Prophecy at the front of CoT

[Bob T Dwarf]

Part of the underlying set of themes in these books is that nothing ( except maybe the DO ) is entirely good or entirely bad.

 

There is no denying that while Mat and Perrin were off satisfying their personal agendas, the power of the Shadow has grown.  Which is really about all that part of the Prophesies is saying.

[Luckers]

Well, no its not, now is it. The prophecy states that the right hand falters and the left hand strays. That mankind comes to a crossroads. That the winds of the shadow rise.

 

Three seperate realities. The winds of the shadow have risen, but mankind came to a crossroads and has taken the stronger path.

[Bob T Dwarf]

The whole series is a crossroads.  Mankind is still balanced on the point of the sword.  The three taveren are not yet reunited.

 

About all that's been going on for the last eight books or so is a whole lot of milling around while everybody tries to make up their minds which path to take.  It now seems likely ( but, by no means certain ) that the two faltering and straying hands will decide to reunite with the rest of the corpus.

 

I sure hope so.  That sharp pointy thing is getting really uncomfortable.

[AranAlandar]

This is definately about Perrin and Mat. I would say Mat falters though not really of his own fault. He is caught up in the drama of Tuon and now rescuing Morraine. He has though now reunited with the Band and is ready to go.

 

Perrin has strayed. He thrown aside all to rescue Faile. He has given up Manetheran, made an alliance with the Seanchan and mired himself in all sorts of trouble. His betrayal may actually go deeper than that by time all is done. Mat marrying Tuon in the end will end up HELPING Rand in the long run.

[Generic Aelfinn #2]

Perrin has strayed. He thrown aside all to rescue Faile. He has given up Manetheran, made an alliance with the Seanchan and mired himself in all sorts of trouble. His betrayal may actually go deeper than that by time all is done.

 

what the hell are you talking about?  do you realize that there is a difference between betrayal and doing something less than efficiently?

 

first of all, he NEVER set about trying to restore manetherean(sp?), it was just a ruse to keep others distracted from his actual mission.  secondly, building bonds with the Seanchan is a GOOD thing.  thirdly, his time with faile isn't exactly wasted, he's managed to keep masema with him the whole endeavor, and it's not like going to rand would have done any good(he doesn't even know where the hell he is - or anyone else for that matter).  not to mention, he DID end up dealing with the shaido.

[Bob T Dwarf]

In some respects Perrins thoughts if not yet his outright actions could be considered a betrayal.

 

He would have made a deal with Shai'tan if it gave him Faile back.  That is a betrayal of his purpose.

[Generic Aelfinn #2]

everyday people thinking of beating the crap out of someone else isn't an especially rare process.  when's the last time someone's been locked up for thinking of assaulting someone?  generally speaking, you have to commit the act first(or at least try to).

[Bob T Dwarf]

Let's look at the whole "lop off the Aiel's hand" incident.

 

Here we finally see someone who clearly does something he believes is wrong.  He freely chooses to do it anyway, reasoning ( so far as Perrin was capable of reasoning at the time ), that it was justified by the greater "good" of rescuing Faile.

 

Afterwards, in a fit of remorse and shame, he casts away the axe with which he committed the act, as though that could purge and absolve him of having committed it.  It was also an admission of his awareness of his own weakness, and an admission that he couldn't trust himself not to do like things in the future if he kept the axe around.

 

All of the above is a betrayal of Perrin's moral center, and demonstrates that his actions and not just his thoughts are capable of exceeding the Light's reach.

 

It is also the single act of true insanity we have see in this series.  He totally lost sight of what was right and what was wrong.  He did so while in full possession of his faculties, unimpaired by any Taint, or any artifact that magnified the effect of the Taint.  Totally lost in his own, private, sick dependence.

 

Whatever positive side-effects that may appear to have resulted from Perrin satisfying that dependence are strictly serendipity.  The harm he did to himself is likely to be permanent.

 

So, how much did the Light really gain when one of the three main protagonists has lost his moral center?

[AranAlandar]

An alliance with the Seanchan is a good thing? It all depends on the terms I think and what position you are in when making said alliance. Is Perrin in a position of strength? HELL NO. When Rand makes an alliance with them it will be from a position of strength. I just don't think that Perrin is done being tied to them. He got Faile back thanks to them and now one wonders what they may ask for in return dwon the road. They have tied a string to him. THAT is what I am talking about.

[Majsju]

now one wonders what they may ask for in return dwon the road

 

With one strike, the Seanchan got rid of the Shaido, Masems Dragonsworn, and they captured some 400 damane. They also got Perrins word that he would not try to restore manetheren, which would have troubled lands already held by the Seanchan.

 

I strongly doubt any Seanchan would see Perrin as indebted to them.

[Generic Aelfinn #2]

So, how much did the Light really gain when one of the three main protagonists has lost his moral center?

 

how does this relate to a betrayal of rand's trust?

 

 

looks damn well like a person living life and improving themself.  no one is born perfect.  you live life and do your best to overcome its hurdles[ and improve yourself as a result].

 

would you rather him attempt to solve his self-actualization issues(a process in which inevitable mistakes/bad decisions WILL happen) then and there or at TG where even one of his mistakes would 'spell the doom of everyone'?  this is just like rand and his hard & strong issue.  he needs to correct inherent personal issues before TG.

 

remember that perrin's family is dead, there is no one that he feels close to other than faile.  without someone to live for, he'd just be a shell, useless to everyone. while it would obviously be best if he learned to live without her, its just not going to happen.  while rescuing faile is, objectively, a bad decision, it IS making the best out of a bad situation.  now that he has her back, he'll be able to go '110%' when the shit hits the fan.

[Bob T Dwarf]

now that he has her back, he'll be able to go '110%' when the shit hits the fan.

 

Unless she gets a hangnail.  Faile is everything!

 

Dependence is dependence.  Sick is sick.  Expediency over morality is wrong.

 

I certainly hope Perrin is able to resolve all the moral and ethical screwups in his life.  I just no longer have faith that he will.

[Generic Aelfinn #2]

oh, neither do i.  think of faile as a bandaid, though.  you can't have perrin 'bleeding-out' before he reaches TG.

 

concerning faile being everything, certainly true, but i don't see perrin abandoning rand when he needs him.  if nothing else, the ta'veren bond would be enugh

[AranAlandar]

I would hope that they wouldn't expect more from Perrin after this but after all they are the Seanchan you know. They aren't likely to change the whole this land all belongs to us thing any time soon.

 

We all get that she is all he has left, there is no doubt to that. He is just putting himself in a real moral dilema. You have to be really carefull when you start down the path of "the end justifies the means". Who is to say he wouldn't turn to the shadow if it means saving her? One would HOPE not but, who knows.

[Slayerr57]

Just out of speculation and opinion I kind of think it could refer to all the people in Randland, because some believe but don't do what they should hence faltering, and the others don't believe also straying from the path to Tarmon Gai'don