In a lengthy and beautiful intro, Robert Jordan brings us back to The Stone of Tear, where the Dragon's Banner whips in the wind on the top of the mountain fortress. Perrin and Faile are in their rooms, arguing, believe it or not. We discuss their relationship, and debate a bit about just how intimate it has become. Faile wants Perrin to accept her as a long-term partner, but he doesn't feel right about keeping her near him, considering the imminent existential threat that surrounds him and everyone he knows. Death could come at any time, and Perrin very badly wants to protect her, but refuses to turn his back on his childhood friend, Rand Al'Thor. Shaitan stirs, and like bubbles rising from rotten detritus at the bottom of a pond, a dark force rises to the surface of the Pattern itself. Those bubbles are what gives life, or some kind of sentience, to Perrins weapon, and it tries to kill him. After a harrowing fight, Perrin is able to misdirect it, and the ax drives itself into a wooden door. This essentially “grounds” the energy of the Dark One, dispersing it.