Questions/Theories Answered or New Tidbits Added (Full Book Spoilers)

[randfandom]

If this is so, Semi's weave will come in handy. She explains to Merise that she can draw all the blood out of a body instantly and replace it with other substances, while keeping the donor alive in excruciating pain.

Maybe Alivia and Nyn between them will pull this off dumping Rand's blood at the Bore and replacing it with Moridin's. Seems a bit gruesome though and I hope they're the same group.

 

Way too gruesome and no way will Nynaeve do something like this. Semirhage's weave (for replacing blood with other liquids) already came to play, albeit not physically. She made Rand experience the feel of replacing his blood with hot oil (or similar) when she was torturing him with the a'dam. I think she picked that because it's the most painful form of torture. We get confirmation from Aviendha's POV later when she considers the intense pain she was feeling through the bond.

[Sharaman]

If this is so, Semi's weave will come in handy. She explains to Merise that she can draw all the blood out of a body instantly and replace it with other substances, while keeping the donor alive in excruciating pain.

Maybe Alivia and Nyn between them will pull this off dumping Rand's blood at the Bore and replacing it with Moridin's. Seems a bit gruesome though and I hope they're the same group.

 

Way too gruesome and no way will Nynaeve do something like this.

 

What if Moridin offed Lan? I think Nyn would be prepared to consider the bucket of blood option in that case.

One lives in hope.

[blackjon]

i happen to be thinking that Alanna's bond to Rand hasn't done all that much yet. happened in books 4-6 as i recall too ;)

 

my guess is Alanna is killed and that transmits the death feeling to Rand, causing him to go Lan style nutso.

 

shame as he was just getting better as well....   ;D

 

in fact i feel that Nynaeve's little chat about healing the pain of a dead warder might be relevant. after all, daighin might not want to forget her warder, but Rand his aes sedia who bonded him against his will? maybe so  ;D

[deepak_dragonreborn]

Alannas bond will play a huge role in TG i think.RJ must have a huge plotline based on that.

 

Alanna bonding Rand was so out of the blue.It has to have a significance.Maybe it was for the Dumais Well scene i.e. Alanna finding Rand and 'saving him'.but i have a feeling it will play a big part in the later books.

[elec1cele]

i happen to be thinking that Alanna's bond to Rand hasn't done all that much yet. happened in books 4-6 as i recall too ;)

 

my guess is Alanna is killed and that transmits the death feeling to Rand, causing him to go Lan style nutso.

 

shame as he was just getting better as well....   ;D

 

in fact i feel that Nynaeve's little chat about healing the pain of a dead warder might be relevant. after all, daighin might not want to forget her warder, but Rand his aes sedia who bonded him against his will? maybe so   ;D

 

I don't know why but I kinda like that idea.  If it happens I think she is going to die doing something to save Rand and him feeling her death as well as knowing why I think will play a big part.

[Sentinel78]

Alannas bond will play a huge role in TG i think.RJ must have a huge plotline based on that.

 

Alanna bonding Rand was so out of the blue.It has to have a significance.Maybe it was for the Dumais Well scene i.e. Alanna finding Rand and 'saving him'.but i have a feeling it will play a big part in the later books.

 

I like this idea too.  Plus, Nynaeve has been messing around with trying to figure out how to cure the Warded-bond-breaking depression.  If Moridin figures out the Alanna-bond (or really, any of Rand's warder-bonds) he might try to take one of them out to sink Rand back into suicide-mode.  In this case, Nynaeve's dabbling in trying to cure this condition could come to the forefront.  She already healed stilling so she might be able to figure out this one too, maybe linked with Damer. 

 

Alanna bonding Rand was just insane, as it paints a giant target on her head for any Darkfriend who knows about it.  Rand can afford constant secret service-like security.  Alanna's warders can't really provide that level of protection.  Granted, Rand has to worry about Elayne, Aviendha and Min too for that reason.

 

Alanna's bond for the Dumai's well scene was kind of irrelevant because even if they didn't catch up to Rand, the deciding factor was a combination of the Shaido attacking causing Rand to break free, and the Ashaman showing up, and Alanna had nothing to do with either of those.  Even Perrin and his Cairhienen, Aiel and wolves didn't do that much at Dumai's wells. 

[jemron]

I like this idea.  Why was Verin so suspicious of Alanna back in the Two Rivers with Perrin?  Maybe she knew Alanna was BA and had certain "assignments" about bonding one of the ta'veren?

 

I'm going to have to go back and re-read that scene after Alanna bonds Rand and she and Verin have a conversation.  Is it just me, or does it seem like Verin was pretty understanding of Alanna's POV, even if she did think it was foolish.  Maybe Verin knew that it was part of Alanna's BA assignment?

 

Hmmm... 

[stormcrow]

I had the impression Verin compelled Alanna to do that. When Alanna faints on the night Rand bonds Min/Aviendha/Elayne, Verin was unduly distressed. She probably feared a delving would reveal traces of the compulsion.

 

But Alanna should have a significant role in TG.

[Sentinel78]

I had the impression Verin compelled Alanna to do that. When Alanna faints on the night Rand bonds Min/Aviendha/Elayne, Verin was unduly distressed. She probably feared a delving would reveal traces of the compulsion.

 

I'm pretty sure Verin was terrified in that scene because she thought Alanna's condition could be an indication that Rand died.  Even assuming Alanna was compelled and was delved by someone that could detect that condition (two big assumptions), nothing would link that to Verin.

 

Just to recap that scene, it was in Chpt 13 "Wonderful News" from Winter's Heart.  Here are the relevant portions pertaining to Verin:

 

-- Jahar reports Alanna's condition:

The door banged open to admit Jahar at a run, the silver bells on the ends of his dark braids jangling. Heads turned to look at the youth in the well-fitted blue coat Merise had chosen for him—even Sorilea and Sarene stared—but the words that came out of him in a rush drove away thoughts of how pretty his sundark face was.

 

"Alanna's unconscious, Cadsuane. She just collapsed in the hallway. Merise had her taken to a bedchamber and sent me for you."

 

and then when they get to Alanna's room:

 

Sorilea stared at the woman stretched out on the bed with no expression beyond a thinning of her lips. Cadsuane wondered whether she was reevaluating their alliance. Verin was staring at Alanna, too, and she looked absolutely terrified. Cadsuane had not thought anything could frighten Verin that far. But she felt a thrill of terror herself. If she lost this connection to the boy now. . . .

 

 

 

[stormcrow]

^ all true. Thanks for the clarification.

[mcrill]

THere are little to no nations Demandred could have been manipulating that Rand hasnt discovered (Except in Shara or Seanchan, but were not going there) Taim ordered RAnd killed, Demandred did too, and TGS noted that Demandred had an army at his disposal...the Black Tower

 

 

I think the strongest evidence for the Black Tower as Demandreds army comes from his alliance with Mesaana and Semirhage. They had both been ensconced in bastions of the Power (Aes Sedai and Seanchan respectively) so it makes sense for Demandred to be controlling the Black Tower. Between the three of them they would have had effective control of a very large portion of the worlds channelers.

 

If this is the case, given the fact that Taim is NOT Demandred, Demandred would either need to be one of Taims underlings, covertly influencing him and building up his hatred of the Light, or Taim could be Demandreds lacky outright. I would opt towards the former option as Taim seems a bit too arrogant to submit even to the Chosen, but also seems perfectly capable of letting himself be unwittingly manipulated.

 

Any thoughts?

[NegaWalker]

'He shall hold a Blade of Light in his hands.'

'And the Three shall be One.'

 

When I heard this prophecy, light dawned in me.

 

In this prophecy, I only see one solution. Its not Rand, Mat, and Perrin, or Min, Aviendha and Elayne.

 

It is the Three Powers.

 

There are Three forces that exist in the Wheel of Time:

 

Saidin.

Saidar.

The True Power.

 

The Male Half. The Female Half. And the power of the Dark One.

 

Creation in both chaotic and orderly forms, and the power of destruction.

 

My speculation on exactly why Callandor is flawed is simple.

 

It is not a Sa'Angreal for just the Male half, but also the True Power. So wielding Saidin with Callandor while it was Tainted, which itself was part of the True Power inflicted on Saidin, magnified the taint.

 

Callandor, wielded by the Dragon, in a ring with two women, allows all three powers to be wielded at once.

 

Saidar itself might also be magnified in some way by Callandor, though there is no evidence yet of this. Or perhaps it doesn't need to be magnified. Perhaps enough of the Power wielded by two women is enough for what must be done.

 

So the three forces that turn the Wheel of Time, the Male and Female half that work in opposition, and the True Power that acts as a force of Entropy on them both, must all work together.

 

Saidin and Saidar, if combined to try and close the Bore, will not be enough. Saidin itself had to /touch/ the Dark One, which is why the Dark One could reach out and touch it.

 

But what would happen if the True Power was used, drawing on the infinite darkness of Shai'tan, to push him back and hold him as Saidin and Saidar are woven together to seal the bore.

 

This is my belief and my thought for the future.

 

It could explain why Rand could always see the threads of the True Power. It could explain why Rand could wield the True Power to kill Semirhage.

 

Rand has the innate gift for both Male AND True Powers, by being who he is. Or by some act that took place earlier. Perhaps as simple as Rand's first confrontation with Ishamael in the first book.

 

And with the two other women, perhaps Elayne and Aviendha, he could seal the Bore and make it as whole as it was before the Dark One was ever found.

 

And, of course, the Prophecy states a possibility too. Perhaps Rand will regain his hand, for it speaks of hands, rather then hand. Or perhaps there will be hands of others holding it with him, spiritually speaking the hands of all his past lives. Or perhaps as simple as the hands of those he loves.

[jemron]

Cool.  This has come up several times before in various TGS spoiler threads.  You have come the closest to actually convincing me that it could be it.

 

However, the argument, which I also tend to agree with, is that Rand could never channel the TP without the DO giving Rand permission to do so, and so the DO won't allow him to channel it to help seal the bore for good.

 

Unless, by some off chance, Rand will be able to somehow channel the TP without the DO knowing about it.  I personally don't think that is possible, since BS said in a recent signing that nobody channels the TP without express permission from the DO himself.

 

It has been theorized, and I agree, that it was the DOs plan to give Rand access to the TP all along...  What could the consequences of that be? 

 

Hmm... This just occurred to me, and I like the idea.  Maybe by killing himself (in his last hour) by TP overdose, Rand could somehow burn out the DO by channeling too much of the TP like Lews Therin burnt himself out by channeling too much of the OP.  Interesting thought...  I'll have to think more on this.

 

Lews Therin said that it was HIM.  Maybe the TP is literally the DO, not just some power that comes from the DO, but his actual entity.  By completely channeling it, it would dissolve away into nothingness (similar to how the Eye of the World ran out when it was used up).

 

Either that, or each time his TP is channeled, he escapes a little bit more from his prison...  Weird thought...

 

I'm theorizing as I type this, so there are bound to be holes in the theory... But it is interesting to contemplate.

 

 

 

[obmur]

Concerning tha Rand's blood on Shayul Ghul thing, I always had the impression this has got to do with either the Aeil or more likely Elayne's babies. Not that they will be killed, but that pregnant Elayne will have to be there.

 

The wounds in his side will also play a role likely, but I always thought Jordan wrote so many prophecies that were not to be taken literally, this "blood" meaning blood relatives would be kind of neat.

[Sentinel78]

Concerning tha Rand's blood on Shayul Ghul thing, I always had the impression this has got to do with either the Aeil or more likely Elayne's babies. Not that they will be killed, but that pregnant Elayne will have to be there.

 

The wounds in his side will also play a role likely, but I always thought Jordan wrote so many prophecies that were not to be taken literally, this "blood" meaning blood relatives would be kind of neat.

 

There's a Surgeon's General warning related to traveling to Shayol Ghul when pregnant though.

[jemron]

"Can I see your ID sir?"

 

"Hmm... Born at Shayol Ghul huh?  Uh.. You're free to go."

[NegaWalker]

Well, we wondered when Elayne's pregnancy would conclude... and if it would conclude before the Last Battle.

 

Still, I cannot wait. Rand's face when he sees Elayne. Swollen and pregnant with his children. It will be /beyond/ wonderful. Now that he has his emotions back, his willingness to laugh back... he'll be the Old Rand. The Rand before he was locked in the box. The Rand in The Shadow Rising and The Fires of Heaven, if not the Rand in EoTW, TGH, TDR.

 

Rand's return to everyone will be fascinating to see.

 

Min's reaction to him, perhaps the way his mind has changed... no longer a ball of steel with veins of gold... but just /him/.

[Ashaman DeRouge]

RE Rand channeling the TP.

 

We only know that the Forsaken can channel the TP with permission. Perhaps the Dark One is powerless to stop Rand from channeling the TP?

 

I don't think we know NEARLY enough about it to conclude anything, but my first thought in that scene with Semi was that Rand was TAKING the True Power, not that the Dark One gave him access to it.

 

Hrmm... I'm sure someone can prove me wrong that hah!

[mike-cook]

"Can I see your ID sir?"

 

"Hmm... Born at Shayol Ghul huh?  Uh.. You're free to go."

HAHAHHAHAHAHAHA

[NegaWalker]

RE Rand channeling the TP.

 

We only know that the Forsaken can channel the TP with permission. Perhaps the Dark One is powerless to stop Rand from channeling the TP?

 

I don't think we know NEARLY enough about it to conclude anything, but my first thought in that scene with Semi was that Rand was TAKING the True Power, not that the Dark One gave him access to it.

 

Hrmm... I'm sure someone can prove me wrong that hah!

 

I agree.

 

It could very well be the Dragon is also gifted by his existence. Perhaps the Dragon is the only one born who naturally has the ability to channel the True Power while all the others have to be GIVEN the ability to do so.

 

It makes a little bit of sense. We'll see what happens in the next few books.

[elec1cele]

RE Rand channeling the TP.

 

We only know that the Forsaken can channel the TP with permission. Perhaps the Dark One is powerless to stop Rand from channeling the TP?

 

I don't think we know NEARLY enough about it to conclude anything, but my first thought in that scene with Semi was that Rand was TAKING the True Power, not that the Dark One gave him access to it.

 

Hrmm... I'm sure someone can prove me wrong that hah!

 

Brandon has said the the TP can only be channeled if the DO allows it.

[AshamanEnder]

could the three be rand, LTT, and the DO?  then rand somehow kills himself/ltt/DO and life is great again.

 

Am i reading this right though?  there's kind of a mission conflict.  everyone talks about him resealing the DO but he wants to kill the DO...

 

I don't think they'll reseal the bore with the 7 seals.  that was a makeshift solution for their mistake in boring in to try and tap the DO's power to begin with.  what was it like before then?  shouldn't they try to return to that state?

[bialio]

RE Rand channeling the TP.

 

We only know that the Forsaken can channel the TP with permission. Perhaps the Dark One is powerless to stop Rand from channeling the TP?

 

I don't think we know NEARLY enough about it to conclude anything, but my first thought in that scene with Semi was that Rand was TAKING the True Power, not that the Dark One gave him access to it.

 

Hrmm... I'm sure someone can prove me wrong that hah!

 

Brandon has said the the TP can only be channeled if the DO allows it.

 

Seems like the most likely scenario is that he channeled the TP thru Moridin - their link obviously being the conduit that makes that possible.  So Moridin has permission, and Rand can hijack the TP from him.  DO deosn't have to give permission to Rand, because it's really Moridin who's pulling down the TP.

 

btl.

[Lewsdarren]

Does anyone have a link to the transcript of Brandon's statement about the TP channeling/permission? Forgive my skepticism, but in my experience when people have posted 'RJ said' they usually make a much more direct and definitive statement than the actual statement they are quoting.......any other refugees from wotmania post boards  probably know what I mean.

[jemron]

I just re-read that chapter.  After Rand attempts once again to seize saidin and fails due to the collar not allowing him (or Semi not allowing him) and whilst strangling Min, it then says:

 

Rand wailed.  THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!  I WILL NOT DO THIS AGAIN!

Something snapped inside of him.  He grew cold; then that coldness vanished, and he could feel nothing.  No emotion.  No anger.

At that moment he grew aware of a strange force.  It was like a reservoir of water, boiling and churning just beyond his view.  He reached toward it with his mind.

A clouded face flashed before Rand's own, one whose features he couldn't quite make out.  It was gone in a moment.

And Rand found himself filled with an alien power.  Not saidin, not saidar, but something else.  Something he'd never felt before.

Oh, Light, Lews Therin suddenly screamed.  That's impossible!  We can't use it!  Cast it away!  That is death we hold, death and betrayal.

It is HIM.

 

It seems clear to me that "at that moment" the DO recognized through Moridin that Rand had been broken, and then granted him access to the TP willingly.

 

However, "he reached toward it with his mind" could mean that he's accessing it in some strange way through his link to Moridin (who is "in his mind") but I don't buy that as much.

 

I think the DO willingly granted access to Rand to use the TP in the moment that his plan worked and Rand was sufficiently broken and therefore completely willing to do ANYTHING necessary, including holding "death and betrayal," to save Min.

 

Rand says basically "I'll do anything to free her" then his emotions break/disappear, then the DO says "Here ya go" and BAM! Rand has access to the TP, which is likely what the DO and Moridin had planned all along.