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

[Monster]

Hi, In "The Great Hunt," can anyone explain to me why Padan Fain gives the Horn of Valere to Turak instead of blowing it himself or handing it over to the Dark One?  Was very confused by that and couldn't follow the logic.  Any help would be appreciated!

[Majsju]

Hi, In "The Great Hunt," can anyone explain to me why Padan Fain gives the Horn of Valere to Turak instead of blowing it himself or handing it over to the Dark One?  Was very confused by that and couldn't follow the logic.  Any help would be appreciated!

 

Well, giving it to the DO is not an optiob, since Fain has broken free from the Shadow here.

 

Basically, he is trying to establish a powerbase, using his Mordeth-persona to gain Turaks confidence, and then use the seanchan for his own means (ie killing Rand).

 

It is an MO he later repeats with the whitecloaks and the rebels in Cairhien.

[StringWinder]

Also, wasn't he ignorant of how to open the chest?  He wanted that dagger so bad, and it was locked in that chest the whole journey.  Turak opens that chest with a quickness and Fain's was kinda surprised. 

 

So part of it was he was going to get in good with whoever he gave the chest to so whenever it was opened he could get the dagger.

[JakeBarnes]

MB why do you keep answering peoples questions after they've already been answered? If you had something else to add I could see it but all you do is repeat what someone else already said. Or you say even less.

Plus you're wrong. As two other people have mentioned the servants recognized her as Anath which means she was using her true appearance. Or close enough to it that it doesn't matter.  :-\

 

There were only 18 seconds between the 2 posts, so check timestamps next time.

 

Doesn't matter. It tells you in big shiny red letters when someone has posted while you've been typing. Whether only 18 seconds ago or not. Check forum mechanics next time.

 

I am very familiar with the forum mechanics. 

 

Did you know that if you click the "reply" or "quote" links within a few seconds of a new post, that the red warning appears as you load the reply screen and not after you click the "Post" button?  Many people don't look for that warning automatically, they expect a warning when they click the "Post" button.

 

Which means that if mb clicked "Reply" within a few moments of when the other person posted their reply, mb could have proceeded to type his response and post it without being redirected to the warning. 

 

There is also a profile option that bypasses the warning, which could have been active.

 

Hand over your dragon pin, Soldier Kovan.  :P

 

 

On Topic:  Just after Perrin is rescued from the Whitecloaks in TEOTW he realizes that Lan knows he can communicate with wolves.  He asks Lan if it is related to the Dark One, and Lan is hesistant to respond.  He says it is not directly linked to the DO.  Has Lan known of other wolfbrothers, does he have information that he isn't willing to pass along, is he referring to how it caused Elyas to kill the Warders, or was he misinformed?  Moiraine also seemed familiar with the ability and his yellow eyes.  Why?

[Ashaman Kovan]

Too many "ifs" and "could haves" in that post to be taken seriously... :P

[Morsker]

Hey, let's all complain about alleged post-count padding by creating even more posts!

[Ashaman Kovan]

Hey, great idea! Just as soon as that happens to be what someone is actually complaining about.

[darth_hel]

Is there a problem with a post being answered twice? I can't think of any harm caused.

[Ashaman Kovan]

Nope, no harm. Just slight irritation and idle curiosity on my part when no new information is given and/or the poster is wrong in their answer.

[Sharaman]

so were the two Herid's the first people in the story that share a name?

 

I can't stand how no one in Randland share a name. This especially drives me crazy when Rand thinks about how his name is too plain for him to be a king.

That and a giant Tower (seen as an engineering marvel), which was created by Ogier who were too short-sighted to realize the need for an elevator system.

 

Those two things drive me crazy.

 

WoT has the wheel, they have ropes, ergo they have pulley systems (in fact, they may well have them in the tower for food, etc, like dumbwaiters). Nothing stopping the White/ Brown Ajah, who like maths arcana and research obsessively, from building lifts that can be powered by teams of novices/AS, who get in a little practice at using OP as well.  

 

There are several cultures (in terms of population far larger than North America-Europe) where it's unusual for members of the same clan / family to have the same name. India, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Central Asia, Indonesia, some of the Chinese. We find the whole concept of "Bill Jnr", "John III" weird as well.

 

[Sharaman]

IIRC, RJ said that in the War of Power, both sides used to ward specific locations against Travelling.

Rand-LTT and the Chosen would know this ward and Birgitte may know that such a ward exists/is possible.

Any mention anywhere of somebody else (AS/ Seanchan/ Seafolk/ Ashaman)investigating such a ward yet?

 

[Mcpatrick]

No, wards against travelling have never been even mentioned in the books.

[BareUpperLip79]

A few questions have come to mind on my recent reading of EotW. I imagine they've been discussed elsewhere, but this seems like a good place to post.

 

1: How might the Dark have found out that Domon had a seal, (and therefore sent Trollocs after him)?

 

2: Dreams. Rand has a 'dream' where he's in a Ways-like maze and Ba'alzomon is searching for him / chasing him. He gets a thorn through his finger which is still there when he wakes up which means it can't be an ordinary dream.  But if it's Tel'aran'rhiod then presumably Ba'alzy brought him there and shouldn't need to search for him. What gives? Are the boys 'dreams' actually them being brought into T'A'R ?

(Awesomely, this dream ends with Rand checking out a face in the mirror:  one face, his own face, Ba'alzomon's face, one face... could this be a hint at a future link to Moridin?)

 

3: At the Eye, Aginor mentions that it was Mat who led them there. How did he do that?

 

4: Is it generally accepted that it was it the Creator chatting to Rand at Tarwin's Gap? Seems a bit of an odd thing for the Creator to do; why at that point in Rand's life and never again?

[Fains nose]

Do people actualy think that was the creator at Tarwins Gap, it was obviously(to me) the dark one

[Ashaman Kovan]

Yes, very in character of the Dark One to vow not to interfere...

[yoniy0]

2: Dreams. Rand has a 'dream' where he's in a Ways-like maze and Ba'alzomon is searching for him / chasing him. He gets a thorn through his finger which is still there when he wakes up which means it can't be an ordinary dream.  But if it's Tel'aran'rhiod then presumably Ba'alzy brought him there and shouldn't need to search for him. What gives? Are the boys 'dreams' actually them being brought into T'A'R ?

(Awesomely, this dream ends with Rand checking out a face in the mirror:  one face, his own face, Ba'alzomon's face, one face... could this be a hint at a future link to Moridin?)

There's nothing to suggest that when you forcibly bring someone to tel'aran'rhiod you can then control his actions there or locate him should he run away. Moreover, it just might be the chase that Ishamael was interested in.

 

3: At the Eye, Aginor mentions that it was Mat who led them there. How did he do that?

Moiraine tells Mat that by the time he reached Caemlin, his link to the dagger would have been visible to every common Darkfriend on sight, and IIRC would have also pulled Shadowspawn to him. I guess the Forsaken can also use that link in the same way (even after Moiraine did her thing).

 

4: Is it generally accepted that it was it the Creator chatting to Rand at Tarwin's Gap? Seems a bit of an odd thing for the Creator to do; why at that point in Rand's life and never again?

Well, it was all caps. The only other being who we've seen talk that way is the DO. Hence, it's likely one or the other. I can't tell you which one, and RJ didn't like to answer questions that nobody in Randland has a way of knowing the answer to (therefore questions regarding the Creator were rarely answered).

[Duskfire]

Do people actualy think that was the creator at Tarwins Gap, it was obviously(to me) the dark one

 

"IT IS NOT HERE. I WILL TAKE NO PART. ONLY THE CHOSEN ONE CAN DO WHAT MUST BE DONE, IF HE WILL."

 

Doesn't really sound like the DO; you would think all the DO would do is laugh in Rands head. However its possible I guess? Don't know enough about the Creator to know whether it would be him or not.

[JakeBarnes]

Do people actualy think that was the creator at Tarwins Gap, it was obviously(to me) the dark one

 

"IT IS NOT HERE. I WILL TAKE NO PART. ONLY THE CHOSEN ONE CAN DO WHAT MUST BE DONE, IF HE WILL."

 

Doesn't really sound like the DO; you would think all the DO would do is laugh in Rands head. However its possible I guess? Don't know enough about the Creator to know whether it would be him or not.

 

The better question would be:  "What is IT?"

[Dalven]

I think I know the answer, but I don't remember seeing it asked so... What would happen if I balefired myself?

[DocBean]

There are several cultures (in terms of population far larger than North America-Europe) where it's unusual for members of the same clan / family to have the same name. India, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Central Asia, Indonesia, some of the Chinese. We find the whole concept of "Bill Jnr", "John III" weird as well.

 

 

So you're saying in those cultures every single person in each of those countries has names no one else has?

I'm not saying relatives should have the same name, I'm saying that if Rand is such a common name, why haven't we met any other characters with the same name?

 

Why with over 2000 characters is there only 1 instance of two people having the same name?

 

[DocBean]

I think I know the answer, but I don't remember seeing it asked so... What would happen if I balefired myself?

 

If you did it to yourself, then you would be the only person in the history of the world that could channel.

it's a story, don't go around thinking you're going to learn how to channel. Even RJ said he hated when fans asked him if it's real.

 

 

However, I'm guessing it's impossible for a character in the books to kill themselves with balefire.

It might destroy the pattern completely, or at least put a nice burn mark in it.

The wheel might freeze up like a computer; it might try to keep rewinding and replaying over and over again.

 

Then again, I wouldn't be shocked if Rand does it to himself for the greater good when this thing is all over.

Which would be pretty similar to what Lews did.

[Kathleen]

There are several cultures (in terms of population far larger than North America-Europe) where it's unusual for members of the same clan / family to have the same name. India, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Central Asia, Indonesia, some of the Chinese. We find the whole concept of "Bill Jnr", "John III" weird as well.

 

 

So you're saying in those cultures every single person in each of those countries has names no one else has?

I'm not saying relatives should have the same name, I'm saying that if Rand is such a common name, why haven't we met any other characters with the same name?

 

Why with over 2000 characters is there only 1 instance of two people having the same name?

 

 

I think for the sake of the books they try not to reuse a name, even if its common, to keep from confusing the reader too much. It is a big series with a lot going on, it would hard to  keep people straight on which Rand/Mat/whoever said or did what after a while. It would have to much potential to confuse the reader for the small benefit of proving the names are common.

[Dalven]

If you did it to yourself, then you would be the only person in the history of the world that could channel.

it's a story, don't go around thinking you're going to learn how to channel. Even RJ said he hated when fans asked him if it's real.

 

Seriously? I obviously didn't mean me personally. I don't think I can use the OP or the Force or fairy dust. Thanks troll.

[Dalven]

Then again, I wouldn't be shocked if Rand does it to himself for the greater good when this thing is all over.

Which would be pretty similar to what Lews did.

If Rand BFed himself it'd most likely be as if he didn't even do it. BF erases what the person has done, so he'd be undoing his own history by a few seconds and un-BFing himself.

[Sharaman]

There are several cultures (in terms of population far larger than North America-Europe) where it's unusual for members of the same clan / family to have the same name. India, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Central Asia, Indonesia, some of the Chinese. We find the whole concept of "Bill Jnr", "John III" weird as well.

 

 

So you're saying in those cultures every single person in each of those countries has names no one else has?

I'm not saying relatives should have the same name, I'm saying that if Rand is such a common name, why haven't we met any other characters with the same name?

 

Why with over 2000 characters is there only 1 instance of two people having the same name?

 

No, of course not.

But you will find extended families of 1000s, without a name-repeat.

And, if you've got a highly culturally mixed society with a lot of names and very few people - as is the case with the Third Age, there's less chance of names repeating.

Think of it this way - you have a gazillion names coming down from AoL; you have populations that have shrunk. If you also have traditions of avoiding repeating names, you have more names to go around than people and you'll rarely repeat names.

About the BF question, didn't RJ reply "Go get a life!" or something cruder when he was asked that (some variation involving a mirror)?