
In "The Shadow Rising," the longest book in Jordan's epic Wheel of Time series, Rand faces his destiny through Rhuidean's silver columns - a sequence Jordan himself considered his finest storytelling. Dive into the 393,823-word fantasy masterpiece that redefined power dynamics in literature.
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In the Stone of Tear, a fortress that stood impregnable for three thousand years until Rand al'Thor claimed it, the Dragon Reborn struggles with his newfound power and responsibility. Having claimed Callandor, the crystal sword sa'angreal, Rand now faces the impossible task of uniting nations before the Last Battle. But the Pattern has other plans. When Trollocs and Myrddraal launch an unprecedented attack on the Stone, Rand channels devastating amounts of the One Power, creating a whirlwind of destruction that obliterates every Shadowspawn in the fortress. In the aftermath, seeing a dead child, he attempts something forbidden - to resurrect her using saidin. "Death cannot be Healed," Moiraine tells him gently. "You are not the Creator." This moment crystallizes Rand's growing dilemma: how to wield enough power to save the world without becoming a monster in the process. Meanwhile, prophecies pull our heroes in different directions - Rand toward the Aiel Waste, Perrin back to the Two Rivers, and others to distant Tanchico. The Shadow is rising, and no one can escape its reach.
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