In the remote village of
Emond's Field in the
Two Rivers, the arrival of a mysterious noblewoman precedes an attack by
Trollocs, humanoid monsters. The woman identifies herself as
Moiraine Damodred, an
Aes Sedai, and warns that servants of the
Dark One seek one of three young men:
Rand al'Thor,
Perrin Aybara and
Matrim Cauthon. They depart with Moiraine and her
Warder,
Lan Mandragoran, joined by
Egwene al'Vere, whom Moiraine believes has Aes Sedai potential; the
gleeman Thom Merrilin; and later the Wisdom
Nynaeve al'Meara, a healer who discovers her ability to
channel the
One Power. Pursued by Trollocs, they seek refuge in the abandoned city of
Shadar Logoth, where Mat steals a cursed dagger, becoming infected by the malevolent
Mashadar. Escaping the city, the travelers are separated. Rand, Mat, and Thom travel by boat to
Whitebridge, where Thom is lost, allowing Rand and Mat to escape a
Myrddraal, the eyeless creatures leading the Trollocs. In
Caemlyn, Rand befriends an
Ogier named
Loial. Attempting to see the captured
False Dragon, Rand meets
Elayne Trakand, heir to
Andor, and her brothers
Gawyn Trakand and
Galad Damodred. Rand is brought before
Queen Morgase; her Aes Sedai advisor,
Elaida; and Gareth Bryne, Captain-General of the Queen's Guard, and released, despite Elaida's warnings. Egwene and Perrin are separately guided to Caemlyn by
Elyas Machera, who communicates telepathically with wolves and claims Perrin shares this ability. They encounter the Tuatha'an, or
Tinkers, and Aram, who expresses interest in Egwene and explains their belief in non-violence, The Way of the Leaf. The three encounter the
Children of the Light, where Perrin kills two for killing a wolf and is sentenced to death. Moiraine, Lan, and Nynaeve rescue Egwene and Perrin, reuniting them with Rand and Mat. Moiraine decides Mat must go to
Tar Valon to overcome Shadar Logoth's influence. Loial warns Moiraine of a threat to the Eye of the World, a pool of
Saidin untouched by the
Dark One's influence, confirmed by dreams Mat, Rand, and Perrin have. The Eye of the World is protected by
Someshta (the
Green Man) and contains a seal on the Dark One's prison, the Dragon banner of
Lews Therin Telamon, and the
Horn of Valere. At the border of the civilized world, the group enters the Blight to protect the Eye. They meet the Green Man, who reveals the Eye, and are confronted by the
Forsaken Aginor and
Balthamel. Balthamel and the Green Man kill each other. Rand defeats Aginor and uses the Eye to decimate the Trolloc army and defeat
Ba'alzamon. Moiraine concludes Rand is the
Dragon Reborn, but withholds details of the final battle from the male members of the group except Lan. ==Two Rivers characters==