We last left Rand running away from Aginor and the screaming Moiraine. She’s not screaming in ecstasy. Not today. He doesn’t get to see what happened to her quite yet, because Aginor is quickly approaching and He. Means. Business. If his business is killing, which it most assuredly is. Ba’alzamon, after all, rewards the killing! Or, barring that, bringing Rand in alive if he can.

Rand is not havin’ it. While breathing and panting, he notices (or senses, rather) a cord of light connected to Aginor which is charging his batteries. The cord keeps getting thicker, and Rand keeps getting more anxious. The have some sort of battle with the cord, which freaks Aginor out until, suddenly, Aginor bursts into flames and Rand finds himself in between the Trollocs and the Good Guys in Tarwin’s Gap. There’s fire and lightning and the Earth shakes when Rand slams his fist. Most of the Trollocs and Fades are killed. The man is a monster! Maybe even in the sack, if Egwene is lucky.

So this gives the Fal Dara crew, plus whoever is with them I forget, plenty of wiggle room to decimate the rest of the army. There’s some stuff about Rand facing Ba’alzamon head on while the devil-man shows him visions of his mother getting tortured. He gives Rand one last chance to kneel or he’ll die, and Rand stands up to him! All such as “YOU DON’T WEAVE THE PATTERN, NERD.”

Ba’alzamon doesn’t take kindly to this. OF COURSE he weaves the pattern. Bitch, he is the Pattern! Rand, however, notices a cord on this guy too and then cuts it with his sword. Ba’alzamon screams while Rand blasts him with fire.

Then Rand gets hit in the head and he gets knocked out.

High fantasy! Power cords and Satan-killing! Does it get any better than this, ladies and gentlemen?

(Yes)