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

[Malruhn]

So he's not the "Dark" One... he's the pending Blue Screen of Death?

 

It puts a whole new twist on the entire Blue Ajah... trying to control the world and following poorly written prophecies as if they were programs by which they/we should guide our lives.

 

I'm getting a major "Agent Smith" vibe about Moraine right now...

 

"What are you trying to do, Mister al'Thor?"

[bronnt]

So he's not the "Dark" One... he's the pending Blue Screen of Death?

 

It puts a whole new twist on the entire Blue Ajah... trying to control the world and following poorly written prophecies as if they were programs by which they/we should guide our lives.

 

I'm getting a major "Agent Smith" vibe about Moraine right now...

 

"What are you trying to do, Mister al'Thor?"

 

The Red Ajah are like your Spy-ware filter, cutting out all the unnecessary bits.

The Brown Ajah are like your digital data backup.

The White Ajah are like the pointless applications in the "Accessories" directory.

The Blue Ajah are like the "Windows Update" program-always sticking their nose in for your own good.

The Green Ajah are like the Anti-virus software, going to war with the destructive elements.

The Yellow Ajah are like your system restore settings, asking if you'd like to run in "safe" mode.

 

[JakeBarnes]

Sigh...

[Durinax]

White ajah would be more like every application since they are logical :P

[OptimusPrime]

Altering your appearance, like Mask of Mirrors but actually changing the flesh. Similar restrictions, the more you change the harder it is. The thought came about when contemplating the Worms transforming, and them being Shadowspawn, and the theme of the Dark One/True Power corrupting or changing things of the Pattern.

 

Is there a chance it might be possible? If the answer is no, then the biggest crackpot theory ever might be derailed.

[Leonem]

I have a question about Perrin: who (except Elyas) knows about his sense of smell? I know that Faile (and most others around him, after KoD) know some or all about his sharp eyes and ears, so I always assumed that he also told at least Faile about his sharp nose, too. I cannot recall any reference to that, though, and the few scenes after Malden wouldn't make much sense if she actually did know.

 

So. Has he told anyone? And if not, why not?

[clu7ch]

I thought I had remembered a scene where perrin gets a sideways glance from an Aes Sedai concerning his eyes, but I can't find proof of it anywhere. :(

[udpaco13]

I have question.  Who came to Sheriam's tent in TGS.  Whoever it is can be sensed by by Sheriam so there goes all Chosen.  She seemed surprised to see Sheriam down on all fours begging, so not someone who always bosses people around.  The mystery woman was using a similar disguise we saw Mesaana use earlier.  She also did not seem to know very much about the world-O-dreams.  The lady also ended up going back to the tower afterwards.  I assumed this was Alviarin but according to encyclopedia-wot they claimed it to be Mesaana.  I figure that Alviarin figured out how to do the disguise and found out that Sheriam was a BA so went to her for info.

I tried to find another thread on this but didn’t see anything.

 

[Hadilmir]

Question.

I'm 95% certain it was Mesaana, I don't know why she didn't hide her strength, but it was her.

[udpaco13]

It just does not seem like Mesaana to me.  Why would she not hide her ability to channel.  Every time we have seen her previously she has hidden it.  Infact she is one of the Chosen who is most concerned with her apperance when meeting new friends.

[alligator]

I have a question about Perrin: who (except Elyas) knows about his sense of smell? I know that Faile (and most others around him, after KoD) know some or all about his sharp eyes and ears, so I always assumed that he also told at least Faile about his sharp nose, too. I cannot recall any reference to that, though, and the few scenes after Malden wouldn't make much sense if she actually did know.

 

So. Has he told anyone? And if not, why not?

 

In The Great Hunt, when they are chasing Fain and the Horn of Valere from Sheinar, and after Rand, Hurin, and Loial accidentally use the portal stone. They don't have Hurin to track the Trollocs so Perrin has to be a stand-in sniffer. So, everyone in that party-- Mat, Verin, and a few random Shienarians-- knows that his sense of smell is somehow enhanced, if not the full extent of his abilities.

Other than that... idk, can't think of a time when it's mentioned explicitly.

[Kathleen]

I keep seeing references to 13x13 but I don't know what it means.

[Terez]

I keep seeing references to 13x13 but I don't know what it means.

A circle of 13 Aes Sedai (somehow) linked with 13 Myrddraal is capable of turning a person who can channel to the Shadow. 

[Random Man]

I keep seeing references to 13x13 but I don't know what it means.

A circle of 13 Aes Sedai (somehow) linked with 13 Myrddraal is capable of turning a person who can channel to the Shadow. 

To clarify, a circle of 13 Aes Sedai channeling through 13 Myrddraal can forcibly turn a person who can channel to the Shadow against his or her will. This is an inherent weakness channelers have since we don't know of any way a non-channeler can be unwillingly turned to the Shadow. RJ has said that using the 13/13 trick corrupts the individual's personality, enhancing the darker traits (so it wouldn't be like Verin who swore to the Shadow but spent her BA career working to undermine them) but otherwise we don't know more about the specifics (such as how the channeling through the Fades part works). We are almost certainly going to see this happen in the future, since Brandon has called the 13/13 trick the "gun on the mantle" in the first act of a play that gets used by the third act.

[Terez]

It could be a simple revelation of it having been done in the past, though.  For instance, many people think Taim was turned.  I have a tendency to think he was a Darkfriend when Ishamael found him, but I could be wrong.  RJ promised years ago that he hadn't abandoned the idea, and that sounds to me the sort of frankness of him telling us that Verin's lie was not a mis-step.

[Leonem]

In The Great Hunt, when they are chasing Fain and the Horn of Valere from Sheinar, and after Rand, Hurin, and Loial accidentally use the portal stone. They don't have Hurin to track the Trollocs so Perrin has to be a stand-in sniffer. So, everyone in that party-- Mat, Verin, and a few random Shienarians-- knows that his sense of smell is somehow enhanced, if not the full extent of his abilities.

Other than that... idk, can't think of a time when it's mentioned explicitly.

 

Yes, that's true, thanks for pointing me to that scene, I remember it now. And I also think there is no other event like that.

 

The reason I find this question interesting is this: the ability to know, through smell or otherwise, the precise state of emotions of someone you talk to is one of the most powerful and useful things I can imagine! Particularly if you are constantly dealing with people who are either more powerful than you are, or want to harm or kill or manipulate you, or all of that, like Perrin certainly has to quite often.

 

He doesn't make much use of it, and in The Gathering Storm he even wonders why others don't recognice smells as he does. He even thinks that they simply don't take the time to concentrate on matters.

 

Just imagine how useful this kind of knowledge would be to some of the people around him. Like Faile, who is rather skilled at manipulating people in her own right...

[FarShainMael]

He should compare notes with Deanna Troi sometime  ;)

 

[Kathleen]

I keep seeing references to 13x13 but I don't know what it means.

A circle of 13 Aes Sedai (somehow) linked with 13 Myrddraal is capable of turning a person who can channel to the Shadow. 

To clarify, a circle of 13 Aes Sedai channeling through 13 Myrddraal can forcibly turn a person who can channel to the Shadow against his or her will. This is an inherent weakness channelers have since we don't know of any way a non-channeler can be unwillingly turned to the Shadow. RJ has said that using the 13/13 trick corrupts the individual's personality, enhancing the darker traits (so it wouldn't be like Verin who swore to the Shadow but spent her BA career working to undermine them) but otherwise we don't know more about the specifics (such as how the channeling through the Fades part works). We are almost certainly going to see this happen in the future, since Brandon has called the 13/13 trick the "gun on the mantle" in the first act of a play that gets used by the third act.

 

Is this something that was in one of the books, or was it said by RJ or Brandon?

[Terez]

It was in the books.  Egwene saw it in her Accepted test, and when she came out of the arch, she asked Sheriam about it, and Sheriam explained it.  Later in the book, Liandrin (who heads a group of thirteen Black Ajah) tells the girls that they are sending for Myrddraal, so there is an implication there that it was going to be used.  Sheriam said it hadn't been done since the Trolloc Wars.  It hasn't been mentioned much since then.

[Leonem]

He should compare notes with Deanna Troi sometime  ;)

 

You mean, so that he also begins to announce useless gibberish about people he meets anytime someone asks him? :)

 

I was thinking more about using his special ability for cunning, smart moves to gain advantage over opponents and enemies. But then, thinking about it, that might stretch imagination too far, really. (sigh) ;)

[saidarisnowtainted]

Can using a Terangreal be sensed?  If i use the BF rod, can it be sensed?  If yes, how is it sensed?  by men?  by women?  by both?  how by both???

 

also, do Terangreal use either the male or female half or both?  Or can each be possible?

 

also, if the latter is the case, is making different terangreal dependant upon it being made with either half, or both together

 

we know Elayne makes terangreal with the female half.  maybe the dream rings are weak b/c they should be made with the male half?

[Paerish Swar]

Can using a Terangreal be sensed?  If i use the BF rod, can it be sensed?  If yes, how is it sensed?  by men?  by women?  by both?  how by both???

 

also, do Terangreal use either the male or female half or both?  Or can each be possible?

 

also, if the latter is the case, is making different terangreal dependant upon it being made with either half, or both together

 

we know Elayne makes terangreal with the female half.  maybe the dream rings are weak b/c they should be made with the male half?

 

Awesome observation!  I think there might be something to that.

 

For ter'angreal that were made with Saidin and Saidar together (and I think a few likely were.  Demandred, a man, recognized the ring around Elayne's neck in T'a'r, and called it a "training" ter'angreal), if Elayne were to try and make a copy it would likely be an imperfect copy.  There would be an aspect of the source material she's copying that she would not be able to detect or analyze properly.

[Sharaman]

In The Great Hunt, when they are chasing Fain and the Horn of Valere from Sheinar, and after Rand, Hurin, and Loial accidentally use the portal stone. They don't have Hurin to track the Trollocs so Perrin has to be a stand-in sniffer. So, everyone in that party-- Mat, Verin, and a few random Shienarians-- knows that his sense of smell is somehow enhanced, if not the full extent of his abilities.

Other than that... idk, can't think of a time when it's mentioned explicitly.

 

The few random Shienarians included Masema BTW - one reason why he probably thought Perrin was Shadowspawn (along with yellow eyes).

[Random Man]

Can using a Terangreal be sensed?  If i use the BF rod, can it be sensed?  If yes, how is it sensed?  by men?  by women?  by both?  how by both???

It most likely depends on the ter'angreal. The ring Egwene was given that allows the user to enter T'A'R, for instance, doesn't require use of the Power at all (the user just has to have it touching the skin when sleeping) and probably can't be detected. Others, such as the Bowl of Winds, can obviously be sensed, as the Power was noted arcing across the continent. The user of the BF rod can certainly be sensed if she doesn't mask her ability to channel (during KOD the Black Ajah sister using the rod was picked off by accurate lightning, although the Sea Folk who got her might have just been able to see where she was). If a certain ter'angreal makes a weave of the Power and it doesn't also invert the weave, then it can be sensed just as if someone was channeling.

 

also, do Terangreal use either the male or female half or both?  Or can each be possible?

The Bowl of Winds used both Saidin and Saidar -- even though only women were channeling -- so we know that certain ter'angreal can draw on both sides of the Power if designed to do so. Also, some objects of the Power are designed to either only work for women or only for men (such as Angreal, or the a'dam) so logic follows that some ter'angreal could be designed to use just one or the other.

 

also, if the latter is the case, is making different terangreal dependant upon it being made with either half, or both together

Good question. As far as I know, there isn't a good answer to that. We don't know as much as we'd like to about making ter'angreal -- mostly because the Third Agers don't know much, either. What we do know is that the One Power always is stronger when both the male and female halves work together, so certain ter'angreal would probably function better if they were designed to use both halves, meaning being designed by both a man and a woman. I would also suspect that some ter'angreal made with Saidin would function better than those made with Saidar (perhaps ones that make use of Fire and Earth, since men are generally stronger in these) and vice versa.

we know Elayne makes terangreal with the female half.  maybe the dream rings are weak b/c they should be made with the male half?

No clue. Elayne's puzzled out that there is a common weave to ter'angreal that require use of the Power, and another common weave to ter'angreal that simply make use of the Power. She still doesn't know very much, though, and pretty much can only make copies of existing ter'angreal. The dream rings she made for the rebel Hall, for instance, were copies of another ter'angreal -- and when you make a xerox copy of a photograph, it isn't going to be as sharp an image as the original. Likewise, some of Elayne's copies were "flawed" (including the only one they have left after Sheriam's little crime spree). 

[Random Man]

It was in the books.  Egwene saw it in her Accepted test, and when she came out of the arch, she asked Sheriam about it, and Sheriam explained it.  Later in the book, Liandrin (who heads a group of thirteen Black Ajah) tells the girls that they are sending for Myrddraal, so there is an implication there that it was going to be used.  Sheriam said it hadn't been done since the Trolloc Wars.  It hasn't been mentioned much since then.

Has it been mentioned at all since then? I can't recall any other instances of it coming up. All the other info we have is from RJ, that I know of.