How Egwene's New Dreamwalking Abilities Work In The Wheel Of Time

This article contains spoilers for The Wheel of Time season 3, episode 5.The Wheel of Time season 3, episode 5 has revealed Egwene is a Dreamwalker, able to enter the World of Dreams. It's long been clear that dreams have power in The Wheel of Time, with the Forsaken named Lanfear able to manipulate the dreams of others. She isn't the only one; all the Forsaken possess a degree of power over the World of Dreams. But now, Lanfear and the Forsaken have a rival.

Also known as Tel'aran'rhiod, the World of Dreams is essentially a parallel dimension overlapping the physical world. It's a strange and mysterious place, where your mind dictates your reality, and the passage of time is very different to that of the real world. Those who enter Tel'aran'rhiod can achieve great things - but they also face terrible risks. Now we know Egwene is a Dreamwalker, just as she is in the books, and that opens up so many stories for her.

Egwene Is A Dreamwalker In The Wheel Of Time

The Wheel of Time season 3, episode 5 sees Egwene begin to experiment with her Dreamwalking powers. It's easy to see why the Aes Sedai didn't pick up on them to begin with; they consider Dreamwalkers rare, and the last one among their number lived 500 years ago. The power seems to be more common among the Aiel, perhaps reflecting their own mystical beliefs. They swiftly recognized Egwene's potential, and they have begun to train her.

Egwene has already found creative uses for Dreamwalking, entering into the dreams of others - and even using Tel'aran'rhiod to communicate with others at great distances. But she is not the only Dreamwalker, and others are far more dangerous. She will need to learn how to master the World of Dreams if she is to play her part in the Last Battle.

The Rules Of Tel'aran'rhiod Explained

Manipulating The Dream

The World of Dreams is essentially a mirror of the waking world, but it is one that can be controlled and manipulated by Dreamwalkers (and also by Wolfbrothers such as Perrin, who have their own innate link to Tel'aran'rhiod). The most powerful Dreamwalkers can create "dreamshards," merging their own individual dreams with Tel'aran'rhiod, and thus creating areas where they have even more control. Several members of the Forsaken demonstrated this ability in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time novels.

Because Tel'aran'rhiod is bound to the real world, injuries sustained there can transfer over; if you die in the World of Dreams, you die a physical death too. Even more concerningly, wounds sustained in Tel'aran'rhiod don't Heal properly, perhaps suggesting there's something slightly different about their nature. Some Dreamwalkers have shown the opposite, though, entering Tel'aran'rhiod to Heal themselves and then awakening with their physical injuries restored.

How Dangerous Is The World Of Dreams

The Dark One looking serious in The Wheel of Time

The World of Dreams responds to your thoughts. A Dreamer must simultaneously acknowledge their own reality while also remembering that the world they live in is not real; when they do so, they are able to shape and control it. A Dreamer lacking self-awareness will perhaps see their own appearance or clothing flicker and change, while someone who forgets that Tel'aran'rhiod is not real may become trapped in a dream. Dreamwalkers can create constructs in the World of Dreams, using them as weapons against others.

We first saw the dangers of Tel'aran'rhiod at the end of The Wheel of Time season 1, when the Forsaken named Ishamael used it against Rand, almost defeating him. Rand was plunged into a dream-fantasy, and he was only able to escape when he recognized that this wasn't real. We're now clearly going to learn more about how dangerous Tel'aran'rhiod can be; heroes and villains are both among the Dreamwalkers, upping the ante significantly.

The Horn Of Valere & Other Ter'angreal

Mat blows the Horn of Valere In Wheel of Time season 2. — Mat blows the Horn of Valere In Wheel of Time.

Many Dreamwalkers experience the sense they are being watched. There's a reason for this; the heroes of the wheel reside in Tel'aran'rhiod. They are forbidden from interacting with Dreamwalkers, although naturally, in Jordan's books there are exceptions. When Mat blew the Horn of Valere, he summoned these heroes from Tel'aran'rhiod to the physical world.

The Horn of Valere can do this because it is one of many ter'angreal to interact with Tel'aran'rhiod. It is not the only one; the Aes Sedai arches entered by Nynaeve and Egwene seem to be linked to the World of Dreams as well. It's reasonable to assume they are essentially a gateway into Tel'aran'rhiod, but that they control the reality a person enters into through them.

How Dreamwalking Completely Changes Egwene's Role In The Story

Elayne (Ceara Coveney), Egwene al'Vere (Madeleine Madden), and Nynaeve al'Meara (Zoë Robins) riding horses in The Wheel of Time Season 3 Ep 1

Egwene's new role makes her one of the more powerful characters in The Wheel of Time, for she can manipulate an aspect of reality that few others can access. While it is possible to ward against Dreamwalkers, they can break through those wards; enemies can be undermined by manipulating their dreams, leaving them tired and restless. Although Egwene would use these powers for good, the Forsaken will not - and Egwene is now standing in their way.

The Wheel of Time is setting Egwene up for some pretty major conflicts. But that isn't the limit to her powers; she's also now an effective way of accelerating the plot, because she can be used to ensure main characters are in constant communication with one another. She's already learning how to draw others into Tel'aran'rhiod with her, and her skills will presumably increase with time.

The most concerning question, though, is whether Egwene is ready to handle some of the more dangerous aspects of the World of Dreams. A nightmare is only one step removed from a dream, after all, and a Dreamwalker's nightmares can become terrifyingly real - and a threat both to herself and those she is near. There's a reason the Aiel Wise Ones are concerned to see a Dreamwalker wandering untrained; they know The Wheel of Time could easily take a very dark turn indeed.