Contents
Chapter 4
Overview
Perrin endures layered, invasive dreams where shadowed figures tempt him to abandon his axe and embrace glory. He witnesses a clandestine meeting of three powerful men that erupts in consuming fire, then confronts the unreachable Callandor. A wolf’s thought pierces waking, warning that Trollocs are coming, raising immediate danger.
Summary
Perrin dreams he is in an inn’s cold common room, where a well-dressed, shadow-shrouded man urges him to give up his axe and share a cup. The man hints fate can be changed and warns that three threads share one doom. Perrin refuses the wine and backs away, sensing danger.
The dream shifts. Armored in gold and called to glory by a stunning woman in white, Perrin feels drawn to destiny yet fights it, declaring himself a blacksmith and a man, not a seeker of glory. She promises she will always be in his dreams as darkness takes him.
On stone bridges and spires suspended in dimness, Perrin hides and watches a tall, dark, silver-streaked man meet a white-haired, stocky man. A third man—the velvets-clad tempter from the inn—joins them. Their alliance collapses into rage, and an expanding fireball engulfs the bridge, leaving only melted ends.
Fleeing and shaken, Perrin spots a shaggy gray wolf, then the scene blurs to a vast redstone hall where Callandor hangs, glittering and just out of reach. For the first time, a whisper urges him to take it and wield destiny, but an unseen barrier holds firm.
A familiar wolf-thought cuts through: “The Twisted Ones come.” Perrin violently wakes in his hut, yet the thought remains in his mind—clear and not his own—repeating the warning that Trollocs are coming, turning dream threat into imminent reality.
Who Appears
- Perrin AybaraDreams within dreams tempt him to abandon his axe and seek glory; he witnesses a fiery parley, sees Callandor, and wakes to a wolf warning.
- Shadowed man in dark velvetsTempts Perrin to give up the axe and drink; later argues with two others before a fireblast consumes their bridge.
- Beautiful woman in whiteEntices Perrin with promises of destiny and glory, urging him to drink; vows to haunt his dreams.
- Tall, dark, silver-streaked manMeets a rival on a bridge; their tense parley with the velveted man ends in annihilating fire.
- White-haired, stocky man in redConfronts the dark, slender man; joins the three-way argument before the bridge is destroyed by flame.
- Shaggy gray wolfAppears in the dreamscapes and sends the thought, “The Twisted Ones come,” which follows Perrin into waking.