Stranded in an alternate reality, Rand, Loial, and Hurin track Fain’s party. Rand is tormented by Ba’alzamon in a nightmare, which ends with a heron-mark brand on his hand.
Rand, Loial, and Hurin are stranded in a world that is eerily devoid of animal life. The water is drinkable but flat, and the whole place feels like it’s been washed in sepia. As the day wears on, Hurin doesn’t inspire confidence that he knows what he is doing. He claims to still have the scent, but keeps talking about how the trail feels vague and faint.
Loial stops to sing to a tree, using his mystical powers to create a quarterstaff from its wood. He explains that it is unusual for Ogier to carry weapons, but this place freaks him out. According to him, the land felt “glad” for a weapon to have been made.
When they make camp for the night, Rand takes the first watch. Fog rolls in, and Ba’alzamon takes the opportunity to torment Rand in what feels just like a standard-issue Wheel of Time nightmare sequence. When all of it vanishes, Rand finds that the hilt of his sword grew so hot that the heron mark has been branded onto the palm of his hand. Ouch! If I were him, I would be wondering whether Ba’alzamon really did visit me, or if I hallucinated it and used the One Power to heat my sword to red-hot temperatures. That’s the tricky thing about going mad — objectivity isn’t really a part of your arsenal anymore.