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

[Ludo]

Do the Seanchan think that the Sea Folk broke the same oaths as everyone else?

Or even did Hawkwing have any hold on the Sea Folk?

[Superhal]

Thanks for the answers, everybody. :)

[Superhal]

Do we know, roughly, how many Aiel are with Perrin's army?

 

Afaik, the only fighting Aiel with Perrin were always Bain, Chiad, and Gaul. But, after the rescue of Faile, there were an undetermined number of Aiel gai'shan taken prisoner, so now the number is unknown.

[Durinax]

Do we know, roughly, how many Aiel are with Perrin's army?

 

Afaik, the only fighting Aiel with Perrin were always Bain, Chiad, and Gaul. But, after the rescue of Faile, there were an undetermined number of Aiel gai'shan taken prisoner, so now the number is unknown.

I thought the only number we had was that Gaul was the only male Aiel with them. After all they would not have sent 4+ WO's without adequate protection, plus theres Sulin

[Terez]

Do we know, roughly, how many Aiel are with Perrin's army?

 

Afaik, the only fighting Aiel with Perrin were always Bain, Chiad, and Gaul. But, after the rescue of Faile, there were an undetermined number of Aiel gai'shan taken prisoner, so now the number is unknown.

I thought the only number we had was that Gaul was the only male Aiel with them. After all they would not have sent 4+ WO's without adequate protection, plus theres Sulin

About two dozen Maidens:

 

Movement behind her turned into Bain and Chiad. And Sulin, with a dozen more Maidens. Perrin’s eyebrows rose. He wondered what Gaul thought of that; the Aielman had said he was looking forward to getting Bain and Chiad alone. Even more surprising were Faile’s other companions... ...In a clear, fairly flat hollow beyond the trees, the Two Rivers men stood beside their horses, a column of twos that wound out of sight around the side of the hill. Perrin sighed again. The red wolfhead banner and the Red Eagle of Manetheren stirred slightly in a hot breeze at the head of the column. Maybe another dozen Maidens squatted on their heels near the banners; on the other side, Gaul wore as close to a sullen expression as Perrin had ever seen on an Aiel.

 

 

[ironisles]

In TDR, Rand wipes out a woman and her guards..how did he know they were DF's?

[Superhal]

Do pasta or noodles exist in the WoT universe?

[Ingtar Shinowa]

Do we know, roughly, how many Aiel are with Perrin's army?

 

Afaik, the only fighting Aiel with Perrin were always Bain, Chiad, and Gaul. But, after the rescue of Faile, there were an undetermined number of Aiel gai'shan taken prisoner, so now the number is unknown.

I thought the only number we had was that Gaul was the only male Aiel with them. After all they would not have sent 4+ WO's without adequate protection, plus theres Sulin

About two dozen Maidens:

 

Movement behind her turned into Bain and Chiad. And Sulin, with a dozen more Maidens. Perrin’s eyebrows rose. He wondered what Gaul thought of that; the Aielman had said he was looking forward to getting Bain and Chiad alone. Even more surprising were Faile’s other companions... ...In a clear, fairly flat hollow beyond the trees, the Two Rivers men stood beside their horses, a column of twos that wound out of sight around the side of the hill. Perrin sighed again. The red wolfhead banner and the Red Eagle of Manetheren stirred slightly in a hot breeze at the head of the column. Maybe another dozen Maidens squatted on their heels near the banners; on the other side, Gaul wore as close to a sullen expression as Perrin had ever seen on an Aiel.

 

Thanks Terez. For some reason, it seemed like more than that to me. Not a lot more, but a hundred or so.

[Luckers]

Thanks Terez. For some reason, it seemed like more than that to me. Not a lot more, but a hundred or so.

 

 

I thought the same, and going back and looking I think its because due to the presense of so many gai'shain the Aiel camp seemed quite large--large enough for it to need all the Two Rivers folk to encircle it and protect it when Faile and Alliandre are captured.

 

But yeah, I would've said one to two hundred. :)

[Terez]

I think it was probably another one of those situations where none of the Aiel wanted to be separated from Rand. That's why Gaul wasn't able to get any more Aiel to come with him to the Two Rivers, and though Perrin is more recognized by the Aiel at this point, I get the feeling Rand was only able to talk that many into going with Perrin because they needed to get Sulin away from Rand (and Nandera). (And of course Sulin herself probably felt a great debt toward Perrin for Dumai's Wells.)

Edited June 30, 2011 by Terez

[Terez]

In TDR, Rand wipes out a woman and her guards..how did he know they were DF's?

Some might say he was being overly paranoid because he knew he was being hunted, but the circumstances were simply suspicious, so he made a call, and it was a good one.

 

Do pasta or noodles exist in the WoT universe?

I don't think so. At least, the word 'noodle' isn't used, or any variation of it. Linda might have written something on WoT Food at 13th Depository.

[Ingtar Shinowa]

Do pasta or noodles exist in the WoT universe?

 

If so, I don't believe we have seen them. There was, however, a sweet and sour stir-fry, which for some reason I found odd.

[yoniy0]

Who killed Barthanes, the gholam? And why? Surely he was still useful to darkfriends as powerful as he was..

Yes the gholam, and because he helped Fain.

That was actually never confirmed, that I'm aware. It's certainly a reasonable assumption, though.

 

A question about this LIGHT power: It's been repeated many times that Dragon is channeling some new kind of power and many has hinted this might be the reason for his awesome performance in Maradon. My question is, why is he then channeling OP at all?

I don't know who mentioned it many times, but again I don't believe we've seen anything similar to a confirmation (in fact, some elements in the story seem to contradict this theory, so I feel safe in dubbing it 'looney').

[CidV630]

when Rand is battling the seanchan in PoD what is it that caused saidin to "feel strange" to Rand & the ashaman? Morr mentions it to Rand the first time in Ch.14 Message from the M'Hael, it is also mentioned by an ashaman in Ch. 23 fog of war storm of battle(saidin feels... strange here) and Dashivas ward is also affected while speaking with Rand inCh .24 a time for iron

[RyanL24]

Alright, my last question just flew by y'all like the wind at the beginning of a WOT book, but I'll try another.

 

I just finished CoS. Liah. Rand went to Shadar Logoth to kill Sammael, and came across her. I was confused, how is it that she's still alive after all of these months? I looker her up: http://encyclopaedia-wot.org/characters/l/liah.html says she was corrupted by the evil of Aridhol, but that really doesn't explain what she ate or how she avoided Mashadar for all those months, only to be eaten by it later (she obviously wasn't Mashadarproof).

 

 

ALSO, when Mashadar grabbed Liah she screamed and howled and struggled and it took quite a while. Meanwhile, Rand glances at her, glances back at Sammael and he's just gone without a peep. Mashadar really ate him!?

Edited July 2, 2011 by RyanL24

[RyanL24]

Do pasta or noodles exist in the WoT universe?

 

If so, I don't believe we have seen them. There was, however, a sweet and sour stir-fry, which for some reason I found odd.

 

I found that exceedingly odd myself. And then... I went out for Chinese food.

 

 

They don't talk about food too much in the books, but lots of stuff does get mentioned. Everybody is ready for some cheese at any time of the day. I cracked up when I read a thing earlier in CoS, where the girls are puking over the side of the boat, and that reminded Mat of his own stomach. I was eating, so I was hoping he wasn't going to start ralfing as well. No, turns out he was hungry! So he started munching some cheese.

 

Is there a database of food mentions? Weird question, I know, but... Toy'varen started it with weird questions about noodles!

[Superhal]

A question about this LIGHT power: It's been repeated many times that Dragon is channeling some new kind of power and many has hinted this might be the reason for his awesome performance in Maradon. My question is, why is he then channeling OP at all?

 

He discovered access to the True Power in tGS. The True Power is more powerful than saidin/saidar, cannot be detected by saidin/saidar users, and is not blocked by shielding or the Guardian. However, it supposedly carries a heavy cost that wasn't detailed, other than that it is very dangerous to use, which is why Rand prefers the OP.

[Superhal]

Weird question, I know, but... Toy'varen started it with weird questions about noodles!

 

I'm a PF (Pasta Fiend).

 

Actually, the reason I asked this is because my friend and I were discussing the weird way technology developed in the WoT compared to Earth civilizations. I figured that if gunpowder was discovered in WoT, maybe they also had noodles (which were also discovered by the Chinese on Earth.) While WoT has steel and gunpowder, they don't have other inventions that were discovered at the same time or earlier, like the printing press. Other than steel and gunpowder, I would guesstimate their Earth-scale technology level closer to that of Ancient Rome rather than the Medieval period, and thus the question about pasta. Their armor level seems hundreds of years behind their weapons tech too. Now that cannons are invented, it seems weapons jumped another 300 years ahead, and they still don't use plate mail armor.

[Aiyen kin Leary]

Weird question, I know, but... Toy'varen started it with weird questions about noodles!

 

I'm a PF (Pasta Fiend).

 

Actually, the reason I asked this is because my friend and I were discussing the weird way technology developed in the WoT compared to Earth civilizations. I figured that if gunpowder was discovered in WoT, maybe they also had noodles (which were also discovered by the Chinese on Earth.) While WoT has steel and gunpowder, they don't have other inventions that were discovered at the same time or earlier, like the printing press. Other than steel and gunpowder, I would guesstimate their Earth-scale technology level closer to that of Ancient Rome rather than the Medieval period, and thus the question about pasta. Their armor level seems hundreds of years behind their weapons tech too. Now that cannons are invented, it seems weapons jumped another 300 years ahead, and they still don't use plate mail armor.

 

RJ said explicitly that the printing press survived the Breaking, which was the reason why the language has stayed relatively consistant. Seanchan and Aiel can understand each other, despite having been separated for thousands of years and thousands of miles. RJ said the printing press was why. Don't remember the exact link, but it was him answering a question about language in the WoT, if that helps. I think I recall references to plate armor too, but not certain on this one.

[Suttree]

A question about this LIGHT power: It's been repeated many times that Dragon is channeling some new kind of power and many has hinted this might be the reason for his awesome performance in Maradon. My question is, why is he then channeling OP at all?

 

He discovered access to the True Power in tGS. The True Power is more powerful than saidin/saidar, cannot be detected by saidin/saidar users, and is not blocked by shielding or the Guardian. However, it supposedly carries a heavy cost that wasn't detailed, other than that it is very dangerous to use, which is why Rand prefers the OP.

 

He wasn't channeling the TP at Maradon. Naeff could see the weaves which most likely rules out any type of "light" power there as well.

[Luckers]

A question about this LIGHT power: It's been repeated many times that Dragon is channeling some new kind of power and many has hinted this might be the reason for his awesome performance in Maradon. My question is, why is he then channeling OP at all?

 

He discovered access to the True Power in tGS. The True Power is more powerful than saidin/saidar, cannot be detected by saidin/saidar users, and is not blocked by shielding or the Guardian. However, it supposedly carries a heavy cost that wasn't detailed, other than that it is very dangerous to use, which is why Rand prefers the OP.

 

Actually, RJ stated that the True Power is not more (or less) powerful than the One Power. Though I do understand why people think so, given Rands comments about how channeling the True Power felt like using the Choedan Kal. However this must have just been in reference to the ecstasy produced by channeling the True Power compared to the ecstasy produced by channeling so much of the One Power.

 

In addition being shielded does stop someone from channeling the True Power (also confirmed by RJ).

[Superhal]

 

Actually, RJ stated that the True Power is not more (or less) powerful than the One Power.

 

Sure it is, if he can channel at the Guardian, it definitely is more powerful than the OP. Maybe what RJ meant is that equal amounts of the TP and the OP are equal in strength, but if one can be used where the other cannot, that makes it more powerful.

 

In addition being shielded does stop someone from channeling the True Power (also confirmed by RJ).

 

This sounds like an Aes Sedai answer to me. If the Domination Band stopped him from accessing saidin, then he was definitely shielded, but he could access the TP. Maybe what RJ meant was that if he was shielded by the Moridin or Shadar Haran, it would work, but not if he was simply shielded by Aes Sedai or Asha'man.

[Superhal]

What does Car'a'carn mean?

[MasterAblar]

What does Car'a'carn mean?

 

Chief of Chiefs

[Luckers]

Sure it is, if he can channel at the Guardian, it definitely is more powerful than the OP. Maybe what RJ meant is that equal amounts of the TP and the OP are equal in strength, but if one can be used where the other cannot, that makes it more powerful.

 

 

That just means it obeys a different set of rules, not that it is more powerful. Inversely you could say the True Power damages those that use it, both physically and in the self-destructive addiction it can cause, and thus the One Power is more powerful. Different natures, different restrictions and different benefits don't weigh out to power.

 

This sounds like an Aes Sedai answer to me. If the Domination Band stopped him from accessing saidin, then he was definitely shielded, but he could access the TP. Maybe what RJ meant was that if he was shielded by the Moridin or Shadar Haran, it would work, but not if he was simply shielded by Aes Sedai or Asha'man.

 

 

No, the Domination Band--or the a'dam for that matter--causes an involuntary link. The individual is not shielded, they just lack any control over whether or not they channel. Think of the difference as being someone holding your hands behind your back [Domination Band/a'dam], and someone locking you in an airtight room [being Shielded]. The former is just as effective as the latter, but the latter is more complete.

 

To continue the analogy, when channeling the One Power you reach out and touch it, but when channeling the True Power, you ask and the Dark One gives it to you. So in this situation the Domination Band--having your hands restrained--stops you from reaching out to the One Power, but it doesn't stop the Dark One from giving it to you--he's the one extending himself. Being locked in a room, on the other hand, both stops you reaching out, but also stops the Dark One reaching in.