Let's Decode this!

[NetSlider]

Ok, I was reading something on Theoryland and this hit me really, really hard:

 

The lions sing and the hills take flight.

The moon by day, and the sun by night.

Blind woman, deaf man, jackdaw fool.

Let the Lord of Chaos rule.

 

The lions sing and the hills take flights - this is reference to Lions of Andor. But can "the hills take flight" reference to Black Hills? There is a discussion on the theoryland http://www.theoryland.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2986

 

In any event, I don't think that this is just a riddle. Just like with snakes and foxes there is more to it. I tried brining the subject in one of the threads but this time I really hope we can decode this thing (and this is one of very few things we know from the 4th age).

 

P.S. "Le the Lord of Chaos rule" - I always thought this referred to Rand.

 

[NetSlider]

For those who doubt there is more to it, read the definition of jackdaw here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackdaw and tell me that this is not a reference to Mat.

[rubbernilly]

I thought "Lord of Chaos" (generally) referred to a strategy in sha'rah where you tried to manipulate the Fisher King rather than control it.

 

...which is what the Shadow is doing with Rand, so, yes, it would apply to him.

 

I'm not sure that there is much to this verse, and I'm not sure that the references you landed on are accurate. The whole flavor of the verse is of irreverence in the face of anarchy (lions singing, hills flying, etc.). It's probably just an artistic rendering of the world-turned-upside-down that happened (or, will happen) with this Age, Rand loose and exerting his ta'veren nature, and the Pattern beginning to unravel. People make light of it after the fact to help them feel better, because if you can laugh at death, then you're still alive.

 

...and I don't think that every lion is a reference to Andor. Sometimes a lion is just a lion.

 

 

[mb]

This is what linuxmafia says about this prophecy:

[LOC: Header Prophecy]

 

   The lions sing and the hills take flight.

   The moon by day, and the sun by night.

   Blind woman, deaf man, jackdaw fool.

   Let the Lord of Chaos rule.

 

       (chant from a children's game heard in Great Aravalon, the Fourth Age)

 

Your guess is as good as mine as to whether this is actually prophecy/historical or not.

http://linuxmafia.com/jordan/4_prophecy/4.7_4th-age.html

 

Lions, I agree, could indicate Andor.

Hills, that could mean any set of hills or all hills in the world; not necessary Black Hills.  Flight could indicate changes through channeling; or possibly something similar to the shifting corridors.

That 3rd line could indicate effects on people in general. (women becoming physically blind, men becoming physically deaf, people becoming fools)

Lord of Chaos, could indicate chaos itself; maybe Rand, more likely Dark One (since the Dark One would be the main causer of chaos).

 

2nd line, maybe a change of the two spheres and/or time itself becoming messed up.

 

[MikeRiley]

The moon could refer to the Seanchan - by day, in the open?

The sun could be the flaring sun of the Whitecloaks - by night, in secret.

 

It could be referring to the nature of the conflict involving the two sides. The whitecloaks have kept things secret through the whole series and have been sneaking about the world messing with things, while the Seanchan are very open about what they do. Both sides were also on strings pulled by the Shadow.

 

That would be depending on which book this riddle is in and what went on in it though. I'm just speculating here.

[OptimusPrime]

Let the Lord of Chaos rule doesnt refer to a person, it means "Let Chaos be your Lord" or just "create chaos."

 

Could blind woman be Aes Sedai, deaf man the Ashaman, and jackdaw fool Rand? Maybe the lions are the Aiel.

[OptimusPrime]

Sorry for the doublepost.

 

Could it be that Semirhage, who taught children of the glories of the Great Lord of the Dark, had something to do with this?

 

And Im probably reading into it way too much, but...

 

The lions sing and the hills take flight.

    The moon by day, and the sun by night.

    Blind woman, deaf man, jackdaw fool.

    Let the Lord of Chaos rule.

 

The Aiel and the Tinkers.

The Seanchan, and the Whitecloaks.

Aes Sedai, Asha'man, the Dragon Reborn.

Make them all hate each other.

[NetSlider]

Here's what I thought of:

 

Blind woman - I think this might refer to blind justice and thus maybe to Seanchan. Maybe even Tuon (the only reason I think maybe Tuon is because of the reference to jackdaw fool, which I think might refer to Mat).

 

The lions sing - it's either Andor or Aiel and/or Tinkers.

 

Hilll take flight - have NO IDEA. However, I think "the hills take flight" is an effect of "the lions singing." (Just the way it put together and that "and" between both statements).

 

The moon by day, and the sun by night - have also no idea, BUT I think it relates to one and the same item/person. To something that is contradictory to a standard.

 

Deaf man - might be Rand, he kind of stops listening to everyone after kidnapping. But it also might be someone else, someone or someones, that are ignoring something that is true or keeping themselves in ignorance on purpose.

 

Let the Lord of Chaos rule - once again, I think it's Rand.

 

 

[OptimusPrime]

The lions sing and the hills take flight.

 

To me, this bit is the only line in which the metaphors arent seperated by a comma, and the Aiel and Tinkers are two people descended from the same ancestors, so it felt right.

 

Blind woman, deaf man, jackdaw fool.

 

This bit stands out to me, if it does mean anything at all I think its to do with channelers. Elaida, Taim and Rand? I dunno. Blind woman would also fit the Seanchan, for what you said Netslider and also for their superstitions and sayings about lowering their eyes.

 

I never thought about Andor for the lions, and I should have, noting that Elayne is the lion sword.

 

Id love to get some clearup on this in the books.

[bronnt]

It might just be nonsense, but it's too obscure to be a red herring, so I'll just rule out "nonsense."  Personally, I feel like there's more hints and clues about the story in LoC than in any 2 other books.

 

There's a lot of different ways these could go together with what we have in the books.  I'll just focus on some of the images, and perhaps postulate at the end on how they fit together.

 

1.  "Blind Woman."  This could be Setalle Anan?  Cut off from the source is like losing a sense.  But in modern terms, the symbol for justice is a blind woman.  Could it be Justice the sword?  This could mean Rand, who possesses the sword. (It could also mean Hawkwing himself, but piecing him into this makes it impossible to decifer)

 

2.  Jackdaw Fool," This has to be Mat.  The pairing of the raven and fool imagery is too neat a match.

 

3.  "Deaf Man."  This one is tough.  It could refer to Rand, but he's been called blind rather than deaf elsewhere.  But look at the hints paired with the deaf man.  One is Mat.  If the blind woman is Setalle Anan, then the deaf man is probably someone else with Mat-I'd guess Noal.  But if the blind woman is talking about Justice, Perrin could be the Deaf Man.  That doesn't really make sense either, but Rand on one side and Mat on the other would make it so, so we might figure it out later.

 

4.  "Lions sing,"  Andor is the old fallback when there's a lion image.  Mat is in Andor right now, so it could be referring to something that happens in this book.  But Tuon described Mat himself as a "Lion on the hill," (in KoD) so the entire rhyme could be relevant to Mat.  I kind of get the Aiel/Tinker dichotomy, but I don't know why "lions" and "hills," are the words used.  Where else do we see lions in the book? 

 

5.  "Moon by day." Almost certainly the Seanchan, but don't forget Lanfear's sigil-the moon and stars.

 

6.  "Sun by night." Probably the Whitecloaks, but Cairhien is the Land of the Rising Sun, and has the Sun Throne.

 

7.  "Hills take flight."  Could be the Black hills-the Borderlanders met secretly in the Black Hills in PoD prologue.  Could be something related to the Tinkers.  I really have no clue.

 

Possible conclusions:

 

A)  This refers to the chaos wracking the world before the last battle.  Andor is in civil war and the Borderland army is marching through the Black Hills, the Seanchan and Whitecloaks are fighting, and Rand/Perrin/Mat are separated.

 

B)  Actually, I really have no clue.  The Tower of Genjei and Black Tower are both in Andor, which explains the lion reference, and they'll both be involved in the next book, so it could be a RAFO deal.  Hills taking flight could be talking about a massive battle at the Black Tower, and some of that may be referring to what Mat does as well.

[Durinax]

Blind Woman - I feel this is Egwene mostly on personnal bias but I also feel that she is missing things that she should have seen

 

Deaf Man - Rand, and his not listening to his 'advisors'

 

JackDaw fool - could be Mat, after all he is prince of ravens or some such (btw Ishy was an awesome joker, like he made the seanchan imperial symbol the raven, the same as the shadow, how awesome is he)

 

Lions Sing - could refer to the Aiel starting to sing once again (other than battle hymns and dirges for the dead)

 

Hills take Flight - could this mean that there is going to be alot of refugees all of a sudden out of Cairhein maybe

 

Moon by day, the sun by night - could refer to the day rand finishes things and the day dawns twice type thing

[Goramier]

My thoughts:

 

 

The lions sing and the hills take flight.

 

I have always taken this as a reference to Andor [Lions] and the peasants [Hills]. I believe it is saying that both Andor [central to winning] and the people must raise up to win the Last battle.

 

The moon by day, and the sun by night.

 

I am really not sure here. I thought of it as possibly a reference to how backwards thing are and continue to get. Ghosts, places change and the people must roll with it or get lost. I more or less put it off to, either one can adapt to the wierdness or be destroyed by it.

 

 

Blind woman, deaf man, jackdaw fool.

 

This for some reason I considered easy. It is referencing certain people IMO. Blind woman, I believe is directly calling out the Aes Sedai who are becoming less-blind via Egwene but still are caught up in some very bad habits. Deaf man I believe is a reference to Rand. I have considered in some way symbolic to his deafness in what people are trying to get through to him. Because he hasn't allowed them to, he has almost destroyed himself. It also references the Fisher King. "There is a game where the central piece is called "the Fisher", which is a piece in the shape of an old, blinded and wounded man." (taken from yahoo answers colum). And lastly it would seem the jackdaw fool is a reference to Matt. I am not convinced however. I think it could easily be calling out Perrin or both Matt and Perrin. Both have called themselves fools at various times, but Perrin is the one who has been willing to sacrifice all for Faile and rightfully would be called a true fool.

 

Let the Lord of Chaos rule.

 

I am convinced this is talking about the DO's order to the forsaken. He said to them to Let the Lord of Chaos rule. It is a way to recognize dark friends later as well as only they would know the command. I beleive its the DO's way of saying that Rand is killing himself, that the world is spinning out of control and that because of it, his purposes are served better by just letting it happen.

 

 

*just wanted to add that grammer and spelling may be way off because when I type my space goes nuts and its impossibole to read or corrcct so sorry...the space to type bounces out of control as it is right now.

[Agitel]

The lions sing and the hills take flight.

The moon by day, and the sun by night.

Blind woman, deaf man, jackdaw fool.

Let the Lord of Chaos rule.

 

The Aiel are the lions. They sing as they go to battle, and as fierce warriors I can see them being compared to lions. Hills taking flight could mean the Traveling People, but I'm less sure. For now I'm willing to accept the moon and the sun comments as Seanchan and Whitecloaks.

 

Blind woman could possibly refer to either Egwene or Tuon. Deaf man is Perrin. Jackdaw Fool is Mat. And I will put forward that Lord of Chaos could very well refer to Rand. When the Forsaken use the term they do not mean Rand, that is certain, but we're talking about how the term has evolved many years later in the next Age, when the stories of this Age have become legend. The term, by then, could have been in reference to Rand.

[Goramier]

The Aiel are the lions. They sing as they go to battle, and as fierce warriors I can see them being compared to lions. Hills taking flight could mean the Traveling People, but I'm less sure. For now I'm willing to accept the moon and the sun comments as Seanchan and Whitecloaks.

 

Blind woman could possibly refer to either Egwene or Tuon. Deaf man is Perrin. Jackdaw Fool is Mat. And I will put forward that Lord of Chaos could very well refer to Rand. When the Forsaken use the term they do not mean Rand, that is certain, but we're talking about how the term has evolved many years later in the next Age, when the stories of this Age have become legend. The term, by then, could have been in reference to Rand.

 

I respectfully disagree with almost all of this. Using the Lion to represent the Aiel seems a vast stretch in this case especially considering all the other stuff about them that makes no such reference. How is Perrin the Deaf man?

 

And it is very clear that Rand is the one who is "the Lord of Chaos." It is a title given him by the DO. And when the Forsaken use the term, they most definately are refering to Rand. They have been told not to kill Rand and there are a few instances where the DO gets mad when one Forsaken or the other does anyway.

[Agitel]

The Aiel are the lions. They sing as they go to battle, and as fierce warriors I can see them being compared to lions. Hills taking flight could mean the Traveling People, but I'm less sure. For now I'm willing to accept the moon and the sun comments as Seanchan and Whitecloaks.

 

Blind woman could possibly refer to either Egwene or Tuon. Deaf man is Perrin. Jackdaw Fool is Mat. And I will put forward that Lord of Chaos could very well refer to Rand. When the Forsaken use the term they do not mean Rand, that is certain, but we're talking about how the term has evolved many years later in the next Age, when the stories of this Age have become legend. The term, by then, could have been in reference to Rand.

 

I respectfully disagree with almost all of this. Using the Lion to represent the Aiel seems a vast stretch in this case especially considering all the other stuff about them that makes no such reference. How is Perrin the Deaf man?

 

And it is very clear that Rand is the one who is "the Lord of Chaos." It is a title given him by the DO. And when the Forsaken use the term, they most definately are refering to Rand. They have been told not to kill Rand and there are a few instances where the DO gets mad when one Forsaken or the other does anyway.

 

It makes far more sense to reference the Aiel singing than Andor, not to mention that the idea of these warriors singing seems like a very odd idea in themselves, particularly if it's referencing the use of the Song in particular. Perrin could easily be a candidate for the deaf man, considering his obsession with freeing Faile from Aiel capture, neglecting his duties to do otherwise, to be so one-minded about a task. It would also seem odd to me that there's a reference to Mat and Rand but not to Perrin.

[MikeRiley]

The lions sing and the hills take flight.

 

It's possible that the first part could simply refer to the Aiel battle chants. Cause and effect, the Aiel go to war and the hills - the cairhienan flee to the city and other nations.

[bronnt]

No one thinks the blind woman is the sword, Justice?

 

Here's a modern symbol used for a justice-a blind woman with a sword.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Justice

 

You can see statues of her outside hundreds of different courthouses.  I'm having a tough time seeing that any differently.

[bronnt]

The lions sing and the hills take flight.

 

It's possible that the first part could simply refer to the Aiel battle chants. Cause and effect, the Aiel go to war and the hills - the cairhienan flee to the city and other nations.

 

But why lions?

[Agitel]

Lions are king of the jungle. They're considered fierce beasts. I can see a warrior culture being associated with them.

[Eht Slat Meit]

I tend to think of this from the general perspective, rather than one of  associations to specific persons. This song could very well describe all of those people that affect the commoner the most. A description of the chaos of the third age before the Last Battle:

 

1. The lions sing - Lions are a symbol of predators, which certainly stalk every corner of the Wheel of Time. Their song is certainly being heard.

2. and the hills take flight. - When those predators do battle, the very hills shake before them, and take flight. Certainly could describe a battle where Rolling Earth and Fire is used.

3. The moon by day - The sigil under which the Seanchan lions ride forth and invade.

4. and the sun by night. - The sigil of the Whitecloaks who are very much fallen to the embodiment of darkness cloaked in the sun. Could Galad save that?

If the lions are the predators warned of, might the rest be the prey?

5. Blind woman - The Aes Seda, blinded by pride, bound by all others.

6. Deaf man - Every man who witnessed prophecy made flesh, yet refused to hear

7. Jackdaw fool - Preening birds, nobility, set down from high stations.

8. Let the Lord of Chaos rule - And in the end, even the lions serve the Dragon, the Lord of Chaos. 

[mb]

The following I think might be most probable interpretations.

 

lions, Andor

hills flee, either channeling changes and/or something similar to the corridor shifting being done to hills

 

Moon, either Seanchan (9 Moons) or Tear (sigil is 3 crescents)

Sun, either Whitecloaks (sigil is a sunburst) or Cairhien (sigil is rising sun)

Moon & Sun; some combination of respective groups, or change being done to the actual spheres, or time becoming messed up

 

blind woman, women becoming blind (all women or certain groups of women)

deaf man, men becoming deaf (all men or certain groups of men)

jackdaw fool, people becoming fools (all people or certain groups of people)

 

'Let Lord of Chaos rule', chaos happening