Spoiler-free book guide
The Path of Daggers
Book 8 of 14 in The Wheel of Time
Spoilers for books 1-7 of The Wheel of Time.
This page assumes you have read The Eye of the World, The Great Hunt, The Dragon Reborn, The Shadow Rising, The Fires of Heaven, Lord of Chaos and A Crown of Swords. The opening below goes no further than chapters 1 and 2 of The Path of Daggers.How it opens and who you meet earlySpoils books 1-7. Nothing past chapters 1 and 2 of The Path of Daggers.ShowHide
How it opens
Ebou Dar bakes in summer heat when winter should be half gone, and in a palace stableyard the Sea Folk Windfinders and the women of the Kin trade insults while they wait to leave. Elayne, Nynaeve and Aviendha are running from the Forsaken and a gholam, taking the Bowl of the Winds out of the city so the Windfinders can help use it to heal the weather. Aviendha weaves a gateway to a clearing miles north of the city, and after she spots a man watching from a tower, she picks the weave apart behind them so it leaves no trace to follow. As a novice, Elayne was told never, under any circumstances, to try that.
Who you meet early
- AviendhaAviendha, once a Maiden of the Spear and now an apprentice to the Wise Ones, is Elayne's near-sister. In Ebou Dar she has promised Mat Cauthon to protect Elayne and Nynaeve.
- Elayne TrakandElayne is an Aes Sedai who follows Egwene as Amyrlin Seat, with Birgitte bonded as her Warder. She and Nynaeve found the Bowl of the Winds in Ebou Dar and struck a bargain with the Windfinders to use it.
- Nynaeve al'MearaNynaeve is an Aes Sedai, married to Lan only a day, and she wears his heavy gold ring on a chain around her neck. She has vowed to teach the women of the Kin's Knitting Circle that they have backbones.
- Birgitte SilverbowBirgitte is Elayne's Warder and an archer who keeps her bow at hand. Through the bond, each of them can feel the other's worry.
- Renaile din Calon Blue StarRenaile din Calon is Windfinder to the Mistress of the Ships to the Atha'an Miere, and she leads nineteen more Windfinders out of Ebou Dar under the bargain. If the Aes Sedai break it, she threatens to claim the Bowl of the Winds.
- Reanne CorlyReanne Corly and ten other survivors of the Knitting Circle lead the Kin. For now they guard the captured Black sister Ispan, and they would much rather the Aes Sedai took her.
- Teslyn BaradonTeslyn Baradon is a Red sister who speaks with a thick Illianer accent and backs Elaida. She has promised that she and Joline will not interfere with Elayne and Nynaeve, though she does not accept them as Aes Sedai.
- Ispan ShefarIspan Shefar is a Black sister and now a prisoner, bound, hooded and kept giddy with Nynaeve's herbs while Kirstian of the Kin holds a shield on her. She helped murder two of the Kin.
Where it sits
The Path of Daggers is book 8 of 14. Read The Eye of the World, The Great Hunt, The Dragon Reborn, The Shadow Rising, The Fires of Heaven, Lord of Chaos and A Crown of Swords first, in that order.
Previous · Book 7
Next · Book 9
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The opening on this page is written only from chapters 1 and 2 of The Path of Daggers. Character notes say where each person stands as this book opens, written only from the earlier books and those chapters.