Various Issues

[Guest The Thin Inn Keeper]

I would think that she is less important in the Pattern than a Taveren and perhaps many aes sedai. Is it possible that the auras around her appear infrequently and so she just never happens to have a mirror around when they do appear?

Wow.

 

The woman who probably saved Rands life after being stabbed by Ishy, the one who discovers something about the seals in the writings of Herid Fel, the one who helps Rand on a daily basis, and one of the women on the boat that takes him off into the distance is less important than an Aes Sedai?

 

You're aware that the vast majority of Aes Sedai have gone unamed and unmentioned during the series....?

 

We'll have to disagree on that one.

 

If she could see her own aura, she'd have seen it by now.

[Luckers]

While we are talking about Saidin and Saidar, when a man and a woman are linked can everyone / whoever is in control see both types of flows? I'm not sure if it is ever specifically stated, but it seems that you must be able to see what you're weaving in order to weave it.

 

In a dual sex link the person melding the flows can see the flows of the people in the link--specifically a woman could see the flows of saidin that she is wielding, but she cannot sense saidin being held (or presumably used--though thats uncertain) by a man outside the circle.

 

We know this based on Eben's need to declare Aran'gar.

 

 

[ROB_88]

this seems like the "ask anything"- topic i have a new question.

 

so i have a new one.

in TEoTW when the group is seperated and Rand is sick in a stable with Mat, we see a woman come in and kill them with some kind of burning knife. what is up with that knife, what's so special about it?

did Ishmael do something with it, or her even?

[Mr Ares]

we see a woman come in and kill them with some kind of burning knife.

She kills them! Wow, to think I missed that. Anyway, there is no indication of Ishamael ever doing anything to her, nor giving her anything, as far as I can recall. Presumably, some sort of poison on the dagger.

[ROB_88]

oh, my bad. tried to kill them

but what kind of poison could possibly make it burn the wood?

[Mr Ares]

but what kind of poison could possibly make it burn the wood?

I don't know, I'm not a poisoner. And I'm pretty sure it was never stated. Just shrug and say magic knife.

[Luckers]

Presumably it was a knife made by the Forgers of thakan'dar--much akin to the Myrdraal blades, or even the much weaker and more pathetic Trolloc weapons.

 

The woman we are talking about is Mili Skane. She went to the Tower as a girl, but after she was rejected she became a darkfriend and in time became one of the Shadow's most successful assasins. She stood high in the Shadow--and still does. These days she is known as the Lady Shiane Avarin--being the woman in charge of Falion, the woman who killed Carridan.

 

Basically the point is that she was important--and thus had access to thakan'dar wrought blades.

[Hybrid]

we see a woman come in and kill them with some kind of burning knife.

She kills them!

I have won again, Lews Therin.

I wonder what the second half of that book dealt with.  Probably the messy fates of the remaining main characters.

[Jethro]

Do we know what a binder is guys?

 

Graendal mentions it when watching the Shaido with Sammael. She says something like "I wouldnt spend much time/effort on [sevanna, I think it was]. Or do you have a binder among your toys?" The wording isnt bob on, but from heR comment I gather that she wouldnt trust Sevanna without something like a binder, as if it would force Sevanna to do her bidding.

 

Makes me wonder whether or not it is a binder that put Isam and Luc together. From Luc and Isam we have already gathered that while both "identities" retain memories and personalities, both are one. As Slayer, Luc and Isams memories are always present whichever identity Slayer chooses, each identity retains their likes/dislikes and whatnot. Maybe Isam used a binder on Luc (or had someone perform the ritual for him) and thus gained Luc as a disposable identity.

[ChronoCrosS]

While we are talking about Saidin and Saidar, when a man and a woman are linked can everyone / whoever is in control see both types of flows? I'm not sure if it is ever specifically stated, but it seems that you must be able to see what you're weaving in order to weave it.

 

What about when Lanfear was fighting Rand right before Moiraine kills her. It says Rand was lashing out with the power and Lanfear was neatly slicing away his flows and I believe Rand was doing the same. Could they see each others flows at that time?

[Jethro]

Lanfear is skilled with the Power and would definitely know how to counter a man channeling. I imagined Rand to be acting with Lews Therins instincts at that point without realising. He didnt know he was channeling at that time I think. Moiraine noted him laughing maniacally with tears running down his face while Lanfear  scoured him, so Rand wasnt quite with it at that moment.

[Hybrid]

Do we know what a binder is guys?

I think it refers to the Oath Rod.  Sammael, talking about the Ayyad, asks Graendal if they bind themselves like criminals (IMO, implying that the Aes Sedai do).  And from the BWB, IIRC, we know that criminals in the AOL were bound so that there were no repeat offenses.

[Majsju]

Do we know what a binder is guys?

I think it refers to the Oath Rod.  Sammael, talking about the Ayyad, asks Graendal if they bind themselves like criminals (IMO, implying that the Aes Sedai do).  And from the BWB, IIRC, we know that criminals in the AOL were bound so that there were no repeat offenses.

 

Indeed, Oath Rod = Binder.

 

[mb]

2 binders we know are to bind female channelers (or probably more precisely those who wield saidar).  Somewhere in the books it tells of there being 9 binders.  I guess at least some would bind saidin channelers.

I guess saidar would need to be channeled into the saidar ones in order for them to work, and I guess likewise saidin for the saidin ones; are these correct?

I guess any oath/oaths on them would lead to the ageless look; is this correct?  How long after would the person achieve the look?

It is told that swearing on a binder shortens the swearer's life span.  What would happen if someone swears on it after the cut off age?

Does forswearing affect the person's lifespan?  It seems implied that severing (with or without being Healed) does.

 

Forkroot shields at least saidar; does it also saidin?  Would it also the True Power?

Forkroot also causes dreamless sleep; but what if the person manges to hold  one of those non-channeling ter'angreal for Tel'aran'rhiod before falling to sleep?

 

About Talents; the ones that use some combination of the 5 powers (Air, Water, Earth, Fire, Spirit), are those the ones a channeler can develop?  The rest of the Talents, would the person need to be born with?

 

[Demoncut]

2 binders we know are to bind female channelers (or probably more precisely those who wield saidar).  Somewhere in the books it tells of there being 9 binders.  I guess at least some would bind saidin channelers.

I guess saidar would need to be channeled into the saidar ones in order for them to work, and I guess likewise saidin for the saidin ones; are these correct?

I guess any oath/oaths on them would lead to the ageless look; is this correct?  How long after would the person achieve the look?

It is told that swearing on a binder shortens the swearer's life span.  What would happen if someone swears on it after the cut off age?

Does forswearing affect the person's age?  It seems implied that severing (with or without being Healed) does.

 

Forkroot shields at least saidar; does it also saidin?  Would it also the True Power?

Forkroot also causes dreamless sleep; but what if the person manges to hold  one of those non-channeling ter'angreal for Tel'aran'rhiod before falling to sleep?

 

About Talents; the ones that use some combination of the 5 powers (Air, Water, Earth, Fire, Spirit), are those the ones a channeler can develop?  The rest of the Talents, would the person need to be born with?

 

 

A lot of this is guesswork but, Here are my thoughts.

 

1.  Yes. 

 

2.  Possibly, hard to know / test and isn't brought up in such specific terms in the WoT, I'd say, eventually. =P

 

3.  I don't believe there is such thing as a 'cut off age'.  If you swear on it, it will shorten your life, but if the oaths are removed, your life can be extended.

 

4.  I don't believe it was the act of being severed or healed that effected someones age, it was that severing removed the oaths they had taken with the binder, the removal of those oaths affects their look and possibly allows them to have a longer life (Siuan and Leane).

 

5.  Possibly, untested.  I'd tend to say no on the second of that.

 

6.  Untested, we know that Egwene is continually fed a weak tea containing fork-root while she is held as a 'guest' in the White Tower.  She can enter Tel'aran'rhiod even still, and unless my memory fails me, that is without a ter'angreal.  (She is also trained in Tel'aran'rhiod by the wise ones

though.)

 

7.  It is my understanding that all channelers can use any of those 5 powers, but the level of strength in each specifically varies.  We see that Egwene is particularly strong in Earth.

[Majsju]

Somewhere in the books it tells of there being 9 binders.  I guess at least some would bind saidin channelers.

 

You are confusing Binders with the 9 Rods of Dominion. It does however seem quite logical that some Binders should be made to bind male channelers, though we have not seen any of those.

 

I guess any oath/oaths on them would lead to the ageless look; is this correct?  How long after would the person achieve the look?

 

Yes, it is the OR that causes the ageless look. How long it takes? We do not know, but considering that Aes Sedai used to believe that the look was caused by channeling, it should be some time.

 

It is told that swearing on a binder shortens the swearer's life span.  What would happen if someone swears on it after the cut off age?

 

Cut off age? Not sure what you mean by that. But logically, swearing on the OR would cut years off the remaining years to live.

 

Does forswearing affect the person's age?  It seems implied that severing (with or without being Healed) does.

 

Severing affects the looks of an Aes Sedai, since they lose the ageless look, while they still look younger than their real age due to the slowing all channelers experience.

 

Forkroot shields at least saidar; does it also saidin?  Would it also the True Power?

 

I have a vague memory of it affecting male channelers, but I am too lazy to go look it up atm.

 

Forkroot also causes dreamless sleep; but what if the person manges to hold  one of those non-channeling ter'angreal for Tel'aran'rhiod before falling to sleep?

 

Well, technically, being in T'A'R is a different kind of dreaming than the normal kind. Egwenes experience in KOD suggests that T'A'R can still be entered, though this might be a result of the forkroot used on her being very weak.

 

 

[mb]

My question about forswearing and age, I meant lifespan instead of age; I edited it in the post.

 

[ROB_88]

this seems like the "ask anything"- topic i have a new question.

 

so i have a new one.

in TEoTW when the group is seperated and Rand is sick in a stable with Mat, we see a woman come in and try to kill them with some kind of burning knife. what is up with that knife, what's so special about it?

did Ishmael do something with it, or her even?

 

we see the same kind later on in Two Rivers.

in TSR, at the end of chapter 31: Assurances. it is Dain Bornhald POV

 

He thinks about 2 Gray men that Padan Fain killed. Dain then had the Gray mens dagger burried. they look like steel but if you touched them they burned like molten metal. the first scoops of earth hissed and steamed when it touched the blades.

could there be any similarity to these blades and those of the Myrdraals?

[Mr Ares]

could there be any similarity to these blades and those of the Myrdraals?

There certainly could be. It's certainly not unreasonable to suppose that Gray Men get weapons from the same place as Fades.

[Luckers]

You are confusing Binders with the 9 Rods of Dominion. It does however seem quite logical that some Binders should be made to bind male channelers, though we have not seen any of those.

 

To add to that, we know there were over a hundred female binders due to the markings on the binders we've seen.

 

Also for background, the 9 Rods of Dominion were regional rulers during the Age of Legends--the Rods of Dominion were symbols of office.

 

Yes, it is the OR that causes the ageless look. How long it takes? We do not know, but considering that Aes Sedai used to believe that the look was caused by channeling, it should be some time.

 

By description in the books, it takes between one and five years (note: Elayne states one or two up to five 'or more'--possible longer than five though to what degree, or how accurate that comment is we do not know) for the Agelessness to appear after swearing. It varies per person.

 

As a side note, it takes more than one oath to cause the agelessness--Sammael says about the Ayyad that 'atleast they don't bind themselves like criminals.' and when Graendal seems confused adds that it was fair enough that she hadn't noticed because 'few enough in their time had commited a crime worth binding, much less two'. In the next page Graendal directly shows that he was speaking about the oath rod (and that he was wrong about her).

 

Either way the point is that Sammael's thoughs show that a single binding should not reveal itself in any noticeable way.

 

Quote

It is told that swearing on a binder shortens the swearer's life span.  What would happen if someone swears on it after the cut off age?

 

Cut off age? Not sure what you mean by that. But logically, swearing on the OR would cut years off the remaining years to live.

 

Presumable he meant after 300--after an Aes Sedai who was bound would have died. That being said, Semirhages comment that binding meant 'seeing the end of life approach' suggests that Maj's comment is correct. It lessens the time remaining.

 

 

Quote

Forkroot shields at least saidar; does it also saidin?  Would it also the True Power?

 

I have a vague memory of it affecting male channelers, but I am too lazy to go look it up atm.

 

It's stated that several men have been taken at Seanchan checkpoints--untapped learners, probably, since Asha'men would have travelled rather than cross a military checkpoint, and male wilders are... rare.

 

Men were probably killed out of hand too, given Seanchan practices in that reguard. Not even a threat.

 

Quote

Forkroot also causes dreamless sleep; but what if the person manges to hold  one of those non-channeling ter'angreal for Tel'aran'rhiod before falling to sleep?

 

Well, technically, being in T'A'R is a different kind of dreaming than the normal kind. Egwenes experience in KOD suggests that T'A'R can still be entered, though this might be a result of the forkroot used on her being very weak.

 

It is, we witness Nynaeve drug Moghedian out of TAR with a strong dose of forkroot. Tarna and Elaida discuss using a stronger dose of forkroot to stop Egwene but decide against it because it would leave her useless--and they are uncertain it would work, though in fact it would.

[Tyrell]

To add to that, we know there were over a hundred female binders due to the markings on the binders we've seen.

 

I seem to recall speculating at one point that as the two female binders we have seen are both odd numbered, possibly the male ones are evenly numbered. It's of little consequence except that it'd effectively half the number of binders in circulation back in the Age Of Legends, and I see no reason for there to be a large number of them floating around, given the supposedly utopian nature of their society. That said, when the collapse began possibly more were needed and manufactured.

[Luckers]

I agree about the number of binders being limited--but even two or three hundred is not a lot given there were millions of channelers.

 

The whole odd and even thing is possible--but i dunno. It seems strangely inefficient for an age as bueracratic as the Age of Legends.

 

 

[Telzen]

yes, the Ogiers can see it. but i think they said that they were very weak with it.

 

i have a problem with one thing in EoTW.

when Rand first thinks he's killed the DO he says his real name and nothing happens. nothing at all, not even a little shaking ground or thickening of the air.

i don't believe that the DO's effect would be weaker just because Rand injured a few Forsaken

Actually right after Rand names the DO it says "The world seemed to lurch." Just finished a reread so I figured I'd respond to this one.

[Shienara]

Also, wasn't it stated in the first book that naming the Do only brought his attention to you? Not that it necessarily caused an immediate action, like an earthquake etc...And considering the DO has had his eyes on for Rand for quite some time, I think a little world lurching seems quite the thing.

[mb]

Rand is bonded to 4 people; would they be able to detect Lews Therin?

 

Before the taint, did saidin needed to be fought or not?

Before the taint, was detecting saidin different or not?

 

Illusion can do these things::

-make self or others invisible (Folded Light)

-disguise height of self (Mask of Mirrors, Mirror of Mists)

-disguise ability to channel

-change facial and hair appearance

I guess a strong channeler could use Illusion to disguise gender in at least appearance though not in voice, is this correct?