The Eye of the World
Chapters - Robert Jordan
Prologue: Dragonmount
The prologue establishes the apocalyptic stakes of the story through a scene set at the end of the Age of Legends. Lews Therin Telamon, the Dragon, wanders through his ruined palace in madness, confronted by Ishamael who forces him to recognise that he has killed his own family. When Ishamael heals his madness just long enough for grief to consume him, Lews Therin draws so much of the One Power that he destroys himself and raises the mountain called Dragonmount from the earth.
POV: Rand al'Thor·On page: Mat Cauthon, Perrin Aybara, Egwene al'Vere, Nynaeve al'Meara, Moiraine Damodred, Lan Mandragoran, Thom Merrilin, Loial
Source: Dragonmount
Chapter 1: An Empty Road
The novel's present-day narrative opens by grounding us in the pastoral isolation of the Two Rivers. Rand and his father Tam travel the Quarry Road toward Emond's Field for the Bel Tine festival, and Rand catches a fleeting glimpse of a black-cloaked rider that no one else seems to see. The chapter establishes the rhythms of village life while planting the first seed of wrongness at its edges.
POV: Rand al'Thor·On page: Mat Cauthon, Perrin Aybara, Egwene al'Vere, Nynaeve al'Meara, Moiraine Damodred, Lan Mandragoran, Thom Merrilin, Loial
Source: Dragonmount
Chapter 2: Strangers
The arrival of strangers transforms the quiet anticipation of Bel Tine into something charged with unease. Moiraine and Lan ride into Emond's Field, and the village reacts to the presence of an Aes Sedai with a mixture of fascination and deep suspicion. Meanwhile, Rand learns that Mat and Perrin have also seen the same dark rider, confirming that the threat is real and directed at all three of them.
POV: Rand al'Thor·On page: Mat Cauthon, Perrin Aybara, Egwene al'Vere, Nynaeve al'Meara, Moiraine Damodred, Lan Mandragoran, Thom Merrilin, Loial
Source: Dragonmount
Chapter 3: The Peddler
The chapter functions as a calm before the storm, deepening the portrait of village life on the eve of its destruction. Rand encounters the peddler Padan Fain, who brings grim news of war and a false Dragon far to the west. Thom Merrilin, a gleeman, also arrives, and the accumulation of outsiders heightens the sense that Emond's Field has been drawn into a larger world's attention.
POV: Rand al'Thor·On page: Mat Cauthon, Perrin Aybara, Egwene al'Vere, Nynaeve al'Meara, Moiraine Damodred, Lan Mandragoran, Thom Merrilin, Loial
Source: Dragonmount
Chapter 4: The Gleeman
The Trolloc attack shatters the Two Rivers' isolation in a single night of fire and violence. Rand fights desperately to defend the farm alongside Tam, who is gravely wounded and begins speaking deliriously about finding a baby on the slopes of Dragonmount. The chapter marks the irreversible break between Rand's old life and what follows, while planting the first mystery of his origins.
POV: Rand al'Thor·On page: Mat Cauthon, Perrin Aybara, Egwene al'Vere, Nynaeve al'Meara, Moiraine Damodred, Lan Mandragoran, Thom Merrilin, Loial
Source: Dragonmount
Chapter 5: Winternight
Rand hauls his injured father through the night toward Emond's Field in a gruelling journey that tests him to his limits. Tam's fever-dreams reveal fragments of a past life as a soldier and the circumstances of Rand's adoption, though Rand resists believing what he hears. The chapter is structured as a physical and psychological crucible, stripping away certainty while building desperate urgency.
POV: Rand al'Thor·On page: Mat Cauthon, Perrin Aybara, Egwene al'Vere, Nynaeve al'Meara, Moiraine Damodred, Lan Mandragoran, Thom Merrilin, Loial
Source: Dragonmount
Chapter 6: The Westwood
Rand reaches the village to find it battered but standing, and Moiraine heals Tam with the One Power. The chapter reveals that the Trolloc raid specifically targeted the farms of Rand, Mat, and Perrin, establishing that the Dark One's forces are hunting the three young men. Moiraine's offer of protection comes with the implicit demand that they leave, setting up the central departure.
POV: Rand al'Thor·On page: Mat Cauthon, Perrin Aybara, Egwene al'Vere, Nynaeve al'Meara, Moiraine Damodred, Lan Mandragoran, Thom Merrilin, Loial
Source: Dragonmount
Chapter 7: Out of the Woods
The decision to leave crystallises as Rand, Mat, and Perrin each grapple with the knowledge that staying endangers everyone they love. Moiraine explains enough of the threat to make flight seem the only responsible choice, while Egwene insists on joining the party. Thom also attaches himself to the group, and the chapter assembles the core fellowship that will carry the narrative forward.
POV: Rand al'Thor·On page: Mat Cauthon, Perrin Aybara, Egwene al'Vere, Nynaeve al'Meara, Moiraine Damodred, Lan Mandragoran, Thom Merrilin, Loial
Source: Dragonmount
Chapter 8: A Place of Safety
The company flees Emond's Field under cover of darkness, crossing the Taren by ferry in a tense nighttime scene. Moiraine destroys the ferry behind them and summons a fog to cover their escape, demonstrating the scale of her power for the first time. The chapter marks the definitive crossing of a threshold, both literal and symbolic, as the Two Rivers vanishes behind them.
POV: Rand al'Thor·On page: Mat Cauthon, Perrin Aybara, Egwene al'Vere, Nynaeve al'Meara, Moiraine Damodred, Lan Mandragoran, Thom Merrilin, Loial
Source: Dragonmount
Chapter 9: Tellings of the Wheel
The group pushes hard across open country toward Baerlon, and Moiraine begins to educate her reluctant charges about the wider world. Egwene shows an eager curiosity about the Aes Sedai and the One Power, foreshadowing her own path. The chapter also introduces the tension between the boys' distrust of Moiraine and their dependence on her, a dynamic that will define much of the journey.
POV: Rand al'Thor·On page: Mat Cauthon, Perrin Aybara, Egwene al'Vere, Nynaeve al'Meara, Moiraine Damodred, Lan Mandragoran, Thom Merrilin, Loial
Source: Dragonmount
Chapter 10: Leavetaking
Rand experiences his first dream encounter with Ba'alzamon, who claims to be the Dark One and taunts him with promises of power and threats of destruction. The nightmare is vivid enough to leave a physical mark, and Rand wakes to discover that Mat and Perrin have had identical dreams. This chapter establishes the dream sequences as a recurring structural device and raises the question of why the Dark One cannot simply take what he wants.
POV: Rand al'Thor·On page: Mat Cauthon, Perrin Aybara, Egwene al'Vere, Nynaeve al'Meara, Moiraine Damodred, Lan Mandragoran, Thom Merrilin, Loial
Source: Dragonmount
Chapter 11: The Road to Taren Ferry
The party reaches Baerlon, giving the village boys their first experience of a real town, which Jordan uses to underscore just how sheltered their upbringing has been. Rand meets Min, who sees cryptic images around each member of the party and delivers fragmentary prophecies she cannot fully interpret. The chapter widens the world while layering in foreshadowing that will take volumes to resolve.
POV: Rand al'Thor·On page: Mat Cauthon, Perrin Aybara, Egwene al'Vere, Nynaeve al'Meara, Moiraine Damodred, Lan Mandragoran, Thom Merrilin, Loial
Source: Dragonmount
Chapter 12: Across the Taren
Rand has a confrontation with a Whitecloak patrol that nearly escalates to violence, introducing the Children of the Light as a secondary antagonistic force. The encounter demonstrates that the dangers of the wider world are not limited to the Shadow, and that human fanaticism poses its own threat. Min's warnings add urgency, and the party prepares to leave Baerlon quickly.
POV: Rand al'Thor·On page: Mat Cauthon, Perrin Aybara, Egwene al'Vere, Nynaeve al'Meara, Moiraine Damodred, Lan Mandragoran, Thom Merrilin, Loial
Source: Dragonmount
Chapter 13: Choices
A Darkfriend attempt on the party forces an abrupt departure from Baerlon. Nynaeve catches up with the group, having tracked them from the Two Rivers with impressive skill, and demands to bring her charges home. Her arrival adds a new source of tension and authority to the party's internal dynamics, and Moiraine's grudging acceptance of the Wisdom signals that Nynaeve has a larger role to play.
POV: Rand al'Thor·On page: Mat Cauthon, Perrin Aybara, Egwene al'Vere, Nynaeve al'Meara, Moiraine Damodred, Lan Mandragoran, Thom Merrilin, Loial
Source: Dragonmount
Chapter 14: The Stag and Lion
The company rides hard through the hills between Baerlon and Whitebridge, and Moiraine explains more about the Trollocs, Myrddraal, and the nature of the threat they face. The chapter builds a mounting sense of pursuit as signs of Shadowspawn appear along the road. It functions primarily as exposition delivered under pressure, deepening the world-building while maintaining narrative momentum.
POV: Rand al'Thor·On page: Mat Cauthon, Perrin Aybara, Egwene al'Vere, Nynaeve al'Meara, Moiraine Damodred, Lan Mandragoran, Thom Merrilin, Loial
Source: Dragonmount
Chapter 15: Strangers and Friends
The party enters Shadar Logoth, the ruined city that Moiraine deems safer than the Trollocs behind them, though she warns them never to touch anything within its walls. The chapter establishes the city as a place whose evil is independent of the Dark One, a corruption born from humanity's own paranoia and hatred during the Trolloc Wars. The atmosphere of wrongness is palpable, and Moiraine's fear of the place is more unsettling than any monster.
POV: Rand al'Thor·On page: Mat Cauthon, Perrin Aybara, Egwene al'Vere, Nynaeve al'Meara, Moiraine Damodred, Lan Mandragoran, Thom Merrilin, Loial
Source: Dragonmount
Chapter 16: The Wisdom
Curiosity overrides caution as Mat leads Rand and Perrin deeper into Shadar Logoth, where they encounter Mordeth, a ghostly figure who tries to lure them into carrying treasure out of the city. Mat takes a dagger from the ruins despite the warnings, an act whose consequences will reverberate across the entire series. The chapter uses the boys' youthful recklessness to trigger a cascading disaster.
POV: Rand al'Thor·On page: Mat Cauthon, Perrin Aybara, Egwene al'Vere, Nynaeve al'Meara, Moiraine Damodred, Lan Mandragoran, Thom Merrilin, Loial
Source: Dragonmount
Chapter 17: Watchers and Hunters
Mashadar, the mindless evil that haunts Shadar Logoth, rises in the night and drives the party apart as they flee the city. Trollocs attack simultaneously, and in the chaos the fellowship is shattered into three groups. The structural effect is decisive: the single narrative thread splits, and the novel becomes a story of parallel journeys converging toward a shared destination.
POV: Rand al'Thor·On page: Mat Cauthon, Perrin Aybara, Egwene al'Vere, Nynaeve al'Meara, Moiraine Damodred, Lan Mandragoran, Thom Merrilin, Loial
Source: Dragonmount
Chapter 18: The Caemlyn Road
Rand, Mat, and Thom escape Shadar Logoth by crossing the Arinelle on a boat captained by Bayle Domon. The river provides temporary safety, but another Ba'alzamon dream torments Rand and leaves him questioning his own sanity. Thom begins to take on a protective role toward the boys, and the chapter establishes the texture of life on the run with limited resources and uncertain allies.
POV: Rand al'Thor·On page: Mat Cauthon, Perrin Aybara, Egwene al'Vere, Nynaeve al'Meara, Moiraine Damodred, Lan Mandragoran, Thom Merrilin, Loial
Source: Dragonmount
Chapter 19: Shadow's Waiting
Perrin and Egwene find themselves lost in the wilderness after the Shadar Logoth separation, travelling with no clear route to Caemlyn. They encounter Elyas Machera, a man who can communicate with wolves, and Perrin begins to sense something awakening in himself. The chapter introduces the wolf-brother concept and establishes Perrin's arc as distinct from Rand's and Mat's.
POV: Rand al'Thor·On page: Mat Cauthon, Perrin Aybara, Egwene al'Vere, Nynaeve al'Meara, Moiraine Damodred, Lan Mandragoran, Thom Merrilin, Loial
Source: Dragonmount