Question about a plot point (KOD)

[seasnake]

In KOD, Elayne is trying to use footpads to follow Captain Mellar, a man she suspects as being a darkfriend.  They keep getting killed. 

 

However, the last one she uses is a criminal so she lays a weaving on him called a finding, basically meaning she can know where he's at at any time.  I read the chapter twice looking for some explanation, but I can't figure out why she just doesn't cast this same weave on Mellar.  She can invert the weaves so a sister wouldn't see the finding, so why not cast it on his belt buckle and use that to track him from a distance?

 

Maybe I'm missing something, but it seems pretty silly for her to send man after man to their deaths if she knows of a weave that can she can use to track people. 

[OptimusPrime]

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In KOD, Elayne is trying to use footpads to follow Captain Mellar, a man she suspects as being a darkfriend.  They keep getting killed. 

 

However, the last one she uses is a criminal so she lays a weaving on him called a finding, basically meaning she can know where he's at at any time.  I read the chapter twice looking for some explanation, but I can't figure out why she just doesn't cast this same weave on Mellar.  She can invert the weaves so a sister wouldn't see the finding, so why not cast it on his belt buckle and use that to track him from a distance?

 

Maybe I'm missing something, but it seems pretty silly for her to send man after man to their deaths if she knows of a weave that can she can use to track people. 

 

I think she'll be expecting more of this one because he#s a criminal. Plus, theres bound to be a way of countering inverted weaves. Therel be a way to detect it I bet.

 

[Mr Ares]

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Maybe I'm missing something, but it seems pretty silly for her to send man after man to their deaths if she knows of a weave that can she can use to track people.

Will this weave show her where he is, or where he has been - and who he spoke to while there? If the latter, using it makes sense, if the former, then you can see the advantages of the latter.

[WWWwombat]

Maybe she doesn't want to be anywhere near his belt buckle.

[Padraic_Seebrr]

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Maybe she doesn't want to be anywhere near his belt buckle.

Ha!

 

I think that she used men because then she will know where he went, get a description, and any other information the man can gather about where he went. A finding wouldnt do that, it would just tell her where he was at a given time.

[Ashaman Kovan]

I've been wondering the same thing. No one who has posted has even seemed to really address your question either. Why didn't she just put the weave on Mellar? My guess is, that would have made it too easy and that whole plot line wouldn't have been able to drag out nearly as long lol.

[dmanmiller34]

It probably on;y lets her get a general sense of direction of the person. I doubt its like a GPS nav system that gives a pinpointed loctaion. Probably more like a Hunch to follow for a direction.

[Ashaman Kovan]

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It probably on;y lets her get a general sense of direction of the person. I doubt its like a GPS nav system that gives a pinpointed loctaion. Probably more like a Hunch to follow for a direction.

 

So your point is...What? That the Weave is so unreliable it shouldn't be used at all?

[Mik]

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I've been wondering the same thing. No one who has posted has even seemed to really address your question either. Why didn't she just put the weave on Mellar?

Mr Ares posted a good point about why Elayne would send a spy after Mellar; more (and more detailled)information, instead of just a location. The spy might get more info about what Hanlon (aka Mellar) is actuallly doing instead of just knowing his location. Information she would never get from Hanlon if her suspicion is correct. You can read it worked, because the spy reports the presence of Aes Sedai and more.

So, Kovan..I thought it was a decent answer.

 

However, a part of seasnake's argument still stands.

I think, it would have been smarter if Elayne had also woven an inverted finding-weave on Hanlon.

That way -if anything would happen to her spy- she would have known if Hanlon was close to her spy.

That might have tied Hanlon to the crime-scene and given her enough confirmation and a valid (read; allowed by Andoran Law) reason to arrest him and wring him dry. Before her 6th spy reported back, the chances of him surviving were pretty slim, since the previous ones had all died.

 

Sidenote;

I always found it pretty funny and remarkable how much Hark (the succesful spy) resembled a Gray Man.

RJ writes about him as if he's practically the human equivalent of the Soulless and it's ironic that a rotten character like that (ripe for hanging by law), that actually succeeds in aiding the Light finding the Shadows lair in Caemlyn.

It's the little things like that, that I love so much about RJ's writing.

 

Ah well.. my 2 purses worth ;)

Mik

[Mr Ares]

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Why didn't she just put the weave on Mellar?

What would be the point? So she could say "he's over there somewhere"? On the other hand, if this guy is killed, finding the body is no problem.

 

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So your point is...What? That the Weave is so unreliable it shouldn't be used at all?

More like it is the wrong tool for the job. She needs a spy, not a general direction. A finder is only useful if she plans to follow Mellar herself.