TGS Cover description up at the Tor Fall catalogue website

[DemandredFO]

I think he probably trusts Nyneave as much as the other two.  After all, he chose her to cleanse saidin with when Alivia would've been stronger.  I do agree though about the taveren thing, when it's life and death you want all the advantages you can get.

[RobertAlexWillis]

I was thinking more along the lines of him "stacking the deck" in his favor.  Where one ta'veren can alter the pattern somewhat, three could do much more.  And he trusts them more then any AS or AM, including Nyneave.

 

Experience has sort of shown him that, when his ta'veren juice is on, he doesn't need any extra "deck stacking".

 

He does trust them, which is why he wants them in contact where he can send them out to do what he considers important things, not taking up space in his entourage.

 

I highly doubt Mat will actually go inside the Tower of Ghenjei in TGS.  He has a great deal of other things to go through first.  He still has a long march (to Caemlyn?), he has to meet up with the rest of the Band, and find a way to the Tower.  He may even check on Elayne in Caemlyn before he goes.  My personal theory is that Mat will go to Caemlyn so that he can make sure is promise to Rand is complete (that he would get Elayne safely to Caemlyn).  Once he is in Caemlyn, Elayne will be able to help make a gateway to the Tower of Ghenjei for Mat, Thom, and Noal.  I'm not sure what Mat would tell Elayne other than he has a matter of urgent business to take care of.  Elayne would probably be more than happy if Mat left the Band near Caemlyn as the Band is much more loyal than the mercenaries Elayne has been using. 

 

Otherwise it will take Mat forever to get to the tower.  Domon no longer has a ship unless Mat suddenly decides to buy him one.  There is so much traveling to do that I just don't think that we will see Mat enter the Tower of Ghenjei in TGS.  Plus, Mat is not yet ready to go into the Tower.  He still has a great deal of planning and contemplating to do before he enters the Tower.  One other reason I think Mat is headed towards Caemlyn is so that he can talk to Birgitte.  Birgitte may be able to provide a couple more ideas on how to handle the Finn.  Likely her memory has faded, but she still may have one or two crucial tidbits left. 

 

If Mat goes to Caemlyn, one unintended consequence of his actions will be to bring the gholam to Caemlyn.  Personally, I think that Elayne is the best equipped to handle the gholam will her ability to create ter'angreals and her vast ter'angreal collection.  One thing I predict is that if Mat heads to Caemlyn he will know the Gholam is following him.  Since Mat knows he may die in the Tower of Ghenjei he will most likely give his foxhead ter'angreal to Elayne for safekeeping until he comes back.  I think Elayne will then be able to properly study this ter'angreal and create a weapon that can kill the gholam (my personal prediction is that she makes an arrowhead that Birgitte can shoot at the gholam, but just a wild guess).

 

These are my predictions.  I think Mat and Elayne's storylines are going to blend together quite a bit.  But Mat still has a few things he needs to accomplish before he can go to the Tower.  This is why I predict it won't happen in TGS. 

 

 

Very good.  It definitely would be faster for Mat to go to Caemlyn himself, and ask Elayne to make him a gateway to get to the Tower of Ghenjei.  He could make sure he had kept his promise to Rand (the whole reason he went south to start with), make arrangements for the Band, then go take care of business in the Tower, and still get there faster than if he had walked.

[Alanna]

I agree that Rand trusts Nyneave, I think he probably trusts her more than any other Aes Sedai.  Even though she's AS now, she started off this whole thing trying to keep Mat, Perrin, and Rand safe, and I think Rand knows/remembers that.  I think he trusts that she wouldn't do anything to harm him.

 

I think Rand might decide when he does meet with Tuon it would be a good idea to have Mat and Perrin with him.

 

I don't really see why he would do this, since he already tried to meet with Tuon once, and he didn't feel he needed Mat and Perrin with him.  And I don't really see how what happened with Semirhage would change that in any way.

 

I don't think just because Mat going to the Tower isn't mentioned in the blurb doesn't mean that won't happen.  It's pretty climatic, but it's a plotline that's pretty much contained to him, whereas what they mentioned with Egwene and Rand are huge storylines that encompass a lot of characters and peoples.

 

That said, after hearing what other people have said here, I don't think Mat is going to save Moiraine in TGS.  I think he's got a way to go from where he is now before that.

 

I think Mat and Elayne's storylines are going to blend together quite a bit.

 

This hadn't occurred to me before, but it makes sense, and it gives Mat a bit of something to do before going to the Tower.  And I'd forgotten about the gholam, which still hasn't been taken care of yet.  I think that could be tied up before he saves Moiraine.