Mysterious old Aiel woman

[kbenk108]

In the last book, Rand comes out of the Dark One's cavern before it collapses, carrying a body (his body - cause he is Morridin now with 2 arms, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to carry a body), and trips and falls.  A mysterious woman kneels and says, "yes, that's good, that is what you need to do."  All we know is that she is wearing what looks like Aiel cloth, and is old.

 

Is it the same lady (Nakomi) who approached Aviendha when she went to Rhuidean to become a wise one? She also mysteriously increases the amount of coals, like Rand lights his pipe without saidin or the true power.  Also what was she referring to, 'what you need to do'?

[Andra]

Neither Nakomi nor the woman at the end are ever identified in the books, but there is a general consensus among book fans that they are the same person.  Sanderson has never clarified who she actually is, but has confirmed that there is something to know, and that he knows what it is.

He has also given hints in response to questions about Nakomi, saying things like someone was "sniffing under the right tree" when asking if she was Jenn Aiel.

 

Personally, I think it makes the most sense that she is another agent of the Creator, with an ability that doesn't involve channeling - similar to what we see with Rand and his pipe.  As far as what he needed to do, I think it refers to what he says in his next line about having asked the wrong question of the Finns.

 

He had asked them how to win and still live.  The answer was to switch bodies with Moridin.

Edited June 18, 2022 by Andra

[Nik]

It's been hinted that there will be more information about Nakomi in the new book that's coming out this year, Origins of the Wheel of Time.

[DojoToad]

20 minutes ago, Nik said:

It's been hinted that there will be more information about Nakomi in the new book that's coming out this year, Origins of the Wheel of Time.

That's one of the reasons I have it on pre-order...

[JyP]

I wonder when the Jenn Aiel disappeared in fact. 300 years ago ? more ? As the last Aiel true to the path, and having protected Avendesora and a lot of angreals since the Breaking, there should be so much Ji in Aiel society for them... Maybe she is the one seen in chieftains' visions ? Or there is a secret society of Jenn Aiel infiltrated in all Aiel tribes ?

[Andra]

5 hours ago, JyP said:

I wonder when the Jenn Aiel disappeared in fact. 300 years ago ? more ? As the last Aiel true to the path, and having protected Avendesora and a lot of angreals since the Breaking, there should be so much Ji in Aiel society for them... Maybe she is the one seen in chieftains' visions ? Or there is a secret society of Jenn Aiel infiltrated in all Aiel tribes ?

Supposedly, the Wise Ones share the same visions as the Clan Chiefs.  If she were the one who appeared there, you'd think Aviendha would recognize her when she went through the columns the next day.

[Nik]

I'm actually a bit unclear on how exactly the Jenn Aiel went extinct. Did they just die out? Why? Did they starve? Did they all leave to become regular Aiel? It never fully made sense to me 🤔

[Elder_Haman]

On 6/20/2022 at 7:10 AM, Nik said:

It's been hinted that there will be more information about Nakomi in the new book that's coming out this year, Origins of the Wheel of Time.

What is this new book of which you speak? And why have I not heard about it?

[DojoToad]

4 minutes ago, Elder_Haman said:

What is this new book of which you speak? And why have I not heard about it?

Because you didn't read my topic about it: https://dragonmount.com/forums/topic/111515-origins-of-the-wheel-of-time/

 

[Elder_Haman]

It flew under my radar, I suppose.

I'm not sure we are going to get much in the way of answers to the mysteries. But it definitely looks like a great read about how Jordan went about weaving things together to create his world. I will pre-order.

 

[DojoToad]

44 minutes ago, Elder_Haman said:

It flew under my radar, I suppose.

I'm not sure we are going to get much in the way of answers to the mysteries. But it definitely looks like a great read about how Jordan went about weaving things together to create his world. I will pre-order.

 

I'm looking forward to the new map and the deleted scene.  His various inspirations will be interesting as well.  What assumptions did I make that were wrong, which were right?  As I said in that other thread, the encyclopedia did very little for me - I have much higher hopes for 'Origins'.

[Andra]

4 hours ago, Nik said:

I'm actually a bit unclear on how exactly the Jenn Aiel went extinct. Did they just die out? Why? Did they starve? Did they all leave to become regular Aiel? It never fully made sense to me 🤔

It was mostly through isolation and attrition.  And differences in birthrates.

 

We know from the ancestral visions that at one time in Aiel history, the group later called the Jenn was actually the majority of Aiel.  And that those who kept to the Way of the Leaf severed all personal contact with those who took up the spear.  Even so, as the conditions during and immediately after the Breaking worsened, more and more Aiel were willing to experience that severing in order simply to survive.  And the severing was eventually mutual.  Neither group wanted any interaction with the other.

 

Something else we see from examining human history is that warlike cultures have higher birthrates than pacifist cultures.  It's one of the reasons why we know of so many warlike cultures and so few truly pacifist ones.  So the "regular" Aiel would have outbred the Jenn, until their extinction.

 

We don't know how long that took, but once there were enough Aiel who'd taken up the spear to reach replacement-level birthrates, the disappearance of the Jenn became inevitable.

 

The Tuatha'an avoided extinction by never staying in one place.  And by accepting outsiders.  The Jenn did neither of those things.

[Kalessin]

The hardened cynic in me wants to inform you that the mysterious Aiel woman aka Nakomi, was none other than James T. Kirk - in disguise of course. The even more hardened cynic at the very core of my being disagrees and claims it is none other than James Bond, very, very heavily disguised ...

 

No, speaking facetiously, it's neither James T. Kirk nor James Bond.

 

I would think it's probably one of the Jenn Aiel, with her Channeling ability shielded, but in some way sent out of the time flow for a time - 3000 years or so - so she can pass some vital information on to a very, very distant relation, who needs that information at that moment. (A Jenn Aiel version of the Heroes of the Horn, perhaps?)

[qlorin]

I dont think anyone can idetify who is Nakomi. It is Tom Bombadil. Except for writer(s) nobody know who she is. And there are countless lost people in the world from many extreme causes.

There was a scene in book 6 (CoS). Dyelin speaks about what common people says about Rand. 

“That you will fight the Last Battle and kill the Dark One. That you are a false Dragon, or an Aes Sedai puppet, or both. That you’re Morgase’s illegitimate son, or a Tairen High Lord, or an Aielman.” She frowned again for a moment, but did not stop. “That you are the son of an Aes Sedai by the Dark One. That you are the Dark One, or else the Creator clothed in flesh. That you will destroy the world, save it, subjugate it, bring a new Age. As many tales as there are mouths. Most say you killed Morgase. Many add Elayne. They say your proclamation is a mask to hide your crimes.”

We as common people can speculate about Nakomi.

She can be Jenn Aiel. She can be Aes Sedai who gone into some terangreal 3000 years ago and assumed to be dead. She can be maybe much older than that. She can be creator or agent of creator or an old dragon or next dragon or one of dragons old lover or next lover or mother.

Lets be honest Creator is Robert Jordan... So Nakomi is Harriet...

Edited June 28, 2022 by qlorin

[JyP]

I have another idea for Nakomi :

 

You need 3 Aes Sedai to power the same kind of ter'angreal in the White Tower than the glass columns used for chieftains and Wise Ones in Rhuidean.

 

Nakomi could be an Aes Sedai within the Jenn Aiel, the one responsible for powering the ter'angreal in the glass columns - as Aviendha is the first one to come to pass through the glass columns after the mess done by al'Thor, Nakomi would have discussed with her and then setup the glass columns to show the future.

 

edit: and the same as the Dragon Reborn, I guess Nakomi would be reborn time after time, as the true Keeper of Chronicles - it may have been an epic exploit to keep the Aiel on track after so much time.

Edited June 28, 2022 by JyP

[Stedding Tofu]

On 6/28/2022 at 9:42 AM, qlorin said:

Lets be honest Creator is Robert Jordan... So Nakomi is Harriet...

 

I can get on board with this for the final scene at Shayol Ghul, with Nakomi/Harriet ushering Rand's soul along on it's journey, giving him the reassuring presence of a loved one and the knowledge that he'd completed his task.

 

But the Nakomi who appears to Aviendha baffles me.  Unless it's to muddy the waters and prevent the reader from making the Harriet connection later.  Why appear to Aviendha and talk of the Aiel?

[Sabio]

The mystery will be solved in November.  On Amazon you can preorder the Origins of the Wheel of time book,  Here is some of what it describes as being in the book:

 

Explore never-before-seen insights into the Wheel of Time, including:
- A brand-new, redrawn world map by Ellisa Mitchell using change requests discovered in Robert Jordan's unpublished notes
- An alternate scene from an early draft of The Eye of the World
- The long-awaited backstory of Nakomi
- 8 page, full color photo insert

[DojoToad]

15 hours ago, Sabio said:

The mystery will be solved in November.  On Amazon you can preorder the Origins of the Wheel of time book,  Here is some of what it describes as being in the book:

 

Explore never-before-seen insights into the Wheel of Time, including:
- A brand-new, redrawn world map by Ellisa Mitchell using change requests discovered in Robert Jordan's unpublished notes
- An alternate scene from an early draft of The Eye of the World
- The long-awaited backstory of Nakomi
- 8 page, full color photo insert

Mine has been ordered for a few months.  And unlike our buddy, GRRM, the folks behind WoT meet their deadlines!  Looking forward to getting my hands on it.

 

Of course the Encyclopedia decided to resurrect Bela after she clearly died in the Last Battle.  So who knows how clearly Origins will define Nakomi.  Maybe she's the Creator...

Edited August 14, 2022 by DojoToad

[Sabio]

I was sort of surprised they didn't ask Brandon to do it.  I'm sort of worried because I've never heard of the guy writing this.