If there were no Bore, is it possible to access the DO?

[RAND AL THOR]

The Bore seemed to have come into existence in a place that was much like any other region in Randland. It decayed and became the Blight afterwards.

 

Apparently, the Bore exists everywhere at once but can be most easily perceived at Shayol Ghul.

 

Was there a Shayol Ghul before the Bore?

 

If there was no Bore, then would it have been possible for anyone to contact the DO? I am unsure when exactly the Forsaken went over.

I believe that the Bore was not intentionally drilled.

[Mr Ares]

I believe that the Bore was not intentionally drilled.

It was intentionally drilled. They hoped for access to a new form of the OP, one usable by both men and women. They got Shai'tan and the TP instead.

 

Was there a Shayol Ghul before the Bore?

A lot of geography was changed by the Breaking. Before that, it was an island

 

I am unsure when exactly the Forsaken went over.

The Chosen started going over after the Bore was drilled.

[Avery]

Was there a Shayol Ghul before the Bore?

 

For some reason (that I can't offer any evidence for now that I think about it) I thought Sayol Ghul is the site of Paaran Disen. I wonder why I think that.

[Swigaro]

If I remember correctly from Rand's past life memories in Ruidian, the bore was drilled at the Colam Dan (sp, sorry at work so no books to check).  The attempt destroyed the Colam Dan.  The researchers, Lanfear and the guy who's name escapes me, had detected something which they chose to drill into, in an attempt to tap the new power source. They were detecting, I assume, a more perminant patch on the bore from a previous turning of the wheel.  This begs the question, can the bore be sealed so that no evidence will be left in future turnings of the wheel?

[Bob T Dwarf]

Was there a Shayol Ghul before the Bore?

 

For some reason (that I can't offer any evidence for now that I think about it) I thought Sayol Ghul is the site of Paaran Disen. I wonder why I think that.

 

Maybe because the island was described in somewhat paradise like terms - "an idyllic island in a cool sea."

[DemandredFO]

I think Meiren knew full well that she was drilling into the DO's prison, Biedoman, I think, was just a dupe that she used.  How did Mieren sense the true power, can Lews Therin.

[Majsju]

Lanfear an beidomon were far from the only ones involved, they were members of a research group believing they had discovered something great.

 

That lanfear would have had even a clue about what they actually were doing seems pretty much impossible. There were no knowledge of the DO whatsoever at this point, and how could the DO have communicated with anyone before the Bore was actually drilled?

[benr]

Aside from the fact that the bore WAS intentionally made, I think that Majsju's response clearly answers RAND's question, and shows that SOMEONE came close to sealing the DO away, so that he was undetectable.  Maybe that is what Fel had figured out, and would explain alot.  It turned out to be not quite perfect, though.

[Majsju]

Depends on what you mean with "perfect".

 

Since time is a Wheel, and all major events are bound to repeat themselves, someone will always create an opening in the DOs prison in the AOL, and then that opening will be sealed in the 3rd Age.

That gives five Ages when the DO has little to do except attacking the prison, and since we are talking about a god, if all attacks are aimed at one particular spot, it is not really that much of a shocker that a thinness will eventually be detectable for someone with the means, ie a channeler living in a very high tech society.

 

A perfect seal that would keep the DO locked away forever is not an option as long as the Wheel exist.

 

There is of course the possibility that Rand somehow manages to break the Wheel, and by doing so shifting time from circular to linear, but that is a different story.

[benr]

Or it is this story.

[Spirit1025]

think Meiren knew full well that she was drilling into the DO's prison

 

I found this in the white book, opening of chapter 4, page 40. "It was not until an ill-fated research project produced the Bore that the truth about the Dark One was suspected. During the Age of Legends, no one knew of the Dark One or felt his touch." And on page 63, in the section about Lanfear, "There is little doubt that she was surprised as the rest of the world to discover what actually lay beyond the hole she helped create..." So, I doubt Mierin knew what she was getting into.

 

Also, according to that first quote, I don't think it was possible to access the Dark One pre-Bore, since 'no one knew of the Dark One'. On page 41, it says "Up to this time, the denizens of the world had only to deal with the evil within themselves. If motivation for war and hate were removed, then so were the resultant activities. The Bore changed all of that." Further evidence that there was no connection between the Dark One and human beings at that time.

 

I also remember reading something somewhere about there being a previous Bore (I can't find the reference) before the Age of Legends, which would account for the thin spot in the pattern where the Bore was drilled.

 

So, since time is cyclical in the series, here is my take on what happens. The Bore is drilled in the Age of Legends, sealed by the 'first' incarnation of the Dragon. Then the Dark One breaks free in the Third Age, and his prison is resealed by the 'second' Dragon, in a way that completely cuts him off from the world until the Bore is drilled again in the next Age of Legends.

 

 

[RAND AL THOR]

May I clear up some misunderstanding here? When I said: I  believe that the Bore was not intentionally drilled.- I meant that it was not drilled with the intention of freeing the DO. My bad.

 

 

Spirit1025, you are likely correct, though a second re-sealing by the 'second' Dragon seems strange. KNowledge in the AoL was far greater that it is now. I don't think Rand has the faintest idea about how to re-seal at all. After all, it isn't just a job done with lego blocks and super-glue.

 

This thread shall not become a how-will-rand-win-TG thread.

 

So the conclusions here so far are: Mierin, Beidomon and a group of researchers found out about the existence of another sort of Power. They attempted to tap it and the result was a breach in the Dark One's prison and the creation of the Bore.

Before that, nobody knew that a being such as the DO existed and it would have been inpossible to contact him in any way.

 

Correct guys?

 

 

[Avery]

Yes, before the drilling there was no proof like there is in the present (WoT's present, that is.)

[RAND AL THOR]

Very clearly, Mierin, Beidomon and whoever else was researching with them were able to identify another Power that can be drawn by both men and women. This is clearly the True Power. So far, we have not seen any evidence of any One-Power channeler being able to detect the True Power.

 

Then how did they find the True Power?

[Asmo]

Probably a resonance, such as saidar users detect saidin.