Ire

The Ire
Dominion	The Tower

The Ire is, as Raphael describes it, a dark cloud of phantoms and spirits which resides in the Tower. It is not clear when the Ire actually came to the Tower, but its advent marked the disappearance of the so-called Gardeners through either death or escape.
The Ire is the entity of death, forever doomed to wander the Tower. Its faculty is to trick, haunt and finally devour the unwary traveller. The voices of its many devoured and tortured souls can be heard while travelling the Tower.

Florentine's Journal

Florentine relates the Ire's unnerving abilities in one of the entries of his journal, precisely in the entry of March 15, 1330. Here he says that "the crossings [through the Tower] are fraught with all kinds of hidden dangers, even with Minions to guide. The Ire is constantly present within the Tower whether distant or near. Its unnerving ability to hunt and devour those who come to its place is astounding." He also refers to a manuscript which he had had sent over from France (to York) in which a French magician describes his travels through the Tower during the 13th century:
"At first the dark and within; I heard the fetid laughter of the souls of the Ire. It came at once upon me like a storm charged with rage and gibberous song; hypnotising and calling for sweet perdition. I ran for I knew the tales of this forgotten place. I ran and stumbled upon the cracked pave of the Tower but it was always there, here and beyond, there and always, its face looming from the shadowy depths. From whence and where did this thing come? I knew as I fell upon the cold stone, the face of death smiling down..."

In his entry of April 18, 1895, then, Florentine terrifiedly relates his experience of encountering the Ire at one of the Tower gates in the Tower. He says that the cloud was led by the Dodger which once had been under Florentine's control but somehow had evaded his influence years ago. Further on, Belial instantly attacked and wrestled with the beast which prompted the Ire to move from the gate. Florentine, then, commanded everyone to the gate as explosions from the Ire rocked the very Tower itself.

Script

Reflecting on the Ire

“

Adam: The Ire. That's got something to do with the Tower right? Some sort of cloud. Raphael described it as a dark phantom cloud of spirits.

”

“

Adam: The Ire. The voices we heard in the Tower... The voices of [its] many devoured and tortured souls. But where does it come from? Doomed to wander the Tower. God...if the magic of that place somehow... I don't know, somehow failed. What then? The Journal mentions the Ire. Florentine. He mentions it personally. I must read those tattered pages again. Maybe the answer lies there. Answers to the Ire... The answers to why I have been...

”

“

Adam: Well, we've trod in the Tower. The Sword of the Dragon, to light the way there. What did Aelf mean by that? What sword? What dragon? And the Ire. Could the Ire be the dragon? That still leaves the sword. No, that can't be right. Can it?

”

“

Adam: The Ire presides in the Tower but what I want to do is know more about this Dodger I keep hearing about. Rebecca: Well after trying to track the thing down in the seventeenth century, Florentine comes to the conclusion that the Dodger is somehow controlling the Ire. Adam: Controlling! A thing like that? Rebecca: Yes. And he describes in graphic detail what happened when he stumbled on it. It's all there in the Journal - Entry dated the April 18th, eighteen ninety five.

”

Similarities to the Machin Shin (Wheel of Time)

Machin Shin, as envisioned in the Wheel of Time video game © Significant Bits

The Ire

The Ire in Realms of the Haunting is the entity of death, forever doomed to wander the Tower and described as a dark cloud of phantoms and spirits which has the ability to trick, haunt and finally devour the unwary traveller. The voices of its many devoured and tortured souls can be heard while travelling the Tower. It is not clear when the Ire actually came to the Tower, but its advent marked the disappearance of the so-called Gardeners through either death or escape.

Nota bene: The following passages are almost exclusively taken from the respective article in the Wheel of Time wiki., as I myself lack the knowledge about the works of Robert Jordan.

“

Machin Shin is an entity that resides in the Ways, who's name in the old tongue means "Black Wind." It kills, drains the victim's soul or drives insane, almost every living thing it comes in contact with, making it the reason why the Ways have now become unsafe to travel. The exact nature of Machin Shin is unknown, as are its origins. Even some time after the Ways began to darken after the War, travelers still passed through them safely for some time. It was not until the darkness began to deepen into blackness that individuals started to disappear. Additionally, some who traveled the Ways arrived physically at their destination, but were mentally savaged. Some were seemingly dead, with no sign of mental function or a soul. Others were driven insane, terrified of the slightest breeze. Those capable of speech spoke of a "black wind" that now lived among the Ways. Eventually, all the mysterious disappearances in the Ways, and the harm that befell other travelers, were attributed to this black wind, Machin Shin. Machin Shin appears to be some sort of semi-sentient entity made up of darkness that flows like air. Survivors of encounters with Machin Shin tell of feeling a light breeze in the Ways preceding its arrival, easily noticed as there is normally no wind in the Ways. They also speak of hearing thousands of screaming voices, which might manifest as rambling monologue obsessed with blood, screams, violence and terror, such as "Plait the skin, scream your songs, sing your screams".. Some seem to hear the screams separately from the monologue. Padan Fain is the only being yet that was released by the wind after it was caught and Fain speaks about some voices greeting and some even fearing him.

”

In his article on the Wheel of Time video game, Radek Koncewicz gives an interesting insight into how the Ways and the Machin Shin have been realised by the game's developers:

“

The Ways are a series of stone walkways floating in a dark void that serve as shortcuts throughout the land. In one of the levels, the player character is forced to traverse them in order to pursue the antagonist. In the process, she encounters the Machin Shin. Staying within the Ways for an extended period of time summons this infinite wall of ghostly heads that scream and whisper as they approach. It’s a very striking event, and one of the most memorable parts of the game. If the “Black Wind” envelops the player character, the small amount of lighting in the level — including the Light Sphere Ter’angreal — is subdued as she is slowly killed. The Ways are also used as a clever framing device. The player must periodically exit the ways to avoid the Machin Shin, each time facing a new challenge. These mini-levels force the player to find a way to re-enter the gateway, or simply survive long enough for the the Machin Shin to recede.

”

References