It seems so simple

[demonocracy]

Hey guys and gals, I'm a new user but i've thought about this before.

 

Alright, every character that can manipulate the elements and whatnot has the power to be invulnerable. I'm not talking just about al'thor, but magneto and so many other heroes and villains.

 

It just seems that these guys have ultimate powers, and "...even you can be taken out by an arrow." I mean honestly, can't rand weave an air shield or summat to block any physical damage from coming to him? like a constant shield of flying air knives; anything like an arrow would be shredded and buffeted away. it doesn't seem that intensive to tie something like that off after cleansing the source and whatnot.

 

And going back to magneto. In the x-men 2 movie he did this for a short while, he just had a couple metal balls circling around him, he could totally maniuplate them to do anything he wanted (ie steps, bullets, hammers) but for some reason he is standing right next to a bridge loaded with cars in x men 3 (which is another extreme waste of effort imo but x3 is a different story) and cannot manage to shield himself from a needle stabbing beast.

 

So in conclusion, Rand should be able to make a shield that deflects all physical damage. This isnt that labor intensive, it seems like a fairly simple weave compared to all the other quilts they manage. He can turn it off/on, so its not stopping from loving all his women, and I will agree that it is a beacon to anyone channeling, but he isn't trying to be stealthy all the time.

 

Any comments or insights would be appreciated.

[Kati]

Its because of the rules of story telling. You need a climax and anti-climaxes to make it interesting.

 

I always would get angry in He-Man - why did he get hurt by the bad guys and then decide to call upon the "power of ten tigers". Why not use the power all day? The Phantom and Power Rangers and Bannana Man, All same thing!

[Sirayn]

As I understand it, the warning that any channeller can be taken out by an arrow does not signify that channelling is useless against arrows. As you say, there are simple weaves that can be used to block arrows. The warning means that when you are not channelling, which is most of the time, you are just as vulnerable to physical attack as anyone else.

 

It's not feasible to protect yourself constantly against physical attack. Channelling in the Wheel of Time universe is extremely tiring. You can observe from several scenes in the book, I'm thinking about the Shaido Siege of Cairhien primarily here, that even several hours at a stretch is sufficient to completely exhaust channellers; there's no way people could maintain a permanent shield round themselves. Also, tied-off weaves fade over time.

 

Just my two cents!

[MetalMonkeyMood]

I also think that the "constant shield of flying knives" that you suggested might make it a bit difficult for Rand to continue with his kingly duties. Although it might be fun seing some of those Tairen nobles getting chopped up into sushi, I imagine that it would probably get in the way of his other duties. Plus, that would alienate him even more from the people around him, which is apparently exactly what everyone is trying to avoid.

[demonocracy]

First off, the "rules" of story telling do NOT mean people need to be stupid/ignorant of their power. I'd say there just needs to be specific restrictions, an actual reason some shield is not exactly practical.

Secondly, I agree, yea channeling is tiring in the wheel of time books. However! I'm not talking about looking through a telescope and shooting long range fireballs/ lightning bolts, which they managed to do for several hours. The shield of which I'm talking about just seems to be a slightly modified flow of air that aes sedai/ ashaman seem to slap/pinch each other so easily with. As for tying the flows off, yea they, fade, but generally seem to last hours in the books.

Lastly, again, i agree that a shield would alienate him more, but its not something that anyone but rand would be able to decide. And he knows he has to live long enough to bleed at shayol ghul to save people he loves/everyone.

 

Channeling air cannot lift you up and make you fly. That is a great restriction specifically stated in the books, I just don't understand the restrictions on a shield, unless it just makes it too easy.

[Zardi]

I don't think you'd be able to tie off such a shield, because you'd have to keep modifying it as you move. Else you'd be restricted by it too. And that would get tiring.

[demonocracy]

Getting a bit more technical, I was visualising the shield as basically a moving net woven a short ways away, slicing up most everything that came through. And to my knowledge, there are flows that can be tied off to keep distance.

For example, we all know that people are bound by air all the time. we also know that they move while bound. So think of this net as a modification of the air cuffs, extended a few feet away and connected by a mesh.

 

I know this may seem kinda lame and whatnot, but its just something that bugs me. I also like to get technical about odd things. But I'm sure there has to be something to counter this, a restriction that I missed or something along those lines. Thanks for your time and patience everyone who has responded.