Contents
Chapter 43
Overview
Perrin, Lan, Zarine, and Loial discover Darkhound tracks outside their Illian inn after Gray Men struck inside, proving a powerful Shadow presence nearby. In the wolf dream, Hopper warns Perrin of Shadowbrothers and the coming Last Hunt, while ominous visions surface. Moiraine returns, confirming a Forsaken rules Illian, heightening immediate danger.
Summary
In the wake of slain Gray Men at the inn, Lan questions how Perrin detected them; Perrin admits he smelled them, drawing Zarine’s wary curiosity. Lan urges everyone outside to search. The storm-dark street is nearly empty, and a sulfurous tang rides the wind.
Following faint signs, Lan finds paw prints pressed into a stone mounting block; Perrin recognizes a strong, burnt-sulfur scent. Lan names it a Darkhound trail, unheard of so far south since the Trolloc Wars, and warns it likely hunted and now returns to its master. He offers Zarine a chance to quit, then decides to ride after Moiraine to warn her.
Back inside, with rain pounding, Lan arms himself and departs. Perrin attempts sleep to seek the wolf dream. His dreams churn with Darkhounds, Fades, Gray Men, and a slender, triumphant man with a sun-bright sword. In the wolf dream, Perrin views Mat dicing against Ba’alzamon and sees Egwene, Nynaeve, and Elayne step into a sprung cage, watched by a braided woman and one in white.
Perrin calls Hopper, who arrives and warns that the Last Hunt approaches and that Shadowbrothers—Darkhounds—are great danger. Hopper urges Perrin to flee rather than explain why they hunt him, shoving Perrin from the spire to end the encounter.
Perrin wakes to find Zarine watching; she presses him about who he is and reveals her chosen name, Faile, claiming her purpose as a Hunter of the Horn. Moiraine bursts in, grim, and confirms Perrin’s wolf-dream truth: the Forsaken are loose, and one of them rules Illian.
Who Appears
- Perrin AybaraSenses Gray Men by smell; discovers Darkhound tracks; enters wolf dream, receives Hopper’s warnings and ominous visions.
- Lan MandragoranIdentifies Darkhound prints; resolves to warn Moiraine; underscores the grave threat stalking the group.
- Zarine (Faile) BashereQuestions Perrin; refuses to quit; claims the name Faile and her identity as a Hunter of the Horn.
- Moiraine DamodredReturns to confirm Perrin’s dream: the Forsaken are free and one rules Illian.
- LoialAssists the search outside; expresses fear at the Darkhound threat.
- HopperWolf guide in the dream; warns Perrin of Shadowbrothers and the coming Last Hunt.