How Will Rand Defeat the Dark One? (Full Spoilers)

[Questor]

Destroy the Wheel? That sounds to me like the equivalent of "You can't fire me, I quit." In order to stop the Dark One from destroying the Wheel and ending time itself, we need to destroy if first!

[Bobbun]

Destroy the Wheel? That sounds to me like the equivalent of "You can't fire me, I quit." In order to stop the Dark One from destroying the Wheel and ending time itself, we need to destroy if first!

 

Not if we've been misled as to his objective and the nature of the Wheel.  The Dark One wins if he's merely sealed up to return to torment the world in a future age.  So look elsewhere for a real victory over the shadow.

 

The Wheel is a metaphor for the circular nature of time.  "Breaking the Wheel", then, could refer to the end of time as you've suggested, but it could also refer to the unwinding of time so that the ages no longer repeat.  Instead, time in such a scenario would be linear, with all ages new.  If the Dark One is sealed up then the Wheel is broken, that's a real victory since it's the only way he can remain sealed indefinitely.  As for the belief that breaking the Wheel is what the Dark One wants...  What better way to ensure that time will not be unbound than to mislead everyone into believing that that's the worst possible outcome for them rather than for him?

 

"Breaking the Wheel" in this sense is also a tremendous personal victory for Rand, and indeed for the world, because it means freedom from fate.  The characters in The Wheel of Time chafe against fate at every turn it seems, and none are more constrained by the iron chains of fate than The Dragon himself.  If the Wheel is broken, Rand will not have to repeat his struggle against the Dark One in a future age, and it will be he who sets his path, not the pattern if he is born again.  All the people will have free will, not an endlessly repeating future where their every footstep is foreordained by the pattern.

 

 

[Auld Manriva]

No Wheel, No Pattern

No Pattern, No Sealing Away

The DO is free to unleash his foolishness upon all the newly Free To Be You And Me folk who populate Randland.

 

Boy Howdy.. I bet they're lookin forward to that :-\

[Agitel]

Destroy the Wheel? That sounds to me like the equivalent of "You can't fire me, I quit." In order to stop the Dark One from destroying the Wheel and ending time itself, we need to destroy if first!

 

Not if we've been misled as to his objective and the nature of the Wheel.  The Dark One wins if he's merely sealed up to return to torment the world in a future age.  So look elsewhere for a real victory over the shadow.

 

The Wheel is a metaphor for the circular nature of time.  "Breaking the Wheel", then, could refer to the end of time as you've suggested, but it could also refer to the unwinding of time so that the ages no longer repeat.  Instead, time in such a scenario would be linear, with all ages new.  If the Dark One is sealed up then the Wheel is broken, that's a real victory since it's the only way he can remain sealed indefinitely.  As for the belief that breaking the Wheel is what the Dark One wants...  What better way to ensure that time will not be unbound than to mislead everyone into believing that that's the worst possible outcome for them rather than for him?

 

"Breaking the Wheel" in this sense is also a tremendous personal victory for Rand, and indeed for the world, because it means freedom from fate.  The characters in The Wheel of Time chafe against fate at every turn it seems, and none are more constrained by the iron chains of fate than The Dragon himself.  If the Wheel is broken, Rand will not have to repeat his struggle against the Dark One in a future age, and it will be he who sets his path, not the pattern if he is born again.  All the people will have free will, not an endlessly repeating future where their every footstep is foreordained by the pattern.

 

 

 

Not every footstep is ordained by the Pattern, just the generalities of an Age, with the exception of ta'veren, and even then the Ages evolve with every turning. You've still not addressed what would happen to the Dark One if the Wheel was broken. Would he just leave? To me, it seems that the Pattern is all that's keeping him at bay.

[Bobbun]

Not every footstep is ordained by the Pattern, just the generalities of an Age, with the exception of ta'veren, and even then the Ages evolve with every turning.

 

True enough, so long as you're not ta'veren and it doesn't matter.  Of course, if the pattern requires that you die of food poisoning for some important purpose (the pattern's purpose, not yours), you'll be eating the fish whether you like it or not.

 

You've still not addressed what would happen to the Dark One if the Wheel was broken. Would he just leave? To me, it seems that the Pattern is all that's keeping him at bay.

 

No, he will still need to be re-imprisoned first, but that can't be the full extent of the victory, or it's not a true win (not to mention that it's a disappointingly predictable end to a great story).

 

The notion that the pattern is all that's keeping him at bay presumes that the pattern is his prison.  That's sort of supported by the bore being described as a "thinness in the pattern", but hardly conclusive.  If the Dark One wanted the pattern destroyed, it is pretty clear he has the means.  He should just set his minions to balefiring at every opportunity, and encourage the use of the true power.  That he doesn't suggests that he's at least indifferent to the continuance of the pattern, and perhaps wants it preserved.

 

[Agitel]

Not every footstep is ordained by the Pattern, just the generalities of an Age, with the exception of ta'veren, and even then the Ages evolve with every turning.

 

True enough, so long as you're not ta'veren and it doesn't matter.  Of course, if the pattern requires that you die of food poisoning for some important purpose (the pattern's purpose, not yours), you'll be eating the fish whether you like it or not.

 

You've still not addressed what would happen to the Dark One if the Wheel was broken. Would he just leave? To me, it seems that the Pattern is all that's keeping him at bay.

 

No, he will still need to be re-imprisoned first, but that can't be the full extent of the victory, or it's not a true win (not to mention that it's a disappointingly predictable end to a great story).

 

The notion that the pattern is all that's keeping him at bay presumes that the pattern is his prison.  That's sort of supported by the bore being described as a "thinness in the pattern", but hardly conclusive.  If the Dark One wanted the pattern destroyed, it is pretty clear he has the means.  He should just set his minions to balefiring at every opportunity, and encourage the use of the true power.  That he doesn't suggests that he's at least indifferent to the continuance of the pattern, and perhaps wants it preserved.

 

 

I would argue that none of his minions would be willing, with perhaps an exception to Moridin. There may be constraints we don't know about as well. The Gathering Storm convinced me that this whole idea behind creating chaos has been about breaking Rand and pushing him closer and closer to the edge. I'm even half-convinced that the DO expected Rand to break free of Semirhage, in fact, that he wanted Rand to. It's a massive game of sha'rah, and Rand doesn't even know what's he's playing. The DO very nearly forced the Fisher into a spot that would grant the Shadow a victory when Rand stood atop Dragonmount. That was more than just a decisive moment, it was a planned moment, one the Dark One had been building towards, and Rand just managed to dance out of it. I expect that the Last Battle is something the Dark One would rather avoid. After all, sha'rah's most easily won by controlling or manipulating the Fisher, and Moridin himself believes that it can be easier manipulating the Fisher than controlling it.

 

Oh, this clarifies Demandred's role in Lord of Chaos to me. While it is definitely debatable, now that I'm pretty sure of the DO's intentions I believe Demandred was behind both the capture and release of Rand to some degree. And I'm speculating that it's possible that the True Power was granted by the Dark One to Rand in that moment so that he could break free, that the DO actively betrayed Semirhage, rather than the TP coming from Rand's link with Moridin. That's still speculation, but I think it would be very, very fascinating.

 

[thewalrus777]

Not every footstep is ordained by the Pattern, just the generalities of an Age, with the exception of ta'veren, and even then the Ages evolve with every turning.

 

True enough, so long as you're not ta'veren and it doesn't matter.  Of course, if the pattern requires that you die of food poisoning for some important purpose (the pattern's purpose, not yours), you'll be eating the fish whether you like it or not.

 

You've still not addressed what would happen to the Dark One if the Wheel was broken. Would he just leave? To me, it seems that the Pattern is all that's keeping him at bay.

 

No, he will still need to be re-imprisoned first, but that can't be the full extent of the victory, or it's not a true win (not to mention that it's a disappointingly predictable end to a great story).

 

The notion that the pattern is all that's keeping him at bay presumes that the pattern is his prison.  That's sort of supported by the bore being described as a "thinness in the pattern", but hardly conclusive.  If the Dark One wanted the pattern destroyed, it is pretty clear he has the means.  He should just set his minions to balefiring at every opportunity, and encourage the use of the true power.  That he doesn't suggests that he's at least indifferent to the continuance of the pattern, and perhaps wants it preserved.

 

 

I would argue that none of his minions would be willing, with perhaps an exception to Moridin. There may be constraints we don't know about as well. The Gathering Storm convinced me that this whole idea behind creating chaos has been about breaking Rand and pushing him closer and closer to the edge. I'm even half-convinced that the DO expected Rand to break free of Semirhage, in fact, that he wanted Rand to. It's a massive game of sha'rah, and Rand doesn't even know what's he's playing. The DO very nearly forced the Fisher into a spot that would grant the Shadow a victory when Rand stood atop Dragonmount. That was more than just a decisive moment, it was a planned moment, one the Dark One had been building towards, and Rand just managed to dance out of it. I expect that the Last Battle is something the Dark One would rather avoid. After all, sha'rah's most easily won by controlling or manipulating the Fisher, and Moridin himself believes that it can be easier manipulating the Fisher than controlling it.

 

Oh, this clarifies Demandred's role in Lord of Chaos to me. While it is definitely debatable, now that I'm pretty sure of the DO's intentions I believe Demandred was behind both the capture and release of Rand to some degree. And I'm speculating that it's possible that the True Power was granted by the Dark One to Rand in that moment so that he could break free, that the DO actively betrayed Semirhage, rather than the TP coming from Rand's link with Moridin. That's still speculation, but I think it would be very, very fascinating.

 

 

Interesting point as well. How could we not assume that everything the DO wants is of his own plans. He's an intelligent entity that has witnessed countless ages according to the philosophy of the Wheel. He obviously has to know what he's doing by now. I would also wager that each battle with him is becoming increasingly harder in each age that has a LB. Definitely something to think on.

[FarShainMael]

There is no reflection of the blight and Shayol Ghul in the world of dreams?

 

Where is this info from?  I don't remember this at all.

 

I can't find it either. Help! Can someone give us a reference please?

 

Back to matters in hand.. what is the DO's real objective, to break the Wheel or keep it.. I'm wondering about Taim, who wants Rand dead:  see e.g. WH,Ch22; "'Kill him,' the M'Hael had ordered [the 4 renegade Asha'man]". Perhaps Taim is expecting Rand to make the 'wrong' choice in his confrontation with the DO? (whatever the 'wrong' choice might be?) and wants to move in with the 'right' choice?

 

[MikHael]

tGS (p.345)

Lews Therin! Rand snapped in his mind. What do we do? How did you seal the Bore last time?

It didn't work, Lews Therin whispered. We used saidin, but we touched it to the Dark one. It was the only way! Something has to touch him, something to close the gap, but he was able to taint it. The seal was weak!

 

I believe that the key to Rand defeating the DO and sealing him away is his access to the True Power.  Whether you believe the Lews Therin voice is actually Lews Therin or is just Rands mind, it has been correct throughout the series, and Rand does possess the knowledge, even if he is unable to draw from it at will.

 

Something must touch the DO in order to seal him, and whatever touches him can be tainted.  However, the True Power is of the DO it is already tainted and can therefore take on this role and hold back the DO.  While the True Power does this, Rand can use the pure saidin/saidar of the True Source and seal him away without tainting them. 

 

I imagine the True power being like a bar with the True Source weaving a shield surrounding it, as the DO is close off more and more from the world the True Power will lessen in strength due to the DO's diminished strength, and the bar of True Power will shrink.  Eventually as the One Power, both saidin and saidar, continue to close in the True Power will be drawn back into the DO as the saidar/saidin barrier closes.  DO is officially sealed.

 

I also think that this could figure into the three become one because the three powers are used together for one purpose, and have been distinguished as 3 separate powers up until now.  After the DO maybe the One Power, with saidin and saidar halves, will actually be viewed as one power again.  3 become 1.

[WolfTwins]

  I always associated the DO defeating with the Rand's swordfighting with the DO.

  I've changed my mind thanks to a quote of <Disco> on [The Body Swap Theory - Updated. (Spoilers)]:

 

7.1 AELFINN ANSWER: [Rand] knew he had a chance to live, if a seemingly impossible one. If you would live, you must die. [LOC: 26, Connecting Lines, 373]

 

7.2 AELFINN ANSWER: [Rand] had been told by those he had to believe. To live, you must die. [WH: 25, Bonds, 483]

 

 

  Do we remember what is DO's domain (kingdom)?

  DEATH!

  To defeat DO Rand must enter the "Death kingdom", otherwise said he will kind of die.

[Agitel]

tGS (p.345)

Lews Therin! Rand snapped in his mind. What do we do? How did you seal the Bore last time?

It didn't work, Lews Therin whispered. We used saidin, but we touched it to the Dark one. It was the only way! Something has to touch him, something to close the gap, but he was able to taint it. The seal was weak!

 

I believe that the key to Rand defeating the DO and sealing him away is his access to the True Power.  Whether you believe the Lews Therin voice is actually Lews Therin or is just Rands mind, it has been correct throughout the series, and Rand does possess the knowledge, even if he is unable to draw from it at will.

 

Something must touch the DO in order to seal him, and whatever touches him can be tainted.  However, the True Power is of the DO it is already tainted and can therefore take on this role and hold back the DO.  While the True Power does this, Rand can use the pure saidin/saidar of the True Source and seal him away without tainting them. 

 

I imagine the True power being like a bar with the True Source weaving a shield surrounding it, as the DO is close off more and more from the world the True Power will lessen in strength due to the DO's diminished strength, and the bar of True Power will shrink.  Eventually as the One Power, both saidin and saidar, continue to close in the True Power will be drawn back into the DO as the saidar/saidin barrier closes.  DO is officially sealed.

 

I also think that this could figure into the three become one because the three powers are used together for one purpose, and have been distinguished as 3 separate powers up until now.  After the DO maybe the One Power, with saidin and saidar halves, will actually be viewed as one power again.  3 become 1.

 

Perhaps Callandor was being made for the very purpose of touching the Dark One. Maybe something about it could buffer against any backlash and keep the channelers and the One Power as a whole safe. Lews Therin just couldn't use it at the sealing because no women would help him. The women apparently would also have been involved in the sealing, but likely someone still would have had to touch the Dark One to allow them to do so.

[Dreamwalker]

I've always thought that the battle with Ba'alzamon at Falme in the end of tGH was essentially a prefiguration of the Last Battle. The horn of Valere is blown and the dead heroes return to fight, a battle goes on below at the same time as one on a higher plane and the two mirror each other's progress. I think this mirroring means that Rand's struggle with the Dark One will depend on the rest of the battling going on - that as his friends and the forces of good fight it essentially helps his "fight" (not with swords this time) against the DO.

 

Further, remember what Rand did to win at Falme? He "sheathed the sword," which fits quite nicely with the Finns statement that "To live, you must die." Essentially he will allow the DO to strike a killing blow/sacrifice himself but that in turn assures the victory of the Light. This would also be supported by all of the prophecies about his blood on the rocks of Shayol Ghul and the visions of him being dead.

 

I think it is likely that he allows himself to die so that Logain can strike the "killing blow." (I say killing blow, but I think the series will end with the DO trapped, not dead.) Egwene's dream is very telling:  

• Logain, laughing, steps over something onto a black stone. It looks like Rand's body, but when she touches his face it breaks like a paper puppet.
  

The fact that this happens at Shayol Ghul is supported by the Karaethon cycle:

• "Red on black, the Dragon's blood stains the rock of Shayol Ghul." (sidenote: Moridin's colors, anyone?)

This means the rocks at Shayol Ghul are black, meaning they could be the black stone that Logain steps onto. It would certainly fulfill the glory Min keeps seeing around him.

 

I personally think that Rand will somehow survive though, if for no other reason than the fact that it says "to live, you must die," as well as "he who is dead yet lives." In Egwene's dream that I mentioned above, when she touches Rand's face it breaks like a paper puppet. I think this image is very strong evidence for a body swap as it seems to indicate that the body isn't really Rand anymore but rather has been left as an empty shell.

[FarShainMael]

There is no reflection of the blight and Shayol Ghul in the world of dreams?

 

Where is this info from?  I don't remember this at all.

 

I can't find it either. Help! Can someone give us a reference please?

 

Found something about the Blight (and Finnland!), at least:

 

http://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/03/plots-characters-and-wheel-of-time.html

 

RJ speaks thus:

"The Dreamworld

 

You cannot enter the Blight from Tel?aran?rhiod because it is apart from normal universe and cannot be touched.

 

...

 

You cannot go to Finnland in Tel?aran?rhiod (similar to Stedding)."

 

[MikHael]

I just finished my reread of tSR so I want to point out that you CAN enter Finnland in T'e'r.  When Perring is chasing slayer to the tower of ghenji, Birgitte stops him and says not to enter the Tower.  She says that tower leads to the land of the Finn and is even harder to leave from T'e'r than ii is in the waking world.

[saidarisnowtainted]

tGS (p.345)

Lews Therin! Rand snapped in his mind. What do we do? How did you seal the Bore last time?

It didn't work, Lews Therin whispered. We used saidin, but we touched it to the Dark one. It was the only way! Something has to touch him, something to close the gap, but he was able to taint it. The seal was weak!

 

I believe that the key to Rand defeating the DO and sealing him away is his access to the True Power.  Whether you believe the Lews Therin voice is actually Lews Therin or is just Rands mind, it has been correct throughout the series, and Rand does possess the knowledge, even if he is unable to draw from it at will.

 

Something must touch the DO in order to seal him, and whatever touches him can be tainted.  However, the True Power is of the DO it is already tainted and can therefore take on this role and hold back the DO.  While the True Power does this, Rand can use the pure saidin/saidar of the True Source and seal him away without tainting them. 

 

I imagine the True power being like a bar with the True Source weaving a shield surrounding it, as the DO is close off more and more from the world the True Power will lessen in strength due to the DO's diminished strength, and the bar of True Power will shrink.  Eventually as the One Power, both saidin and saidar, continue to close in the True Power will be drawn back into the DO as the saidar/saidin barrier closes.  DO is officially sealed.

 

I also think that this could figure into the three become one because the three powers are used together for one purpose, and have been distinguished as 3 separate powers up until now.  After the DO maybe the One Power, with saidin and saidar halves, will actually be viewed as one power again.  3 become 1.

 

perhaps no chanelling is required at all.  Perhaps Rand can intentionally/consciously affect the Pattern and in doing so, fix the fabric of the pattern where the bore exists as a "thinness", thus sealing the DO away.

 

IIRC there is no indication that Lews Therin was a Taverene, or even if he was, that he was this strong.  Perhaps the Wheel spun the Dragon out at the end of the 3rd age as a strong Taverene b/c in the age prior, there is the bore/thinness in the pattern that must be healed.

[saidarisnowtainted]

sorry for the extra post but also, if the "3 become 1" refers to the 3 Taverene, maybe the 3 together can accomplish this?

[Crael123]

sorry to burst the 3-1 theory bout the powers.... but if they were combined wouldnt the DO just taint all 3?

[bronnt]

I had a random thought about this-it's not really plausible, though.

 

In TGS, when Lews Therin is remembering how he patched the Bore, he says soemthing like "But something had to bridge the gap...and that's how the DO tainted saidin."  So Rand/LTT were trying to puzzle out how to seal him in without the power touching the DO, exposing it to the taint.

 

Then Rand used the TP.

 

It would be a bit poetic if Rand channeled the TP itself to seal the DO in his own prison.  But as I said, it's not plausible-that's the DO's own power, so there's no way he'd let it be used against him.  But I did enjoy the irony.

 

In the end, I suspect he'll use Callandor in a circle with Alivia, though I don't know in what manner.

[Nightstrike]

Channeling the True Power near the Pit of Doom would fry you instantly.

 

A Crown of Swords book tour 9 October 1996, Dunwoody, GA - Erica Sadun reporting

 

Q:  New Dreadlords? Via True Power? What are limits of True Power? When did we see it used before?

 

RJ:  Access to the True Power is a matter of wanting it and the Dark One letting you. NOT black cords. In Prologue to The Eye of the World, we saw Ishamael use the True Power to Heal insanity. The One Power can not be used to Heal insanity. True Power used at Shayol Ghul will fry you instantly.

 

 

[Alba]

tGS (p.345)

Lews Therin! Rand snapped in his mind. What do we do? How did you seal the Bore last time?

It didn't work, Lews Therin whispered. We used saidin, but we touched it to the Dark one. It was the only way! Something has to touch him, something to close the gap, but he was able to taint it. The seal was weak!

 

Something must touch the DO in order to seal him, and whatever touches him can be tainted.  However, the True Power is of the DO it is already tainted and can therefore take on this role and hold back the DO.

 

Except that the TP is controlled by the DO... in a way, the TP is the DO, as LTT notes when Rand seizes it. So that won't work. What you want is something that is both tainted AND can hold back the DO.

 

Hmm. What do we know that is evil and tainted and really, really deserves to be sealed away from the world, yet hates the DO beyond all reason and would do battle with him until the end of time?

 

Or rather, at this point, who fulfills those criteria?

 

The festering scratch from Fain's SL dagger fights the festering infection left by Ishy's TP-powered staff strike. In the same way, if you could somehow grab Fain's power of Ultimate Paranoid Vengeance and layer it between the prison walls and the DO itself... kind of a counter-taint floating on the TP... that might seal the DO away from his prison. I think the immediate presence of the DO itself would keep Faintaint from attacking the prison; it's implied by Mashadar's actions that Faintaint only attacks the Light when there's no Shadow around to eat, and that it hates the Shadow far worse than the Light.

[Morsker]

Channeling the True Power near the Pit of Doom would fry you instantly.

The Choden Kal had the same danger, but the linking ter'angreal solved it. There's difficulty explaining how Rand could get his hands on something similar for the TP, but it's not impossible. Who knows what crazy stuff the Finns have? It would also explain the long-standing glossary issue over gender-neutral an'greal.

[ranjitb]

By essentially acting as a back-up battery for the All-Mother Egwene Al'Vere (Harriet Jordan's Mary-Sue proxy in the entire series). The CK have been blown up, and Callandor can (conveniently) only be used by a woman.

[OptimusPrime]

tGS (p.345)

Lews Therin! Rand snapped in his mind. What do we do? How did you seal the Bore last time?

It didn't work, Lews Therin whispered. We used saidin, but we touched it to the Dark one. It was the only way! Something has to touch him, something to close the gap, but he was able to taint it. The seal was weak!

 

Something must touch the DO in order to seal him, and whatever touches him can be tainted.  However, the True Power is of the DO it is already tainted and can therefore take on this role and hold back the DO.

 

Except that the TP is controlled by the DO... in a way, the TP is the DO, as LTT notes when Rand seizes it. So that won't work. What you want is something that is both tainted AND can hold back the DO.

 

Hmm. What do we know that is evil and tainted and really, really deserves to be sealed away from the world, yet hates the DO beyond all reason and would do battle with him until the end of time?

 

Or rather, at this point, who fulfills those criteria?

 

The festering scratch from Fain's SL dagger fights the festering infection left by Ishy's TP-powered staff strike. In the same way, if you could somehow grab Fain's power of Ultimate Paranoid Vengeance and layer it between the prison walls and the DO itself... kind of a counter-taint floating on the TP... that might seal the DO away from his prison. I think the immediate presence of the DO itself would keep Faintaint from attacking the prison; it's implied by Mashadar's actions that Faintaint only attacks the Light when there's no Shadow around to eat, and that it hates the Shadow far worse than the Light.

 

I agree 100% that Fain will somehow be involved in Sealing the Dark One. I have a theory on how it might work but its almost the opposite way round.

 

I look at Rands wounds as you did Alba, but I also look at the Cleansing. Essentially, Rands funnel of Saidar pushed Saidin away from Shadar Logoth, yet the Taint itself was drawn to the force Fain uses-the combined magnetism-type pulling used with all forces taken into account was enough to remove the Taint from Saidin. While Rands wounds gave us a hint at the nature of these evils, the Cleansing not only proved that the lessened festering of the wounds wasnt just there to enable Rand to survive, it also gave us a real insight on how the Dark One and Shadar Logoth interact.

 

Now, jump back to TGH, when Rand walks into the room Fain laid a trap in, a trap that caught Rand so he kept having the same experience over and over. And Rand channeled-it described it as something very close to "cutting cobwebs of steel." Im sure you can all see where Im going with this, those cobwebs of steel sound very much like the weaves channelers create when channeling which makes me think Fain could easily target someone with one of his weaves as well as Saidin, Saidar or the True Power. Almost as if Fain can channel some other version of the True Power.

 

Maybe we should call Fains force the False Power. It has the right initials, just the wrong way round. Hmmm.

 

All this relies on Fain being there at the right moment, which would a) be in his nature, as he wants to be the one to kill Rand and Rand might just die there at the Dark Ones hands, 2) be realistic for Rand to attract at that time, being the Ta'veren as strong as he is and how important Fain might just be, and d) work well because Fain has been to Shayol Ghul before and has beef with the Dark One as much as Rand.

 

So, I reckon Fain will get pulled to the moment when Rand and co are doing their stuff, they break the Seals, the Dark One appears, and Rand and co start doing whatever. As they make the new prison or whatever, the Dark One starts attacking Rand, and there is Fain, screaming "He is MINE!" and he attacks the Dark One, latching onto him with his Shadar Logoth evil force. This attracts the Dark One to Fain involuntarily, yet Fain supresses the attack momentarily. Rand uses Callandor to create a Void in the Pattern around both Fain and the Dark One, Sealing them in a new prison without the risk of tainting the Source again because the Dark One was drawn to Fain as he used his own Power.

 

EDIT: I wonder if the Seals being outside the prison is what makes them vulnerable; if Fain was inside the prison with the Dark One it would work better in theory because, as mentioned, Rands wounds are both supressed because the forces battle each other. So technically the uber prison made with both Saidin and Saidar would be holding two supressed forces, so its better than Lews Therins in two ways. Two forces hold two weakened battling forces, instead of one force holding another that can grow in strength.

 

Not sure how Rands death ropes into that, when he uses Callandor he might need to be linked to two women, not sure if Mat and Perrin are involved somehow.

 

Damn it I keep thinking of bits to add!

 

 

[rubbernilly]

First, Rand did not channel all of saidin at the cleansing. Not nearly. There is a quote from RJ somewhere to support this... that no on could channel that much. All Rand had to do at the cleansing was to channel enough that the taint began to be pulled in that direction... like a siphon.

 

I think that one key to the LB will be the unbuffered nature of Callandor. There is nothing there to protect you from burning yourself out. But, put Rand in a circle and he would have the circle's protection from being burnt out. Does that mean unlimited power available to him? It's an interesting possibility.

 

Things that I hope do NOT happen...

 

...I hope that we do not live through 14 books just to have a repeat of the Gollum storyline. I mean, really? Tolkien did that in three books.

...I hope it isn't a matter of Rand channeling the TP. Defeating evil with evil is just... bleh. Not to mention how the access and amount of TP would likely diminish as the pattern was 'healed.'

...I hope it isn't a matter of Rand 'not fighting' or being non-violent, as if violence/chaos is the strength of the DO. (Reference the very last Highlander movie, "Highlander: The Source"* for this ending).

 

*for those who care about this series, yes, 'there can be only one' needed to be the mantra for the film-makers (there should have been only the first movie). But once those other awful movies were made in the meantime, "The Source" was a good attempt at explainin/expounding on the immortal system itself, to explain why there were more immortals after Connor defeating the Kurgan. It's worth a rental. Maybe at one of those Red Box rental kiosks ($1). And maybe if your buddy pays. I'm just saying, it isn't as bad as the other movies. All that said, the ending just wouldn't work for the WoT series.

 

Wow, am I off-topic. Ending now.

[OptimusPrime]

I didnt say Rand channeled all of Saidin. That wasnt part of my point

 

I agree that Rand wont use the True Power. If Rand used it to touch the Dark One, wouldnt the Dark One just deny him access to it? I mean, Brandon said it is possible to use it without permission (but difficult) but I strongly think Rand has permission, inherrited through Moridin as they slowly become one person. The part that gives Moridin access is also in Rand, and that is the only reason Rand can use it. Does anyone think the Dark One is aware of the Rand-Moridin connection? If he is, then he would surely just stop both from using the True Power if it was used against him, after thinking something must be going on between Rand and Moridin.