Mat Saves The White Tower?

[DuDZiK]

I've been wondering what Mat will do in the last book, other than saving Moiraine. He said he's going to fight the Seanchan, but the only places that we know the Seanchan are going to attack is Tar Valon. Oh they have hinted at them going for Ilian or Arad Doman I think, but according to that prophecy Rand got from the Aelfinn(sp?) the lands are supposed to be divided basically as they are, are they not?

 

Now before the Last Battle Mat has to get his hands on the Horn of Valere again, and what better way to do this than for Mat to go and get it and inadvertantly save Tar Valon's behind from the Seanchan? Not sure that there's be enough time for Mat to do this, since he's already supposed to save Moiraine and all, but I'd love for Mat to pull some more Aes Sedai's keisters out of the boiling pot again, especially Egwene, and watch them squirm!! ;D

 

I was also wondering if the Asha'Man wouldn't somehow save the Aes Sedai...

 

[Thunderbomb]

I kinda think the tower itself is gunna crumble but he will save those who believe in what it stands for sort of thing.

[Dragon21]

I think Mat has too much to deal with to worry about the white tower. As for the tower, I think Egwene will take over somehow and they will all reunite in some form for TG.

[DemandredFO]

mat will save the tower from Shadowspawn, not the seanchan.  He will probably still be in ToG when the Seanchan.  On the Asha'Man questions it depends, some may be darkfriends but all around I think Egwene is gonna be pissed because to save the tower from the Shadow; she'll need the help of people she either doesnt like(Rand, Asha'Man and Seanchan) or a person she thought was a fool(Mat).

[purplemonster]

i think mat would have time to do it but with help from the band of course

[DuDZiK]

I think Mat has too much to deal with to worry about the white tower.

 

I dunno... the last book is apparently supposed to be so long that there was some doubt as to whether it could all be finished in one book, so there could be time.

[Luckers]

My guess is that Mat will come in with Elayne to reinforce Egwene following the seanchan invasion of the Tower and prior to the Trolloc assault of Tar Valon. The full details are in my 'Memory of Light the Plot' thread.

[cloglord]

I dunno... the last book is apparently supposed to be so long that there was some doubt as to whether it could all be finished in one book, so there could be time.

 

I've been saying for some time that the last book would almost have to cover at least 2 months to get things to pay off correctly.  It would take that long to get Lan to Tarwin's gap, it would take that long for Galad to make it to Egwene, (wMin saw a connection between them at one point,) It would take that long for Aldura to make any signifigant number of cannons, etc, etc.  The most telling evidence of this, IMO, is that it took Karede 40 days to catch up to Tuon from Ebou Dar, assuming that they did not trust the seanchan army enough to demand a to'raken flight in the name of TDotNM's, then I would assume that it took another 40 days to get back.  If that's true, then we've got 40 days of WT plotline to catch up just to get to the point in the epilouge of KoD's.

 

Now before the Last Battle Mat has to get his hands on the Horn of Valere again, and what better way to do this than for Mat to go and get it and inadvertantly save Tar Valon's behind from the Seanchan?

 

Actually it seems pretty unlikely to me that Mat would attempt any such thing.    Why would Mat believe that he is even capable of accomplishing this task?  He doesn't know that Egwene is even near TV, let alone in a position to get ahold of the horn.  Second, he has no idea where the horn is except to say that it is in the tower somewhere, most likely  locked up, hidden, guarded, and warded.  Thirdly, Mat has already said that given the choice would never go back to TV, something about the fact that the place was swarming with Aes Sedai who were trying to tie him up in their plots.  No, I don't see Mat putting himself into that kettle unless he had absolutely no choice.  So to answer your question, a better way would be for Verin, who at least knows were its hid, to smuggle the horn out, and get it to Mat in some fashion.

 

Oh they have hinted at them going for Ilian or Arad Doman I think, but according to that prophecy Rand got from the Aelfinn(sp?) the lands are supposed to be divided basically as they are, are they not?

 

The Seanchan have more than hinted at it.  Seanchan forces, at last reckoning, had crossed over into Illian, and there is a quite sizeable seanchan army surrently in Arad Doman.  Unless Rand can arrange for the truce in relatively short order, the issue of seanchan in Illian will probably be brought to a head very quickly.  Coincidently enough, Illian is where everyone in randland thinks that the horn will be brought when its found, its also directly downriver from Mat's current position and the ToG.  It is the closest and most likely place that a large number of cannons could be made in a relatively short time, is a likely place for a truce between the Seanchan and Rand to be worked out, and is the place who's king just resurfaced after 4 books.  I have a feeling that Illian is gonna be the most happening place around, at least south of tarwin's gap.

[Darth_Andrea]

Actually that would be logical, take what we know is happening and mix it with the prophecy of the horn and its connection to Illian and you come up with the following.

 

The Seanchan invade Illian, Mat and the BotRH move tward them, Verin gets the horn out of the tower, and takes it to Mat. He engages the Seanchan Blows the horn and Hawkwing himself quells the fighting takes command of the Seanchan and the combined forces of the Illianer army, Seanchan, and Mat's Forces all begin their march for the blight and TG.

 

 

 

Well It makes sense to me

 

 

 

 

[glow=green,1,500]Darth_Andrea[/glow]

 

 

 

 

[CUBAREY]

Mat is not going to fight the Seanchen unless the negotiations that Rand wants to have fail.  There will be no Seanchen White Tower battle before TG (it would decimate the forces of the light whichever side won).  Whether Egwene's dream comes true and she reaches an accomodation with Tuon prior to TG is questionable but seems more reasonable a fact pattern.

[DuDZiK]

Mat is not going to fight the Seanchen unless the negotiations that Rand wants to have fail.  There will be no Seanchen White Tower battle before TG (it would decimate the forces of the light whichever side won).  Whether Egwene's dream comes true and she reaches an accomodation with Tuon prior to TG is questionable but seems more reasonable a fact pattern.

 

I have considered such a thing, but one thing always comes to mind. Tuon thinks that the Dragon Reborn must kneel to the Crystal Throne, and know she IS the Crystal Throne. She will likely think that Rand must be made subservient to her, but of course in the real prophecy as revealed in Knife of Dreams, the raven is supposed to bend knee to him. Now, something has to make Tuon see things differently, and what better way than to have her attempt some military expedition against Tar Valon (given the negotiations it likely won't be anywhere that Rand controls) and be utterly defeated there, maybe even by Mat who is after all a close friend of Rands?

[cloglord]

There will be no Seanchen White Tower battle before TG (it would decimate the forces of the light whichever side won).  Whether Egwene's dream comes true and she reaches an accomodation with Tuon prior to TG is questionable but seems more reasonable a fact pattern.

 

I'm not sure that a battle would decimate anything, an invasion/siege like Lucker's suggests would, but the way I interpreted Egwene's dreams was that there would be two lightning strikes on the tower by the seanchan.  The dream mentions that two ravens struck the lamp and flew on without hardly stopping, (my paraphrase)  this does not sound like a drwan out confrontation to me, it sounds like a kidnapping, and who was scheduled to be at the top of the tower when last we saw them?  A kidnapping of Elaida, Egwene, or both would place Egwene in a position to meet with Tuon, and to strike whatever agreement nessecary to produce peace and a fulfillment of the viewing of Egwene and a seanchan woman being tied together.  It could also potentially put egwene and the tower in a poition to become "whole and stronger than ever.." as Elaida foretold.

 

Now, something has to make Tuon see things differently, and what better way than to have her attempt some military expedition against Tar Valon (given the negotiations it likely won't be anywhere that Rand controls) and be utterly defeated there, maybe even by Mat who is after all a close friend of Rands?

 

I know a good way to make tuon see things differently, Setalle Anan.  Tuon likes her, thinks that she will miss her, and has been having involved discussions with her since the flight from Ebou Dar.  Anan is presumably headed to Illian to meet up with her husband.  Who knows what would happen, should Tuon find out that her friend was a former aes sedai.  Like I said I don't see Mat trying to take on the white tower.  He has the military know how to know it would not be a quick way, and he lacks the intel to let him know that Elaida is on her way out, and that Egwene is on her way in.  He doesn't know where the horn is guarded, or where, and he is pretty sure he'd get caught up in an aes sedai scheme if he even returned to the city, let alone the WT. 

 

The Seanchan invade Illian, Mat and the BotRH move tward them, Verin gets the horn out of the tower, and takes it to Mat. He engages the Seanchan Blows the horn and Hawkwing himself quells the fighting takes command of the Seanchan and the combined forces of the Illianer army, Seanchan, and Mat's Forces all begin their march for the blight and TG.

 

Essentially yes, I'm not sure that Mat would use the horn on the seanchan, but if Rand is still in beggar mode and no-shows the invasion, then it is a possibility.  THe only part I don't agree with is that they would march to the blight. I think that TG is going to be at the very least a 2 front war.  The specific mention of the waygates in the shadow coast being left ungaurded, is a red flag to me that come TG there are going to be hordes of trollocs coming out of the SW as well as the NE.  This would fit RJ's penchant for balance. Or course that doesn't explain why he put so much effort into positioning vast armies in the NW, and in Camelyn, that is unless you make it a 4 front invasion, trollocs from world's end, tarwin's gap, the shadow coast, and from the spine of the world near stedding shangtai.  Of course it trollocs came out of the waste, engaging the ogier at the great stump, and sweeping into eastern Andor to engage the borderlanders, BT, and Andorans, it would mean that they had probably killed all the Aiel that had been left behind in the waste.....