And the Eye of The World was important how?

[Psion]

Just finished a re-read/skim of The Eye of the World, which I've always really enjoyed for some reason, but suddenly it hit me: What was the point of the Eye?  What would have happened if the Shadow got it/ the Dark One "blinded the eye?"  Is it only significant because it hid a seal and the Horn of Valere?

[Durinax]

theres also the untainted saidin pool, and the banner of light

[rubbernilly]

theres also the untainted saidin pool

 

Which the Forsaken didn't need... they already had clean saidin.

 

And compared to what Rand has channeled since then... just the sheer volume of it... I can't believe that it was important to keep just that tiny bit of clean saidin away from Rand, either.

 

Perhaps, way back when this was pitched as a three book series, Jordan intended the pool of clean saidin to be more important (volume wise) in terms of what Rand would channel throughout the series... and it was only after the series swelled to 6 books, and then 9... and then 11... and 12 -- no, 14... that scale started to get tipped to all the things that Rand did with tainted-saidin.

 

It's the only thing I can think of, because, like the original poster, I never saw the great importance of the Eye.

[Kadere]

The importance of the Eye was that if Aginor and Balthamel got a hold of the clean Saidin then they wouldn't have to use the Dark One's filter, there by severing their connection to him and gaining independence to do as they pleased.

 

Week 20 Question: Why was Aginor so interested in the Eye of the World? He could channel clean Saidin anyway so it shouldn't have been an issue?

 

 

Robert Jordan Answers: He was able to channel clean saidin, true, but only through the "filter" which had been provided by the Dark One just a short time previously, which meant the Dark One would be aware of him channeling wherever he was. Remember, Aginor was the creator of the Trollocs; he is quite able to reason things out clearly, at least in a scientific sense. Also, he wasn't certain whether or not the Dark One also would know what he was doing when he channeled, too. For someone as secretive, competitive, and generally untrustworthy as the one of the Forsaken, the Eye of the World amounted to a valuable asset if it could be secured. To put it simply, Aginor saw a means of channeling without the Dark One looking over his shoulder, and maybe a way to increase his own power at the expense of those who didn't have that advantage. Balthamel might well have been for the long drop, administered by Aginor, if things hadn't worked out differently.

[Nightstrike]

Chapter 25

Page 305 (HC); Page 362 (PB)

And blind the Eye of the World

Leafblighter means to blind the Eye of the World

The Green man was killed, and the eye of the world no longer exists. So I guess it was "blinded". Maybe the untainted pool kept the eye moving somehow?

 

The Path of Daggers book tour 22 October 1998, Los Angeles - Pam Basham reporting

 

Q: Hawkwing says they follow the banner and the Dragon.  Moiraine says the Heroes will follow whoever winds the Horn.  Was Moiraine wrong?

RJ: Moiraine doesn't know everything.  She was speaking the truth as she knows it. However, she is correct in that whoever sounds the Horn "controls the Heroes." 

Q: "Then what happens if the Dragon and the banner are on opposite sides of the conflict from whoever sounds the Horn?"

RJ:  "Then we get a [rift] in the Pattern."  (I'm not certain if this is the exact word he used.  It may have been "schism" or "breach," but it was definitely a word expressing the concept of a forced opening/rupture.)

The banner, the horn & the seal were important things to guard.

 

 

A Crown of Swords book tour 4 August 1996, Durham, NC - Robyn "Hawk" Goldstein reporting

 

I asked him exactly why the pool of untainted saidin was needed at the Eye of the World. He kind of gave me a RAFO. RJ said that he has an idea of what he wants that to have been for, but he's not sure he's going to use it, so he didn't want to give me information and then change his mind later.

 

[rubbernilly]

The importance of the Eye was that if Aginor and Balthamel got a hold of the clean Saidin then they wouldn't have to use the Dark One's filter, there by severing their connection to him and gaining independence to do as they pleased.

 

Week 20 Question: Why was Aginor so interested in the Eye of the World? He could channel clean Saidin anyway so it shouldn't have been an issue?

 

 

Robert Jordan Answers: He was able to channel clean saidin, true, but only through the "filter" which had been provided by the Dark One just a short time previously, which meant the Dark One would be aware of him channeling wherever he was. Remember, Aginor was the creator of the Trollocs; he is quite able to reason things out clearly, at least in a scientific sense. Also, he wasn't certain whether or not the Dark One also would know what he was doing when he channeled, too. For someone as secretive, competitive, and generally untrustworthy as the one of the Forsaken, the Eye of the World amounted to a valuable asset if it could be secured. To put it simply, Aginor saw a means of channeling without the Dark One looking over his shoulder, and maybe a way to increase his own power at the expense of those who didn't have that advantage. Balthamel might well have been for the long drop, administered by Aginor, if things hadn't worked out differently.

 

Sorry... to me, that is hardly enough of a reason. Was Aginor going to take the pool of Saidin with him, somehow? How? By channeling saidin? The taint-filtered saidin so that the DO would know where he was, or was he going to use the pool to transport the pool... so that he didn't have the pool when he arrived -- very secretly -- wherever he was going?

 

The banner, the horn & the seal were important things to guard.

 

That reason makes the notion of an "eye" and "blinding" a bit... out of left-field, IMO.

 

A Crown of Swords book tour 4 August 1996, Durham, NC - Robyn "Hawk" Goldstein reporting

 

I asked him exactly why the pool of untainted saidin was needed at the Eye of the World. He kind of gave me a RAFO. RJ said that he has an idea of what he wants that to have been for, but he's not sure he's going to use it, so he didn't want to give me information and then change his mind later.

 

 

In my opinion, this is the meat of the matter. I don't think that any reason anyone has given so far (including RJ) has been enough to support the apparent importance of the Eye, itself. I think that RJ had an idea for it which required that it be set up in the world as having been important, but he never went with it and we are left with something seeming important which wasn't... at least, wasn't as important as it was made out to be.

[Nightstrike]

The Green man was the guardian of those things. Maybe he needed the pool to power the eye?

 

BWB about Nym:

In a method called "seed singing," Ogier ( a separate race of beings gifted with the ability to aid and enhance growing things), Nym, and Da'shain Aiel worked as a team, focusing the One Power to insure perfect growth for every field they "sang."

...

The Nym, another construct, were sentient beings with the ability to utilize the One Power for the benefit of plants and growing things. As a nameless scribe in Paaran Disen wrote, "Where a Nym touched, all manner of green and growing things thrived."

[Kadere]

Sorry... to me, that is hardly enough of a reason. Was Aginor going to take the pool of Saidin with him, somehow? How? By channeling saidin? The taint-filtered saidin so that the DO would know where he was, or was he going to use the pool to transport the pool... so that he didn't have the pool when he arrived -- very secretly -- wherever he was going?

 

Are any of those questions serious? Did you read the book? Do you understand how the Power works? Did you understand the cords? Did you understand how Aginor was gaining his youth back while fighting Rand? Are you just being belligerent?

[delathi]

My impression was that the eye had enough power in it to break the seals open and release the DO. But Rand and Ishy used it all up against each other.

[rubbernilly]

Sorry... to me, that is hardly enough of a reason. Was Aginor going to take the pool of Saidin with him, somehow? How? By channeling saidin? The taint-filtered saidin so that the DO would know where he was, or was he going to use the pool to transport the pool... so that he didn't have the pool when he arrived -- very secretly -- wherever he was going?

 

Are any of those questions serious? Did you read the book? Do you understand how the Power works? Did you understand the cords? Did you understand how Aginor was gaining his youth back while fighting Rand? Are you just being belligerent?

 

Are any of your questions serious? Did RJ understand (at that point in the writing) how the Power was going to work? Did he know that he would later rule out someone being able to heal themselves? Are you aware of the wide-spread confusion about this scene?

 

I’ve read the series about 8 times, start to finish, and tEotW about 14.

 

Look, you have Moiraine, moments before, telling Rand that because the Eye is here (where they are), this is where the DO will strike, and someone has to be there to stop him.

 

Then you have Aginor coming in, saying that the DO will soon be free and will give them new flesh.

 

It’s pretty clear that RJ wants the reader to think that this is the “thing”… the Last Battle… the significance of the Dragon… whatever. From the re-read/blog hosted on Tor:

 

Epic fantasy, like the mythological traditions it grew out of, relies on pattern recognition to give it significance. As human beings, we always instinctively seek the signal amid the noise, whether it’s there to be found or not. (This is really true of art in general, but it’s particularly a Thing in fantasy.) Which is part of why stories like this are so satisfying, or should be: unlike real life, there is one Chosen One (or a triumvirate of them; Three is also a pattern-significant number. Or Nine!), one Central Magical Thingamajig, one Final Battle, where it All Comes Together, etc. It all means something, maaaan.

 

Where I think some people had a problem with the whole Eye thing, therefore, is how it is set up in TEOTW to be that one Central Magical Thingamajig (I mean, come on: Eye of the World?), but as things turn out, not only is it totally not central to anything, its significance is never even really explained, and then it’s basically never mentioned again.

http://www.tor.com/index2.php?option=com_content&view=blog&id=13425&layout=print

 

RJ wanted/needed the end of this book to be something of a conclusion. The DO is striking at the Eye, as Moiraine warned. He is giving Aginor new flesh, as Aginor promised. This is *it*.

 

…until the series takes off, and RJ settles on certain metaphysical mechanics. The problem is that those mechanics make this scene at the Eye, in retrospect, confusing if not suspect.

 

• You can’t heal yourself so what was Aginor doing with the power?

• He had access to untainted saidin, so what did he need this specific power for? (I know RJ’s answer about him being paranoid about the cords, but that is extra-textual and after the fact... it’s not a strong enough explanation given what we know of the mechanics of magic in WoT… not only that, but it isn’t a strong enough motivation for Aginor, especially when he doesn’t do anything with the Power that we can discern. Remember, he isn’t giving himself new flesh.)

• Aginor gets "new" flesh, even though the way we understand the DO being able to give someone "new flesh" is through recycling, as with Moridin, Cyndane, Osan'gar, and Aran'gar.

• The Eye is apparently important, but never mentioned again. The Creator (maybe) speaks, but never again… He references “IT,” as in “IT IS NOT HERE,” without knowing what/where that “it” is.

 

Those are things that RJ threw into this section, and which were dropped going forward.

[rubbernilly]

That is an interesting idea, delathi... it's almost as if the AS following the Sealing of the Bore realized that they had made a mistake with the Seals... like Herid Fel implies (and LTT's rantings at breaking the seals would seem to indicate), they might need to break the seals to do it right.

 

That would seem a nice arc from the first book to the Last Battle, if the Eye had been meant for that purpose... except...

 

Why would you need to set aside saidin for that purpose? The only answer I see is that it is clean saidin, but that begs the question: from RJ's perspective, if you knew Rand was going to cleanse saidin in the future and would have access to clean saidin (and more than was in the Eye), why would you need the redundant mechanic of the Eye? It's a case where 1 + 1 = 1/2.

 

The Eye still an inelegant mechanic, and generally unsupported going forward, IMO.

[Caveman_Nick]

The eye was an important component in Rand realizing who and what he was.  It sparked off his battle with the forces of the shadow.

 

Without it, would Rand have realized who he was in time?

 

Also, it clearly was a mechanism for him to gain the Horn and the Banner, and gave him the means to fight the powers of the Shadow that would come to oppose him in gaining them.

 

Lastly, I think that it was a major component in Rand's gaining so much strength with the power so quickly.

 

Perhaps there were other parts of it's purpose, but I think that's enough

 

The eye had it's purpose and fulfilled it.  If the forces of Shadow gained the eye, then the battle would have been all but lost from the beginning.

[delathi]

That is an interesting idea, delathi... it's almost as if the AS following the Sealing of the Bore realized that they had made a mistake with the Seals... like Herid Fel implies (and LTT's rantings at breaking the seals would seem to indicate), they might need to break the seals to do it right.

 

That would seem a nice arc from the first book to the Last Battle, if the Eye had been meant for that purpose... except...

 

Why would you need to set aside saidin for that purpose? The only answer I see is that it is clean saidin, but that begs the question: from RJ's perspective, if you knew Rand was going to cleanse saidin in the future and would have access to clean saidin (and more than was in the Eye), why would you need the redundant mechanic of the Eye? It's a case where 1 + 1 = 1/2.

 

The Eye still an inelegant mechanic, and generally unsupported going forward, IMO.

 

My thought was not that it was specifically set aside for the purpose of breaking the DO free, but that it was a pure saidin reserve, created to be used for whatever might require such a vast need in the future. The DO sent his minions to use it to bust him free, the good guys wanted to prevent that. During the fight, Rand and Ishy used it all up.

 

Dark One now pissed that he isn't free.

Good guys should be upset because their ace-in-the-hole super-power-battery is now gone, but they don't know any better.

[MikeRiley]

I thought about this a while and decided I wasn't going to come to any solid answer. I just assume now that the Age of Legends Aes Sedai realized the Dragon Reborn would be a male channeler and that Saidin would still be tainted. They purified what they could of it and left it to him. They knew he'd appear there eventually and also gave to him his banner and the Horn of Valere. The seal itself didn't seem like it was hidden there from the start. The Green Man put it there because he thought it the safest place (it was given into his keeping).

 

So I figure the Eye of the World wasn't there so much for a game ender, but as a possibly useful tool for a reborn Dragon that might really need it. There might have been enough there for him to train with the power and learn without going mad, but they couldn't have known two forsaken would get there at the same time.

 

I like how the Eye can be found with Need like happens in TAR and you enter into another world seemingly when you pass its borders. Sounded like a good warding that the Nym itself used to either keep the gate open or else move the location of the area about so it could be found when he sensed somebody's presence. Perhaps that itself was what the Eye was meant to do, and the horn, banner and seal the real purpose of the attack there.

[Psion]

My thought was not that it was specifically set aside for the purpose of breaking the DO free, but that it was a pure saidin reserve, created to be used for whatever might require such a vast need in the future. The DO sent his minions to use it to bust him free, the good guys wanted to prevent that. During the fight, Rand and Ishy used it all up.

 

Dark One now pissed that he isn't free.

Good guys should be upset because their ace-in-the-hole super-power-battery is now gone, but they don't know any better.

 

That's a REALLY interesting idea, except that it was made by Light-side people (as inferred from Rand's Ancestrovision in Rhuidean.  But maybe it was set up by the Light side so that the DO could be broken out prematurely?  I mean, we all sort of know by this point that Rand is supposed to break the seals to get the DO out, so maybe the thought was "why not now?"

 

Maybe not, I'm just thinking out loud/ on screen.

 

I understand why the Eye had to exist.  It is the perfect protection for the Horn, the Banner and the seal.  I mean it's in a garden that moves, that you can only access once, and unless you're a male channeler, you will evaporate if you touch the Saidin.  Also, it shows Rand that Saidin CAN be cleaned, so that's important.  I'm just trying to figure out what would have happened if the Shadow got it.  Sure, Aginor could go on a side quest and what not, but surely there wasn't enough power for it to be a lasting advantage. 

[Suttree]

The importance of the Eye was that if Aginor and Balthamel got a hold of the clean Saidin then they wouldn't have to use the Dark One's filter, there by severing their connection to him and gaining independence to do as they pleased.

 

Week 20 Question: Why was Aginor so interested in the Eye of the World? He could channel clean Saidin anyway so it shouldn't have been an issue?

 

 

Robert Jordan Answers: He was able to channel clean saidin, true, but only through the "filter" which had been provided by the Dark One just a short time previously, which meant the Dark One would be aware of him channeling wherever he was. Remember, Aginor was the creator of the Trollocs; he is quite able to reason things out clearly, at least in a scientific sense. Also, he wasn't certain whether or not the Dark One also would know what he was doing when he channeled, too. For someone as secretive, competitive, and generally untrustworthy as the one of the Forsaken, the Eye of the World amounted to a valuable asset if it could be secured. To put it simply, Aginor saw a means of channeling without the Dark One looking over his shoulder, and maybe a way to increase his own power at the expense of those who didn't have that advantage. Balthamel might well have been for the long drop, administered by Aginor, if things hadn't worked out differently.

 

Sorry... to me, that is hardly enough of a reason. Was Aginor going to take the pool of Saidin with him, somehow? How? By channeling saidin? The taint-filtered saidin so that the DO would know where he was, or was he going to use the pool to transport the pool... so that he didn't have the pool when he arrived -- very secretly -- wherever he was going?

 

So Robert Jordan is asked a direct question about the importance of the Eye to one of HIS characters, answers it in a clear straightforward manner and you say "Sorry... to me, that is hardly enough of a reason"?!?! Sure you know much better than RJ what Aginor's motivation was...

[RUSH]

I'm with rubbernilly.  RJ's words may be Word of God in terms of canon, but the answer is weak.  So Aginor might have taken a pool full of power and done... what, exactly, with it?  Channeled a bit?  Unless he was planning something big, it seems pretty irrelevant.

 

Perhaps RJ overplayed the pre-game hype and it simply didn't live up to it.  Remember, we have a story told to Perrin/Egwene by Tinkers about a dying Maiden of the Spear who warned them about Leafblighter and the Eye.  In this world, a Maiden talking to Tinkers is a big deal.  How did she know, anyway?

 

Loial tells a story about a man who visited the stedding 20 years ago and was carrying a message to Tar Valon about the Dark One and the Eye.  Who was this man 20 years ago?  How did he know?  Rand/Mat/Perrin have dreams where Ba'alzamon talks about the Eye and says it's his and they can't have it.  They'd never even heard about it.  Why was Ishy blathering on about not letting them have it?

 

The Eye was made in the breaking, and a hundred men and women worked together to create it, all dying in the process to make it pure.  That's fantasy-code for BIG IMPORTANT THING!!! <flashing lights, warning siren>.  Moiraine believes it has enough power to mend the seals or break the prison open.  But if the plan was to use the Eye to break open the prison, why send only Aginor and Balthamel?  Were they the only ones free from imprisonment at the time?  What about Ishamael? 

 

If this was the plan, why would RJ tell us the (rather dull and uninspired) bit about Aginor wanting to be sneaky-sneaky?  Was he intentionally giving a diversionary answer because he didn't want to tip his hand this early about needing to break the seals?

 

Whatever the case, I don't think RJ adequately conveyed the significance of the events, which may have been by design, or maybe he thought he did but missed the mark (like who killed Asmo).  Instead, as Leigh said (on her tor.com blog), the Eye came and went and has pretty much been forgotten about. 

 

I would love it if this significant early event was tied back into the story somehow.  If Rand were to think about the importance of that day, or link it to something he's done or will do, or if Moiraine comes back and says something about not realizing just how important it was, instead of it just being Random Task #1 on the long road to defeating the Dark One.

[rubbernilly]

So Robert Jordan is asked a direct question about the importance of the Eye to one of HIS characters, answers it in a clear straightforward manner and you say "Sorry... to me, that is hardly enough of a reason"?!?! Sure you know much better than RJ what Aginor's motivation was...

 

Turning and turning in the widening gyre...

 

No, wait. Your sig just got me started. Sorry.

 

I'm not saying that RJ was *wrong* in that his description of Aginor's motivations somehow didn't matchup with Aginor's motivations. I'm saying that the reasons RJ gave for Aginor's actions do not support Aginor's actions... as if RJ were bringing this section of the book to a writers' group for review and critique. I am telling him, as a reader, that the motivations he gives Aginor for this scene are lacking.

 

Beyond that, I am taking the fact that RJ is generally a good writer (capable of developing good character motivations otherwise) and coupling that with the quote about him possibly having another purpose for the Eye, and from that I am guessing that the problems with the end of the first book arise from that "other-purpose" never being developed or utilized, and from RJ needing the book to be something of a stand-alone in case sales did not warrant a second installment on the series. Everything else that arose since the decision was made to *not* implement that other purpose for the Eye, including attributions for Aginor's motivations, I think are retrospective. They are the best fit based on what had already made it into print, not the best that RJ could have done. RJ is just too good a writer to have such flimsy motivations.

 

So RJ has spoken and Aginor's motivations are that he wanted a separate source of saidin that he could channel without the DO knowing. That's canon, now. But it's weak. It's weak because the Eye wouldn't have lasted him very long, couldn't have gone anywhere with him, and short of freeing himself from the DO's filtering cord, he was eventually going to go back to using the cord-filtered saidin... meaning that the DO would again know where he was and what he was doing. If he *did* somehow manage to free himself of the cords, he'd be channeling tainted saidin and go mad, so that couldn't have been what he wanted to do.

 

The Eye was set up as "the thing," but in the end, that sort of fizzled and was forgotten. The falcon cannot hear the falconer. RJ/BS can give whatever explanation they want to, but the explanation RJ gave was inadequate, IMO.

 

Anarchy has ben loosed.

 

OK, I'm done with my Yeats references. :)

[Malruhn]

Another thing to consider is the Prophecy (well, one of the many)...

 

The Prophecy said that the DO would "blind the Eye of the World," but that is a traslation (possibly of another translation!).  What would happen if the original read more like that the DO would bring DARKNESS to the Eye of the World?  This could be done by finding and controlling it, bending the Power to his needs.

 

I, personally, believe that the Eye is merely sleeping - and can be "healed."  It is my opinion that in the end, Rand and the crew will return and use the Eye to either destroy the DO or re-seal his tomb.

[Agitel]

Perhaps there's more saidin there than we believe. Perhaps it was believed that more saidin was there than actually was. Perhaps in regards to the Maiden of the Spear who passed on that rumor, the rumor was a plant to draw Moiraine (and the Dragon Reborn) north into the Blight and everyone thought it was more important than it really was.

[Agitel]

Another thing to consider is the Prophecy (well, one of the many)...

 

The Prophecy said that the DO would "blind the Eye of the World," but that is a traslation (possibly of another translation!).  What would happen if the original read more like that the DO would bring DARKNESS to the Eye of the World?  This could be done by finding and controlling it, bending the Power to his needs.

 

I, personally, believe that the Eye is merely sleeping - and can be "healed."  It is my opinion that in the end, Rand and the crew will return and use the Eye to either destroy the DO or re-seal his tomb.

 

It would be interesting if the Eye was more than just a pool, but a sort of filter that actively drew saidin into itself, purified it, and left it available for use.

[rubbernilly]

I, personally, believe that the Eye is merely sleeping - and can be "healed."  It is my opinion that in the end, Rand and the crew will return and use the Eye to either destroy the DO or re-seal his tomb.

 

It would be nice if the Eye's importance came through between now and the end, but that would still leave the ending of the first book sort of... unsupported. You really shouldn't have to wait 12-13 books to find out why, after one book, you should read more. It's the same way I felt about CoT... as a stand-alone book (its first duty before the duty of being part of an ongoing series), it fell short.

 

It would be interesting if the Eye was more than just a pool, but a sort of filter that actively drew saidin into itself, purified it, and left it available for use.

 

Mistborn Spoiler...

 

 

...

 

 

wouldn't that be very much like the Well of Ascension? Periodically filling up with the power of (in the case of Mistborn), a god...? Interesting. I don't think this will happen, but it's interesting.

[Kadere]

Are any of your questions serious?

 

Yes, and apparently you didn't understand any of them.

 

Did RJ understand (at that point in the writing) how the Power was going to work?

 

Yes. He worked on the world for 4 years before writing the first book. Everything that happens at the end of Eye of the World is in accordance with the rest of the series.

 

Did he know that he would later rule out someone being able to heal themselves?

 

Considering Aginor doesn't heal himself, yes I'm sure he did.

 

Are you aware of the wide-spread confusion about this scene?

 

Yes I've been on these boards for almost 10 years. But most of the confusion comes from people rejecting the answers to back up their bogus theories that make far less sense.

 

I’ve read the series about 8 times, start to finish, and tEotW about 14.

 

Bravo. Apparently all that reading didn't help your understanding.

 

Look, you have Moiraine, moments before, telling Rand that because the Eye is here (where they are), this is where the DO will strike, and someone has to be there to stop him.

 

The Dark One is gaining extraordinary power at this point in the series. Ba'alzamon has assumed his place and is doing everything in his power to help the Dark One break free. What Rand does at the end of this book gives a decisive blow to the DO crippling him for the next 4 books.

 

Then you have Aginor coming in, saying that the DO will soon be free and will give them new flesh.

 

Mhmm.

 

It’s pretty clear that RJ wants the reader to think that this is the “thing”… the Last Battle… the significance of the Dragon… whatever. From the re-read/blog hosted on Tor:

 

Epic fantasy, like the mythological traditions it grew out of, relies on pattern recognition to give it significance. As human beings, we always instinctively seek the signal amid the noise, whether it’s there to be found or not. (This is really true of art in general, but it’s particularly a Thing in fantasy.) Which is part of why stories like this are so satisfying, or should be: unlike real life, there is one Chosen One (or a triumvirate of them; Three is also a pattern-significant number. Or Nine!), one Central Magical Thingamajig, one Final Battle, where it All Comes Together, etc. It all means something, maaaan.

 

Where I think some people had a problem with the whole Eye thing, therefore, is how it is set up in TEOTW to be that one Central Magical Thingamajig (I mean, come on: Eye of the World?), but as things turn out, not only is it totally not central to anything, its significance is never even really explained, and then it’s basically never mentioned again.

http://www.tor.com/index2.php?option=com_content&view=blog&id=13425&layout=print

 

Are you quoting Leigh Butler because you think she's a credible source? Her opinion of this book outweighs RJ's? Leigh is a sweet person, but she's hardly a WoT scholar or the creator of the series. There are numerous times through-out her reread where she's given false information or not known where the story is headed. The Eye of the World is set up a pool of pure Saidin that the Dark One will have his Forsaken use to regain their former powers, and thereby being the strongest Aes Sedai in the world, cause mass chaos while he breaks free.

 

RJ wanted/needed the end of this book to be something of a conclusion. The DO is striking at the Eye, as Moiraine warned. He is giving Aginor new flesh, as Aginor promised. This is *it*.

 

This is it. If Rand failed here the world would be doomed.

 

• You can’t heal yourself so what was Aginor doing with the power?

 

As is explained in the book, Aginor is drawing on the Eye of the World, the pure Saidin, and this is rejuvenating him. He is not healing himself with the Power. There's no weave that he's using. He's simply drawing on the Eye.

 

• He had access to untainted saidin, so what did he need this specific power for? (I know RJ’s answer about him being paranoid about the cords, but that is extra-textual and after the fact... it’s not a strong enough explanation given what we know of the mechanics of magic in WoT… not only that, but it isn’t a strong enough motivation for Aginor, especially when he doesn’t do anything with the Power that we can discern. Remember, he isn’t giving himself new flesh.)

 

Your point here confuses me. In your belief is Aginor "healing himself" or is the DO giving him "new flesh"? Aginor doesn't "do anything" with the Power because, oh right, he's killed. That sure points a damper on doing something. Regardless of RJ's answering being "after the fact" it remains a valid point. He didn't write the scene from Aginor's PoV so the only way we could understand what he's trying to do is through RJ's answer. Aginor is the second most powerful male Forsaken, and his personality is one of extreme privacy which he uses in creating creatures like the Trollocs. So Aginor's motivation in gaining the power from the Eye make perfect sense.

 

• Aginor gets "new" flesh, even though the way we understand the DO being able to give someone "new flesh" is through recycling, as with Moridin, Cyndane, Osan'gar, and Aran'gar.

 

As explained the DO doesn't give him a new body, the Eye of the World rejuvenates his corpse like figure.

 

• The Eye is apparently important, but never mentioned again.

 

That would be because it no longer exists and it's importance was already used. Whether what happened to it was the intended purpose is irrelevant since this is what happened to it. It's no longer important, but it was in book 1.

 

The Creator (maybe) speaks, but never again… He references “IT,” as in “IT IS NOT HERE,” without knowing what/where that “it” is.

 

This has nothing to do with the Eye of the World or the events surrounding it's use. This will likely be answered in AMoL.

 

Those are things that RJ threw into this section, and which were dropped going forward.

 

None of this was dropped. The events at the Eye saved the world and everything after it is in direct effect to what happened there. The stuff about the voice will likely be answered in the last book, RJ had to save some questions for the end of the series.

[balefireruinssteaks]

A couple of things occur to me.

 

Aginor and Balthamel were both trapped very close to the edge of the Bore, so it is theorized that instead of the deep sleep that Lanfear, Demandred and the others experienced...Aginor and Balthamel actually EXPERIENCED the 3,000 years which is why they aged as they did, and also explains why Aginor was excited about getting "new flesh" when the other Chosen would not need new flesh.

 

We see that when an Aes Sedai begins to use the One Power they slow in the aging process.  Amys has not held the Oath Rod but she still looks much younger than she should.  Reanne looks just past her middle years but is over 400 years old, and Garenia (Zarya? I can't recall her actual name) doesn't even have gray hair but is several hundred years old as well.  None of those people held the Oath Rod so the Power enhances youth.  Even Nynaeve is mistaken in her age by several years.

 

So accessing the pool of untainted saidin might have been something Aginor worked out (remember he was a brilliant scientist/geneticist) and it would have been very important for him to get that new flesh.  Balthamel as well since he had an appetite for women and having no face or tongue would probably hinder that; as well as the idea that Aginor could channel without being overseen by the Dark One.  For someone who schemes the way Aginor does, this would indeed be VERY important.

 

So...in the end it just seems like the "answer" to "why is the Eye important?" is not this mega-grand plot-twisting key to the entire series and that's disappointing to the original poster.  But it isn't without value.  Maybe you WANT the eye of the world to matter more, but if it served its use, then the author would move on to other plot-moving scenarios.

 

It would be like if I was convinced the Groves were the key to the entire series and got frustrated because they weren't being given enough attention.  Well...my interpretation of their importance would be wrong, and I'd just have to get used to that.

 

The Eye of the World served its purpose.  The End.

[mb]

Is it only significant because it hid a seal and the Horn of Valere?

There was a third item in there: the dragon banner

Besides the items it held, there might be other significant things about the Eye.  The use of it might have been a prophecy and/or using it might have helped in the fulfillment of other prophecies; not entirely sure about either.

Though the event may have helped Moiraine become more certain about the identity of the Dragon Reborn.  (Moiraine's POV in Chapter 53; discussion about channeling in Chapter 52; comment about Eye earlier in Chapter 53)