Rand catches up to Mat, Perrin, and Hurin, and keeps Ingtar’s secret as he just says he’s staying behind. Then the Seanchan pour out of the city to meet the Whitecloaks, with our heroes caught between them. So Mat decides the only thing to do is blow the Horn. And it does exactly what it says, as Artur Hawkwing and all his knights suddenly arrive. And they all address Rand as Lews Therin, so there’s more to weigh down on his denial.
Artur also heads into the battle against the Seanchan, which will become pretty awkward if they find out who he is, but that’s put aside when the Dark One shows up. After a pretty cool bit where the fight between him and Rand determines how the entire battle goes, the Chekhov's Lecture goes off as Rand remembers the bit about being willing to stab yourself. Then comes another Crowning Moment Of Awesome as he gives a Shut Up, Hannibal! and then lets the Dark One stab him, as the only way to get close enough to shove the heron sword into his heart. Although seeing as what happened last time wasn’t enough to kill him, I have my doubts here.
It’s an audacious move to set up this huge battle and then hardly let us see any of it, but it works here, as the duel controlling the whole thing is a great concept that easily lets us picture what’s happening everywhere else. And the stabbing yourself thing comes to a completely logical payoff that I still didn’t figure out. Though I am worried about a possible pattern here, with every book ending with a fight between these two that ends with Rand seemingly killing the Dark One. It worked in Harry Potter as each fight was different enough that it stayed fresh, but I don’t see this having the same kind of staying power.
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