Dhruv Trivedi
Amazon Prime’s ‘The Wheel of Time’ opens with Moiraine, of the magical Aes Sedai, and her Warder, Lan, searching for the legendary Dragon Reborn. She picks up four youths from the village of Two Rivers, one of whom is destined to be the legendary warrior. However, until the Dragon Reborn emerges, Moiraine is tasked with protecting the youths and helping them forge their destiny.
Fortunately, as a senior Aes Sedai member, she has an ample store of magical power and is one of the best channelers in the realm. However, the season 1 finale gives us hints of Moiraine undergoing a terrible fate. Could she have lost her all-important magical powers? Let’s dive into ‘The Wheel of Time’ and take a closer look. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Does Moiraine Lose Her Magical Powers?
Moiraine is known as one of the most powerful magic channelers of the Aes Sedai and is, in fact, comparable in power to the leader of the magical order, Siuan. However, since the start, Moiraine has a habit of putting herself in the path of considerable danger and is almost killed twice — once by a Trolloc wound and the other after being attacked by the False Dragon. However, the most dangerous mission that Moiraine undertakes is taking Rand through the Blight to the Eye of the World to confront the Dark One.
Sensing him to be relatively weak, Moiraine feels it is the opportune time to attack the Dark entity. However, she repeatedly mentions that whoever is not the Dragon Reborn and enters the Eye of the World will perish. This is also why Rand, after learning that he is the Dragon Reborn, unsuccessfully tries to convince Moiraine to stay back. However, she enters the Dark One’s lair, not to protect Rand but to make sure that he dies if he decides to go over to the Dark side.
Thus, in order to ensure that the Dragon Reborn doesn’t get corrupted, Moiraine is forced to confront the Dark One. As she attempts to hold the powerful Dark entity at bay, it takes on a humanoid form and attacks her with magic, stripping away her powers. Essentially, the Dark One breaks Moiraine’s connection to the One Power, which is the source of all magical power. Thus, the Aes Sedai member is left helpless and powerless. Her adversary even taunts her by saying that she will now live out her days knowing what it felt like to control magic but unable to do it anymore.
Moiraine’s break from the One Power also affects her bond with her Warder, Lan. The latter asks her to renew their connection, to which Moiraine sadly replies that she can’t since her connection to the magical source has been broken. The taking away of magical powers, known as “gentling” or “stilling,” is also supposed to cause madness because former channelers are unable to ever get used to being disconnected to the One Power.
Thus, some truly dark times seemingly lie ahead for Moiraine. However, the epic saga of ‘The Wheel of Time’ is just getting started, and there is still a chance that she will somehow regain her powers and continue to help Rand in the fight against the Dark One.
Read More: Does Moraine Die in The Wheel of Time?
