Rand's new power after the Last Battle

[Knive Rayn Jaebril]

The last book's conclusion saw Rand al' Thor successfully recreating the Dark One's Prison through a powerful weaving of Saidin, Saidar, and True Power. The end product of which is described as pure light whose brilliance even the Dark One cannot withstand. As Rand sealed the Lord of Darkness as it was done in ages past and in ages that will still come, it became clear that Shadowkiller's life is also draining away. At the end, Rand was able to switch psyche, transferring his soul, his consciousness, his whole being to the body of Moridin and vice versa which eventually saved his life from certain death. As he rode south to begin a new life, a life of travelling and carefree wandering Rand realized that he can no longer touch the True Source and he can no longer channel the One Power. However, he also realized that he had a newfound power, a power that creates through his will. 

 

It is implied that the reason Rand can no longer channel is because during his fight against the Dark One he was burned out due to the stupendous amount of the power he wielded and possibly even Moridin was burned out as well. But his new-found power can be attributed to the fact that Rand as a consequence of his victory against the Dark One and the saving of creation was then granted Creator-level power becoming effectively an Avatar of the Creator himself.

 

The scope of Rand's new powers are very broad indeed because by simply willing something or anything to happen, that something can become a real thing. Anything that he wills can come into existence even those that are not part of the Pattern. Somehow Rand has transcended the Wheel of Time.

[bringbackthomsmoustache]

14 hours ago, Knive Rayn Jaebril said:

At the end, Rand was able to switch psyche, transferring his soul, his consciousness, his whole being to the body of Moridin and vice versa which eventually saved his life from certain death.

It is heavily implied that the transfer is achieved by the renegade damane for whom Min prophesies "she is going to help you die" not by Rand himself.

[Samt]

4 hours ago, bringbackthomsmoustache said:

It is heavily implied that the transfer is achieved by the renegade damane for whom Min prophesies "she is going to help you die" not by Rand himself.

Whoa, what?  I totally missed that.  I had assumed that Alivia fulfills the viewing by preparing Rand's bug out bag after his funeral.  That always seemed like a pretty lame way to fulfill the viewing, but I didn't see any hints that Alivia was involved in the sould transfer.  What did I miss?  

[bringbackthomsmoustache]

The viewing was "she is going to help you die" - I think that requires a bit more than grabbing a horse, cash etc.  

[Samt]

2 hours ago, bringbackthomsmoustache said:

The viewing was "she is going to help you die" - I think that requires a bit more than grabbing a horse, cash etc.  

Oh, I definitely agree on that front. I don’t think it’s a good fulfillment of the viewing. I’m just wondering if there is any textual evidence that she has any hand in the body switch. That’s definitely a better fulfillment of the viewing. I just don’t remember it being supported beyond it fitting the viewing.

[bringbackthomsmoustache]

It took place out of any specific POV - Rand blacks out after making the new prison, Rand watches his own funeral from a new body.   

[Masha]

You forgot the part about Rand bringing out Moridin from Shayul Gul cave and as he blacks out he hears encouragement from "a woman in Aiel clothing", who is heavily implied to be a mysterious Nakomi, who Harriet identified as either Creator herself or his Agent. Furthermore, multiple Prophecies that fans speculated about ended up being minor nothingburgers such as the one about Jahar Narishma, Rand bending a knee before Suon, so Alivia got relegated to collecting supplies for Rand.

[Kalessin]

Rand's mysterioius new "power" did at the start puzzle me, but then, this re-read, I paid attention to what he's doing in the void with the Dark One. He gets his hands dirty, so to speak, directly fiddling with the Pattern, moving things around, just so he can put on a light show as good as the Dark One's horror show.

 

So he's got experience once he's out of the Bore, out of Shayol Ghul, in directly handling the threads of the Pattern. He doesn't need to be Ta'veren any more, so he isn't. He doesn't need access to the One Power, so he doesn't. What he's got is his experience in handling the threads of the Pattern directly, and a disinclination to do that with any person's threads. So he just thinks his pipe should be lit, and it is.

[Lightfriendsocialmistress]

I will add my two cents just to throw it out there, knowing I am alone on my own island 😂 I kind of like to see it as Rand mastering the “dream” of life, if viewed through the aiel interpretation of life being a dream from which all will eventually wake. I can’t remember the exact culture but the people who live where one of the chodan kal is buried viewed it as an illusion as well and when the sphere “came online” it was said something like the time of illusion is coming to an end. That being said, we know that mastery of TAR is possible once someone comes to realize that as a dream like world it responds to consciousness and they can create anything they desire there out of their own minds. In addition we have many spiritual beliefs in our own world that align with this idea that reality is fluid, dreamlike, and responds to self aware beings using their consciousness to mold and create their reality. For example when we see beings such as the Buddha or Jesus who demonstrated the ability to alter reality, this belief explains it in a similar way, that they learned mastery of mind over matter. This made me get to the point where I enjoy my own little belief that Rand has achieved mastery of this dream world just as mastery of TAR is possible. Just one of my pet theories, every so often I like to believe my own version of events. 😊

[Scarloc99]

On 7/15/2023 at 2:20 AM, bringbackthomsmoustache said:

It is heavily implied that the transfer is achieved by the renegade damane for whom Min prophesies "she is going to help you die" not by Rand himself.

Sorry I don’t see her being involved in the transfer in anyway. It was something independent of anything anyone could do, all she did was get his money, clothes etc (Rand says this himself at the end). 
 

The transfer is a combination of things .

 

The crossing of balefire linking the 2 together. 
The fact that Rand and Moridin where linked through Callandor when they both died. 
Nakomi doing “something” 

 

We have seen throughout the series that the dark lord could swap souls from one body to another. In many ways this foreshadows this very action, either the fact that Moridins body was not his original one made it possible for the souls to “swap”, or something directly was done by the creator. There is no way a wilder channeler who’s only skills have been waging war can suddenly facilitate the swapping of souls. 

[Dedicated]

On 7/19/2023 at 1:54 AM, Masha said:

... Rand bending a knee before Suon, so Alivia got relegated to collecting supplies for Rand.

 

 

but Rand DID bend the knee before Suon and it was an awesome fulfillment of prophecy.

 

[Dedicated]

On 7/22/2023 at 2:58 AM, Lightfriendsocialmistress said:

I will add my two cents just to throw it out there, knowing I am alone on my own island 😂 I kind of like to see it as Rand mastering the “dream” of life, if viewed through the aiel interpretation of life being a dream from which all will eventually wake. I can’t remember the exact culture but the people who live where one of the chodan kal is buried viewed it as an illusion as well and when the sphere “came online” it was said something like the time of illusion is coming to an end. That being said, we know that mastery of TAR is possible once someone comes to realize that as a dream like world it responds to consciousness and they can create anything they desire there out of their own minds. In addition we have many spiritual beliefs in our own world that align with this idea that reality is fluid, dreamlike, and responds to self aware beings using their consciousness to mold and create their reality. For example when we see beings such as the Buddha or Jesus who demonstrated the ability to alter reality, this belief explains it in a similar way, that they learned mastery of mind over matter. This made me get to the point where I enjoy my own little belief that Rand has achieved mastery of this dream world just as mastery of TAR is possible. Just one of my pet theories, every so often I like to believe my own version of events. 😊

 

You know everything that Jordon wrote about in terms of the dream world really reminded me of lucid dreaming practices. I wonder if Jordan was a lucid dreamer himself. 

[Overthinker84]

With reading how all of you interpret it I still find myself a little puzzled. 

 

In the final battle Rand handled the combined powers of destruction and creation. My thoughts are that this in turn had the powers combined in him to actually become the powers of creation akin to the creator. 
 

This also goes with my thoughts on the dark one and creator. They are not two beings but fundamental forces that allow the universe to function. Destruction needs to exist because nothing can be created without it. So while each can manifest they are in essence the same being. Just an aspect of himself/herself locked away to facilitate the turning of the wheel. Also why the true source is split into three powers once the wheel turns. Fundamental forces or powers are required to keep it all going. With that power being joined it could not function.
 

The world to work needs the dark one and his true power as it allows the pattern to function. Think of it like the fates cutting threads for death. Without that power nothing would die so the world would remain stagnant; the wheel unable to turn. The powers of creation saidar/saidin operate as one at the level of the wheel to recreate the threads or reuse ones that have been plucked or died. 

I think allot of it ties in with various religious ideas and with some of the ideas behind physics. Like the true source almost being the universe pre big bang, and the three powers being the fundamental forces that pin everything together. That once those forces joined in Rand he no longer could channel as the true source is not channeled but a blend of the forces making something outside the universe/wheel; one with a completely different set of rules.

 

Sorry if I rambled a bit this has just been kicking around in my thoughts for a while without resolving. 
 

[Dan G]

IMO - Rand's new abilities are a result of a " super force of all three of the powers acting as one. 

This could be somewhat analogous to the state of the early universe in the real world when,  for a brief time, gravity, electromagtism,  and the strong and weak nuclear forces were essentially one. (In theory anyway) 

[Samt]

6 hours ago, Dan G said:

IMO - Rand's new abilities are a result of a " super force of all three of the powers acting as one. 

This could be somewhat analogous to the state of the early universe in the real world when,  for a brief time, gravity, electromagtism,  and the strong and weak nuclear forces were essentially one. (In theory anyway) 

Is there a theory whereby the electroweak/strong force is unified with gravity?  I am aware that the other three are theoretically unified, but I'm not aware of a theory that unifies them with gravity, either theoretically or experimentally.  

[Dan G]

8 hours ago, Samt said:

Is there a theory whereby the electroweak/strong force is unified with gravity?  I am aware that the other three are theoretically unified, but I'm not aware of a theory that unifies them with gravity, either theoretically or experimentally.  

Hi

There is a theroy that for a short time after the Big Bang, conditions in the very early universe allowed for the fundamental forces of nature were unified.  

Gravity  uncoupled from the other forces first, followed by the other forces. 

Although I am a bit of a science nerd, I am not an expert in this area , but I have heard this discussion among theoretical and astrophysicists..