The Wheel Of Time: The Dragon Reborn

"The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become Legend."
Rand Al'Thor has been proclaimed the Dragon Reborn, the one thing everyone in the world fears. Once the dragon is proclaimed, it means the end is near and the fight with the Dark Lord is approaching. Rand must prove to the world and himself that he is the true Dragon Reborn and not another False Dragon like the others. While he journeys to Tear alone, with Moraine and Perrin hot on his heels, Egwene, Nynaeve and Elayne take Mat and the Horn of Valere to safety in Tar Valon and are then sent to hunt down members of the Black Ajah( Aes Sedai who server the Dark Lord). They find some clues that lead them to Tear also. Before they leave, they give Mat a letter to take to Elayne's mother, Queen Morgase. When Mat arrives at the castle, he overhears the Queen's lover plotting to kill the Daughter-Heir Elayne. Fearing for the women's safety, Mat along with Thom Merrilin head to Tear after delivering the letter to the queen. Egwene, Nynaeve, and Elayne are betrayed while in Tear and are captured by the Black Ajah and held prisoner in the Stone of Tear. They are later freed by Mat, the last person the expected to see in Tear. Rand enters the fortress and duels one of the Forsaken long enough for Moraine to come and destroy the Forsaken. Ba'alzamon shows up and he and Rand fight until Rand draws the powerful sword Callandor and slays him with it. The Aiel then take the fortress and proclaim themselves People of the Dragon.

The third book in this epic series is where things start to heat up. Rand is shown his true destiny and now knows what he has to do to save the world from the Dark One. Perrin and Mat's destinies also become more clear in this book. Things start making more sense and you start to get a clear picture of how they're tied to each other and why they were chosen. This book is definitely one of the more action packed ones in the series as well. Just a warning though, after you start reading this book, you won't be able to put it or the next few books down!