiraine throws fire at Aginor, and everyone else bails in a panic. Can’t say I blame them — Aginor’s giving strong “boss fight you’re not leveled up for” energy.
The Green Man leads the way through his garden oasis to an arch set into the side of a hill.
GREEN MAN: I will not follow you in. That thing makes me uneasy. I feel myself being unmade.
Dude, you are definitely gonna die. Alright, Green Man. Go ahead and stand outside alone where the bad guys can shiv you on their way into the chamber.
Everyone else heads into the chamber with a pool that is literally built in the oval shape of an eye.
MOIRAINE: The Eye of the World.
MAT: But what is it?
Ding ding ding ding ding! Somebody give this man a prize! Leave it to the village idiot to finally ask the question that should have been obvious since Chapter 42: Remembrance of Dreams. Well, Moiraine? The time has come to spill it. What is the Eye of the World?
MOIRAINE: It is the essence of saidin, the male half of the True Source, free of the Dark One’s corruption.
RAND: Why did you bring us here?
Oh, man! Ding again! I hope we’re not out of prizes, because now Rand deserves one too.
MOIRAINE: Because you are ta’veren, and you must stop the Dark One when he strikes here.
Great, so, uh… just one question — when is that going to be, exactly? Because it looks like nobody is here. Is the group just going to hang out here for days and weeks and months until the Dark One decides to show up? Moiraine suggests they go back outside, and everyone is so uncomfortable being in a room full of saidin that they eagerly follow.
MAN: I have found you at last.
Obviously Aginor’s inspiration.
Either this man has not aged well, or he attended the Emperor Palpatine School of Beauty. Seriously, his character description reads like Jordan had clearly been watching Return of the Jedi, needed to come up with a look for a fugly bad guy, and out came this dude who calls himself Aginor. If you accept this, then you really have to wonder what kind of kinky shit Jordan was watching before he penned the description for Aginor’s companion, Balthamel. According to the text, Balthamel has a “tight, black leather carapace” covering his entire body, a mask that is frozen into a smile, and he never speaks. So we’ve got Emperor Palpatine and BDSM Dude. Where does the Dark One get these guys — Villains R Us?
At the same time, I will admit that Jordan came up with some pretty darn cool names for his villains. Ba’alzamon. Aginor. Balthamel. They just sound menacing. But here’s what I want to know — where did those names come from, in-universe? Admittedly, this is a world where mothers are honest-to-God giving their children weird-ass names like Caniedrin and Gelb. But even so, you can not tell me that anyone is going to name their child Ishamael. I really hope each of these names has a story behind it, because otherwise you have to imagine them sitting down for the most pathetic brainstorming session ever. “Hmm, what should my evil name be, now that I’m so evil? Isaac? No. Ivan? Mmm, no. Ishtar? Meh. I’ve got it! Ishamael!”
Wherever the names came from, everyone knows the Foresaken from the stories. Mat speaks up, insisting that the Foresaken are bound with the Dark One in Shayol Ghul, but Aginor smugly corrects him, declaring that the seals are weakening and the Foresaken are beginning to walk free once more.
Lan flashes forward to attack, but Aginor flicks him away like he’s a tin soldier, and he lands in a crumpled heap. This is not cool with Nynaeve, so she launches herself at Aginor, only for Balthamel to catch her by her face and lift her up into the air. Egwene moves to help, but Rand tackles her to the ground. Mat and Perrin move in, only to be knocked flat on their asses by an invisible barrier.
Balthamel finally tosses Nynaeve aside when the Green Man intervenes. The two grapple in combat. Balthamel scorches the Green Man, but not before the Green Man makes all manner of fungus and lichen and nettles sprout within Balthamel’s body. Vegetation destroys the mute Foresaken from the inside out, causing his dominatrix outfit to burst at the seams. With that, the Green Man dies — called it! — and a massive oak tree sprouts in his place.
Aginor is incensed, but so is Moiraine. She channels and creates a pit of flames under Aginor’s feet, but he just hangs there in mid-air and slowly walks across nothing toward his enemies. Moiraine commands everyone to run, and they’re so scared shitless that they all disappear into the trees, Rand included. Hey, Rand — it’s OK, big man. Moiraine will be fine. I’m sure that guttural shriek just means she’s winning.