Ask A Simple Question, Get a Simple Answer (No AMoL Spoilers)

[W_A]

Is there any difference between the Ages? The only one I've been able to find is that peaches are now poisonous. I don't mean stuff like they have less technology, because that just happened humanly. Is there a difference in the actual way the world works when an Age changes.

 

And as a follow up, if there is no change, is there an actual defined point that is part of nature where the Age changes, or is it just a point in history, arbitrarily defined by people, like New Era or Free Year?

[mb]

Not sure if there is a difference or not.

 

Any Age seems to end with some kind of "big" event.

First Age (in book's cycle) with the discovery of the One Power.

Second Age (in book's cycle) with the Sealing and the Breaking.

Third Age (in book's cycle) likely with the aftermath of Tarmon Gaidon.

The books do not specify the endings of the other Ages.

 

 

Edit:: When Thom meets the 3 taveren & Egwene, he mentions various descriptions of Ages.

Edited May 14, 2011 by mb

[yoniy0]

Is there any difference between the Ages?

Good question. We know (from RJ) that the Wheel itself has seven spokes, so the Ages appear to be less arbitrary as one might think. As to a real metaphysical difference, I think mb touched on one major difference we know about. In some Ages folks don't channel the OP. Is that merely a difference in the human genome, or in the metaphysics of the Wheel? We don't know for certain, but it's one of the two (they can't simply forget about it - folks would Spark from time to time).

And naturally, some Ages are affected by the DO's touch, while others aren't.

[Terez]

Is there any difference between the Ages? The only one I've been able to find is that peaches are now poisonous.

Harriet implied that this was a misunderstanding in the Third Age, because peach pits have arsenic, and this led to people believing that the whole peach was poisonous. But this seems to contradict what RJ said on the subject.

[PhoenixUK]

we dont even know if the different ages are of equal length, do we? Couldn't one age last 10,000 years and another only 1,000?

[Terez]

Indeed.

[FarShainMael]

In LoC19, Avi tells Rand about the Wise Ones' dreams, including this one:

 

"Melaine and Bair dreamed of you Rand on a boat with three women whose faces they could not see, and a scale tilting first one way then the other."

 

Dreams generally contain images with which the person is familiar. How do Melaine and Bair know what a boat is? Have they ever left the Waste?

[Terez]

They had just left the Waste, if you'll recall, in the previous book. I'm assuming you got that from the Encyclopedia or some such? Books are better:

 

"They have shared dreams, some of which concern you." She sounded slightly strangled until she paused to clear her throat, then fixed him with a steady, determined gaze. "Melaine and Bair dreamed of you on a boat," she said, the word still awkward after all these months in the wetlands, "with three women whose faces they could not see, and a scale tilting first one way then the other. Melaine and Amys dreamed of a man standing by your side with a dagger to your throat, but you did not see him. Bair and Amys dreamed of you cutting the wetlands in two with a sword."

[WhiskyJack]

Aiel had books!

[FarShainMael]

Right. Of course, it doesn't say when they had that dream. nvm.

[Terez]

Like WJ said, they had books. Gaul talks about his vision of a forest from reading about them, compared to a real forest.

[HighWiredSith]

Q. Although I can appreciate the fact that Matt is single-handedly inventing black powder firearms - why spend all the money and effort building dragons in a world full of channelers who can pretty much accomplish the same thing (hurling objects a long distance) without the time, effort, or resources? What would you rather have, a dozen heavy cannons that have to be loaded, reloaded, maneuvered into place, targeted, and fired...or a dozen Ashaman?

Edited May 11, 2011 by HighWiredSith

[Terez]

Q. Although I can appreciate the fact that Matt is single-handedly inventing black powder firearms - why spend all the money and effort building dragons in a world full of channelers who can pretty much accomplish the same thing (hurling objects a long distance) without the time, effort, or resources? What would you rather have, a dozen heavy cannons that have to be loaded, reloaded, maneuvered into place, targeted, and fired...or a dozen Ashaman?

1. The Asha'man are pretty new on the scene. Mat didn't get the chance to use their services until TOM.

2. The Aes Sedai won't use the Power as a weapon. See the battle where Teslyn and Joline 'helped'. It has limits.

3. Most military disputes don't involve channelers, and it's hard to see channelers getting involved.

4. What if you have to defend against channelers? In that case, you want something that will even the playing field a little bit. This was Aludra's idea - she doesn't want to have to depend on the Aes Sedai or anyone else to take care of the Seanchan. She has her own idea. (Give credit where it's due.)

[Feral]

Well not everyone has access to channelers who will march and fight to order.

[LemonPastie]

not all channelers can lift objects as heavy as the shot, and if they could then hurling it that far and hard could be quite hard

[WhiskyJack]

It's rather simple: it gives average person(or kingdom) the power of 100s of Aes Sedai and the best thing is, you can just build them to death. Canon's don't die, they don't need training and nations don't have channelers. This is a weapon for countries. War of technology has come to Rand Land finally. Next in line will be guns.

[David Selig]

Q. Although I can appreciate the fact that Matt is single-handedly inventing black powder firearms - why spend all the money and effort building dragons in a world full of channelers who can pretty much accomplish the same thing (hurling objects a long distance) without the time, effort, or resources? What would you rather have, a dozen heavy cannons that have to be loaded, reloaded, maneuvered into place, targeted, and fired...or a dozen Ashaman?

By Mat you mean Aludra, right? She was the one who invented all of this, Mat didn't do anything apart from helping to secure the funding for them.

 

Anyway, the most simple answer is that you can use both channellers and cannons, and the channellers are a limited number who also have their own organisations and aren't easy to get fighting for you. So building cannons makes sense, plus the channellers could use all the help they can get against the Trolloc hordes. The cannons will help the channellers gain time for rest.

[Durinax]

Q. Although I can appreciate the fact that Matt is single-handedly inventing black powder firearms - why spend all the money and effort building dragons in a world full of channelers who can pretty much accomplish the same thing (hurling objects a long distance) without the time, effort, or resources? What would you rather have, a dozen heavy cannons that have to be loaded, reloaded, maneuvered into place, targeted, and fired...or a dozen Ashaman?

By Mat you mean Aludra, right? She was the one who invented all of this, Mat didn't do anything apart from helping to secure the funding for them.

 

Anyway, the most simple answer is that you can use both channellers and cannons, and the channellers are a limited number who also have their own organisations and aren't easy to get fighting for you. So building cannons makes sense, plus the channellers could use all the help they can get against the Trolloc hordes. The cannons will help the channellers gain time for rest.

not too mention gunpowder weapons would be seriously demoralizing to any enemy army, moreso than channellers

[PhoenixUK]

channellers can get tired, Plus channelling usually alerts other channellers that they are there, and if they are going to do something huge the enemy knows from the amount of Power they are holding. Plus there are ways to circumvent channeling (cut them off from the Source, cut their weaves, use terangreal like Matt's to undo weaves before they resolve).

 

Also channelers are mostly either aes sedai or asha'man who follow a command structure which is not always put under mat's command. What if mat is in a battle and his channelers have been ordered somewhere else against his wishes?

Edited May 11, 2011 by PhoenixUK

[Ingtar Shinowa]

Quick question because I'm an inattentive reader:

 

When did Mat start carrying all those knives? At first, he leaves TR with nothing but a long bow. At some point I seem to remember him acquiring a quarterstaff. Then, all of a sudden, BAM! He's like Bullseye from Marvel comics and has more knives than a cutlery store.

[nrm5021]

another quick question,

has rand actually married any of the three yet? i finally got someone else to read the series and im trying to be as vague on answering her questions as i can be and still be honest.

[Pantherus]

No - he's shagged them all though ;)

 

The closest would be Avi saying she'd make the bridal wreath.

[nrm5021]

thanks

[Pantherus]

Quick question because I'm an inattentive reader:

 

When did Mat start carrying all those knives? At first, he leaves TR with nothing but a long bow. At some point I seem to remember him acquiring a quarterstaff. Then, all of a sudden, BAM! He's like Bullseye from Marvel comics and has more knives than a cutlery store.

 

I think it was just chucked in for tDR - the acquisition was off-screen AFAIK, but probably during the Caemlyn->Tear mission

[noynaert@gmail.com]

 

I think it was just chucked in for tDR - the acquisition was off-screen AFAIK, but probably during the Caemlyn->Tear mission

That is a good theory. Mat made the Tar Valon -> Caemlyn -> Tear trip with Thom. Thom saved him with knives the first night of the trip. That might have piqued Mat's interest, and he would have had time to practice while they sailed south.

 

His first knife training might have started sooner. Lan started teaching the boys to use their weapons shortly after leaving the TR. Thom could have taught them knives then. Rand and Perin's weapons were the sword and ax. Mat used a bow very well already, and Lan probably felt that Rand and Perin were the ones who needed the training most urgently. Mat also would have brought a finite supply of arrows and any training would have damaged at least some of them. So perhaps Thom started working with Mat on knives while the other boys worked with Lan on blades.

 

Mat's abilities developed off camera, but to me it is very reasonable. It might have happened this way: Mat started learning from Thom on the way to Baeleron. Then he learned to juggle on the way to Whitebridge as well as some sleight-of-hand and magic tricks. That increased his manual dexterity and helped him develop his "quick hands" further. The way Thom and Mat both stash their knives reminds me of the way a magician hides their props. At the EotW he used his bow, but otherwise didn't have much use for a weapon until he got to Falme. At Falme he regained the tainted dagger and used it against the guards. At the battle of Falme the horn was his main weapon, but he probably used his bow, too. After the battle he was an invalid, although he did pick up a quarterstaff in TV. He met up with Thom in TV after being separated from the dagger. Thom either started teaching him knives then or continued the training they started earlier.