Warning: this article contains spoilers forThe Wheel of Timebook series, particularly book 14,A Memory of Light.
With fifteen books and a massive cast all coming together for an apocalyptic finish,The Wheel of Timefans have a lot to keep track of by the end of the series as the Dragon Reborn and his followers make their play to finally defeat the Dark One and win Tarmon Gai’don.Surprisingly, many of the heroes of the series do survive the events of the Last Battle, although none survive unscathed.
The Amazon Prime adaptation is still a long way off from even hinting at the climax ofA Memory of Light, even ifThe Wheel of Timeseason 3 does cover three booksat once. Entirebeloved moments from theWheel of Timebooks may not happen, for the sake of translating it to screen. The show may not even wind up with an ending that’s accurate to the books. Butfor now, we know how the books end— or at least, how the story finishes for eachWheel of Timecharacter, as there are no beginnings or endings to the Wheel of Time.
1Rand al’Thor
The Dragon Reborn
As the prophesied Dragon Reborn,Rand’s part inThe Wheel of Timeends as was foretold. In the lead-up to the Last Battle, he gathered all the rulers of the Westlands and bound them to his will, forcing them to sign his treaty, the Dragon’s Peace, before he would agree to face the Dark One. He even made the Seanchan agree to the Peace and provide reinforcements on the eve of the Last Battle.
Rand did battle with the Moridin and Dark One in the Pit of Doombeneath Shayol Ghul, and although his victory was hard-earned, it was still a victory. The Shadow was sealed away outside of the Pattern again, as it was before Lews Therin and the Companions opened the Bore, and the Last Battle was won, but the Dragon’s wounds and exertion had ruined his body and he staggered out of the Pit, dripping blood and carrying Moridin’s equally wounded form.
Despite the best efforts of the Aes Sedai, Rand’s body died shortly after that, yet the link forged between Rand and Moridin’s souls had an unexpected effect — they had switched bodies as they both lay near death, so that it was Moridin who died. Rand, in Moridin’s body, woke up and slipped away while everyone watched his pyre burn in one ofThe Wheel of Timebooks' most memorable moments. His lovers — Min, Elayne, and Aviendha — could all feel he was still alive, and he knew he would see them again, butfor now, he was content to simply wander, no longer under the weight of being the Dragon Reborn.
2Egwene al’Vere
The Greatest Amyrlin Seat
Egwene, whose story in theWheel of Timebookssaw her elevated to the Amyrlin Seat in book six,Lord of Chaos, went into preparations for the Last Battle at odds with Rand, believing that the Aes Sedai should be at the forefront of the fight. She attempted to undermine him during the debate over the Dragon’s Peace, only relenting when Moiraine intervened. At the outbreak of the Last Battle, Egwene surrendered control of the forces of the Aes Sedai to Mat and flung herself into battle.
Almost shattered by her beloved Warder Gawyn’s death at the hands of the Forsaken Demandred, Egwene continued to cut through the armies of the Shadow until she came up against another Forsaken, the traitorous M’Hael. As she wove her own Power against the Forsaken’s balefire,she realized how to create a weave opposite to balefire’s Pattern-shattering brightnessand used this new weapon— the Flame of Tar Valon — to kill M’Hael, turning his body to crystal.
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Then, realizing she was already on the brink of burning herself out with too much of the Power, Egwene al’Vere used every drop ofsaidarshe could reach to devastate the Shadow’s channelers with the new Flame. Althoughshe was consumed by her own channeling, she annihilated hundreds of the foe in an instant in a wave of crystalline brilliance, sealing the cracks in the ground made by M’Hael’s balefire and helping turn the tide with her final sacrifice.
3Nyneave al’Meara
Queen of Malkier
Nyneave was one of the two Aes Sedai who accompanied Rand into the Pit of Doom for the Last Battle, alongside Moiraine. It was her strength and wisdom that helped support the Dragon in his final conflicts with Moridin and the Dark One, and she was able to flee the Pit once the Dark One was imprisoned again.
Although deeply upset that she could not heal Rand’s broken body, and doubly so that Egwene died on the field of battle without her, Nyneave was grateful that her beloved Lan survived. Together,they donned the Crowns of Malkier and set off to rebuild the fallen kingdom as the Blight receded.
4Lan Mandragoran
King of Malkier
Lan began the Last Battle by finally allowing the Golden Crane, the battle of Malkier, to fly behind him as he rode to Tarwin’s Gap in hopes of slowing the torrent of Shadowspawn that had amassed at the edge of the Blight. At the head of a massive army of Borderlanders, he repeatedly defied the odds, at one point even singlehandedly slaying a pair of Myrddrall. Although they were forced into a fighting retreat back through Shienar,Lan and his army forced the Shadow to pay for every inch of ground.
Lan’s almost preternatural skill with a blade kept him alive long enough to realize that a traditional duel couldn’t be won
As his army finally began to succumb to attrition, Lan decided to sever the head of the serpent and rode out to challenge Demandred, the Forsaken general. Although at a huge disadvantage against the ancient channeler,Lan’s almost preternatural skill with a blade kept him alivelong enough to realize that a traditional duel couldn’t be won; instead, he used the technique of Sheathing the Sword, which he taught Rand back in the beginning, and allowed Demandred to land a near-fatal blow on him to find an opening, neatly piercing the Forsaken leader through the throat.
Lan’s victory rekindled the morale of the forces of the Dragon, and as he stood holding Demandred’s severed head high, the Shadow’s armies broke and fled. Healed by one of the loyal Asha’man, Lan was then taken to meet Nyneave at Thakan’dar, where they donned the Crowns of Malkier together andset off to reclaim his lost birthright.
5Moiraine Damodred
Aes Sedai
Thought dead since the ending ofThe Fires of Heaven, Moiraine was actually a captive of the Finn, the inhuman tricksters that live in a strange parallel world where Lanfear had trapped her. She was rescued by Mat and Thom, though only barely, and upon their return to the Westlands she asked Thom to marry her and become her Warder, which the bemused gleeman agreed to.
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Moiraine’s appearance at the summit for the Dragon’s Peace surprised everyone there, and her counsel forced the bickering leaders to agree that the Peace was necessary. She accompanied Rand into the Pit of Doom along with Nyneave, helping him to finally seal the Dark One away. Unlike the other survivors of the Last Battle, who all found greater status or glory in their victory,Moiraine was content to grieve Rand’s death and find comfort in the arms of her new husband.
6Mat Cauthon
Prince of Ravens
The gambler in Mat had already led him on a merry road before even reaching the Last Battle, losing an eye to the Eelfinn in order to free Moiraine, accidentally marrying Tuon, the standoffish Empress of the Seanchan, and just generally managing to be a nuisance in such a way that he always came out on top. Finding himself third in line for command of the Seanchan forces and in full command of the Westland’s armies, Mat organized the last stand of the Light at the Field of Merrilor, where the dice once again came up in his favor.
After the end of the battle at Merrilor, Mat flew to Shayol Ghul to help Rand’s beleaguered Aiel army. He wound up finally killing Padan Fain, who had, by this point, been completely taken over by the twisted entity Mashadar. Immune to Mashadar’s taint since overcoming it before,Mat was able to kill Fain with the very ruby dagger he had taken from Shadar Logoth.
Returning to his army’s camp at Merrilor, Mat celebrated with his friends and comrades. Upon learning that Tuon was pregnant with his child, and that she could have him killed now that he’d produced an heir, his only response was to say,“Tell me, do you ever play dice?”
7Perrin Aybara
Lord of the Two Rivers
With the Power-wrought hammer Mah’alleinir in his hands and his wife Faile at his side, Perrin led his army of Saldeans and Two Rivers folk to the Field of Merrilor to aid in the Last Battle, but missed the fight at the Field as he insteadtraveled in the flesh to Tel’aran’rhiod to pursue the twisted shadow of a man that called himself Slayer. The two chased each other across the Westlands and the World of Dreams both, and Perrin was finally victorious at Shayol Ghul.
When Perrin went to the entrance to the Pit of Doom to check on Rand, he came across Lanfear, who attempted to use Compulsion to get Perrin to kill Moiraine and interrupt the weaving that was sealing the Dark One. The strength of Lanfear’s weave faltered in the face of Perrin’s will, though, as he knew that killing Moiraine would mean Rand’s failure, which would mean Faile’s death, and that was the one thing he could not let happen.
Overcoming the Compulsion, he snapped Lanfear’s neck and went off to find his wife. f the visions Aviendha had in Rhuidean were true,Perrin would go on to lead the Two Rivers into becoming a kingdom in its own right. If not, he was still married to the Queen of Saldea, as Faile’s relatives died at the Field of Merrilor.
8Elayne Trakand
Queen of Andor and Cairhien
Pregnant with Rand’s twins and the queen of two separate kingdoms, Elayne was the first ruler of the Westlands to sign the Dragon’s Peace, and led a massive army to free her capital of Caemlyn from Trolloc occupation at the outbreak of the Last Battle. A Pyrrhic victory there led her forces to a second battle with Trollocs just outside Cairhien, and from there they retreated to join the main host at Merrilor.
Although Elayne was almost killed several times during the Last Battle,she managed to survive through her own tenacity and skill, with the added help of having Birgitte, Hero of the Horn, as one of her Warders. After the end of the Battle, she gathered at Rand’s pyre with Min and Aviendha, watching the body burn but knowing her beloved still lived.
9Loial
Great Scholar of the Ogier
Loial, son of Arent, moved heaven and earth in order to convince his fellow Ogier to aid in fighting the Last Battle rather than use the Book of Translation to flee to another world. Loial’s impassioned arguments at the Great Stump, the meeting of all Ogier elders, convinced them that fleeing was a fool’s choice, as if the Dark One was victorious than no world would be safe.
As a part of the Ogier force that arrived at Merrilor, Loial fought alongside Elayne Trakand’s army, where he and the other Ogier proved that although it had been ages since they had raised weapons in anger, they were still a force to be reckoned with, and in time Trollocs began to flee at the sight of them. Althoughlittle is known of Loial after the Last Battle other than that he survived, it’s inevitable that he finally returned to his belovedsteddingto settle down with his wife and catch up on his reading.
10Thom Merrilin
Warder
Thom was instrumental in rescuing Moiraine from the Finn at the Tower of Ghenjei, in no small part because he had plenty of instruments with which to provide music to dazzle the fey folk. After rescuing her, Thom agreed to her marriage proposal and accepted her Warder bond.
During the Last Battle,Thom stood guard at the entrance to the Pit of Doomas Moiraine, Nyneave, and Rand entered, and killed at least five Darkfriend channelers who tried to enter in various disguises, dumping their bodies in a nearby ditch. In between these moments of profound violence, he passed the time composing a ballad of Rand’s exploits and the events of the Last Battle, and was there to help Moiraine and the others flee from the Pit as the Bore closed behind them.
