Summary

• The Stone of Tear in The Wheel of Time is a key location for Rand's journey.
• Speculation about skipping the Stone of Tear is disproved by Easter eggs in the show.
• There are ways for the show to adapt without moving Callandor, maintaining the story's integrity.

Easy-to-miss Easter eggs provide much-needed setup for Rand to get his hands on his greatest weapon in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time books s for a major building block in Rand's overarching journey in the series. But as important as it is, there's actually been reasonable doubt as to whether it'll be adapted to the small screen.

Were the show copying the chronology of the books, it would make sense to assume that the next challenge for Rand to face is the search for Callandor, which brings him to the Stone of Tear at the end of book 3, The Dragon Reborn. But with the series poised to skip ahead to book 4, The Shadow Rising, combined with some other factors, it looks like Rand won't be anywhere close to Tear in The Wheel of Time season 3. While this does create legitimate questions about its place in the story, a key scene helps ease those concerns.

Wheel Of Time Season 1 Confirmed The Stone Of Tear Exists In The Show's Canon

The Stone Of Tear Is Definitely In The Show

Much of the speculation regarding the possible exclusion of the Stone of Tear appears to ignore two unmistakable details in the show. The first was in Wheel of Time season 1, episode 3 when the Stone of Tear was briefly name-dropped by a Darkfriend naming prominent places she wanted to see. The second was less on-the-nose, but arguably more significant because it actually allowed a glimpse at the Stone of Tear.

By featuring a flashback to Siuan Sanche's childhood, the opening sequence of The Wheel of Time, season 1, episode 6 offered an earlier-than-expected look at Tear, the nation where she grew up and the place where Rand famously claims Callandor in The Dragon Reborn. Before quickly panning away, a landscape scene in the first shot features a large structure on the left side of the screen that has an architectural design that resembles the books' description of the Stone of Tear. On X, Wheel of Time showrunner Rafe Judkins confirmed that the building is indeed the Stone of Tear.

In the books, the Stone of Tear is a unique and deeply significant location. According to book lore, it was created millennia ago by the Aes Sedai, who channeled the stone fortress into existence by combining the various threads of the One Power. Appearing as a man-made mountain, the Stone of Tear was built to house Callandor, an incredibly powerful ser'angreal. Known as the Sword That Is Not a Sword, Callandor is the weapon that the Dragon Reborn is prophesized to defeat the Dark One with.

Ser'angreal is a rare form of ter'angreal, which are items that are forged with the One Power. They're used as conduits for the One Power.

In other words, the path to fulfilling the Dragon Reborn prophecy goes through the Stone of Tear. Heavily fortified, the fortress is guarded by a group known as the Defenders of the Stone. Their dedication to this task has given the Stone of Tear a remarkable reputation; before Rand's arrival, it was known for withstanding a long list of sieges and never falling, despite being around since the timeframe of the Breaking of the World.

Wheel Of Time's Stone Of Tear Easter Eggs Seemingly Disprove A Major Season 3 Theory

Callandor Is Unlikely To Be Relocated

These Easter eggs notably undermine a lot of the theories about The Wheel of Time's plan for The Dragon Reborn's ending. It's often been postulated that the series will incorporate this event into its adaptation of The Shadow Rising by taking out the Stone of Tear entirely, and using a new location in the Aiel Waste as a substitute for it. Such a move would be controversial, but moving Callandor to somewhere in the Aiel Waste would help streamline The Dragon Reborn and The Shadow Rising's stories and enable Rand to complete both adventures in one season.

This made sense to a degree, considering that Tear is very far-removed from the Aiel Waste; it can't simply use the Stone of Tear as a pitstop for Rand if he's traveling through the Aiel Waste throughout season 3. But with the Stone of Tear confirmed to exist on The Wheel of Time's map, it certainly looks like it's not being replaced. After all, it's hard to imagine the show establishing the Stone of Tear's place in the canon without any intention of utilizing its primary purpose, which is to safeguard Callandor.

How Wheel Of Time Can Adapt The Dragon Reborn's Ending (Without Moving Callandor)

There Are Ways Rand Can Claim Callandor, Even If The Dragon Reborn Is Skipped

As for how Wheel of Time can adapt The Dragon Reborn's ending (and keep its setting at the same time), there are a few ways this can work. However, neither come without problems of their own. One possibility is that The Wheel of Time kicks off season 3 with Rand claiming Callandor in the first episode. This would pave the way for a book-accurate interpretation of the story, especially going to the Aiel Waste is supposed to follow the fall of the Stone of Tear.

Reaching Callandor should be a journey for the character, and one that involves him actively choosing to fulfill the prophecy.

The main obstacle to this development is the lack of proper setup. While the show has ittedly made nods to the Stone of Tear, it's done nothing to indicate that Rand knows about its importance, nor has it given him a reason to go there. Throwing in a time jump and eliminating any build-up toward Callandor would come across as extremely anticlimactic. Reaching Callandor should be a journey for the character, and one that involves him actively choosing to fulfill the prophecy.

To avoid shoehorning the Stone of Tear story and adding it to Rand's arsenal too early, The Wheel of Time could see Rand go after Callandor later on in the narrative. It would be contrary to the books since claiming Callandor is what proved his worth to the Aiel in the first place, but the show could technically change this by having his victory over Ishamael in The Wheel of Time season 2 finale fill the same role.

It's not impossible that the show decides to save Callandor for later. It could be that after uniting the Aiel and likely beating Asmodean, Rand will learn about Callandor and go on the hunt for it in a future season. After all, Callandor is absent through most of the series, and won't really be needed until the end.

Another scenario is that The Wheel of Time uses Traveling to bridge these two stories together. Basically a form of teleportation, Traveling allows channelers to traverse the world of the books instantly. Rand does learn it in The Shadow Rising, and if his TV counterpart acquires it at a similar pace, he could reach Tear quickly with this ability if a situation called for it.