Who will live/die in TOM and AMOL (spoilers, just to be safe)

[FarShainMael]

Faile - nailed to her perch otherwise she'd be pushing up the daisies

 

[Guest Emu on the Loose]

One thing that strikes me as interesting about the series is just how appalling the death rate is among supporting characters on the Light side. That contrasts with the zero total of deaths among major characters on the Light side. Meanwhile, numerous Shadow characters have died, even when they had the opportunity to live.

 

This encourages me to make an inference about Jordan's writing style. I think it's very unlikely that any of the major Shadow characters will survive unless they forsake the Shadow. I guess the sole exception is the Dark One, who could go either way. Fain I suspect will be given some kind of endless punishment rather than a straight death, but it's the same basic idea: He won't be walking around Randland amongst the living.

 

The question of the major Light characters is more interesting. Was RJ one of those writers who keeps his major good guys alive for most of the story only to slaughter them at the end, or was he one of those writers who couldn't bear to kill his major protagonists? The death rate among supporting Light characters makes me think that Jordan had the nerve. But did he have the desire? Did he think it would make a better story if he killed off some of the main good guys? I don't know!

 

Mat and Perrin seem to be a shoe-in for surviving through the end of the series. Nynaeve, definitely. Loial and Elayne, probably. Tuon and Faile, probably. The rest, I honestly don't feel qualified to speculate. I'm hoping Gawyn bites it and Lan overcomes adversity to survive, but wishful thinking has no bearing on reality. =)

 

Even Bela is a mystery. Almost anyone could meet their Creator in the course of the Last Battle.

[supermanblue2001]

I fully expect Bayle Domon to die soon. A Gray Man will get him somewhere in Caemlyn.

[Guest Emu on the Loose]

I keep waiting for Bayle Domon to be revealed as the Third Age form of Beidomon. Why do I get the feeling that I'll still be waiting even after AMoL ends? =P

[VelvetMafiaDon]

First time poster here, so be gentle.. It's my first time ;)

 

I seriously doubt Rand is going to live, and I doubt even more that if he lives he will return to the Two Rivers. He's been through too much and become too much to ever be able to settle down to a quiet life. What I enjoyed about Veins of Gold was that it showed something that I think most people overlooked: Rand is a deeply traumatized young man that went from worrying about dancing with a girl at a village festival to bearing the weight of the world and all creation on his back. He's had his innocence stripped from him, he's watched people he cares about die (sometimes because of his own inaction!), had to kill people both directly and indirectly through his orders, and been driven to the brink of madness by saidin. Not to mention lost a hand. Even in our culture, with war veterans out there a dime a dozen, psychology for post traumatic stress and prosthetic, losing a hand is a traumatic experience that can take a long time for someone to come to terms with.

 

Sure, he's learned how to laugh and cry, but he will never be able to live a quiet life on some backwater farm. For all you literary buffs out there, think about Frodo. He was too broken, with too many hurts, to settle down in the Shire. My pet theory on how it all ends is either Rand dies and stays dead (which would be the easy way out of all the damage they've done to him) or he settles in the Aiel Waste where they don't care if he's the Dragon Reborn, he's just the Chief of Chiefs and no different than any other Chief.. A person with an office and responsibilities, but a person just the same. He settles anywhere in Randland, he's going to be the Dragon Reborn and treated like some sort of demigod or demon and never have the peace he needs to sort through all the trauma and agony.

[FarShainMael]

I think I'd agree with that. The Maidens are already very protective of their long-lost son - though they won't stand for any nonsense from him such as not taking them with him into battle after he agrees to them carrying his honour. Also, it will help him to have something genuinely useful (though not world-shaking) to do.

 

[Owayn The Traveller]

He could always fall back on his milkman job.

 

But I also agree with that and wouldn't mind seeing it happen.

[FarShainMael]

Or he could go postal..  sorry  ;)

 

Though I have a feeling he'll actually end up in T'A'R with the other Heroes.

 

[Owayn The Traveller]

The only thing I really wouldn't like to see happen is Rand to survive but in Moridins body, ya know the whole possibility of the body swap thing. For some reason, and I don't what reason, this would disappoint me slightly.

 

Wasn't there some discussion a while back that Rand could end up in T'A'R and Nynaeve could repeat what Moggie did to Birgette. That would be handy for Rand as well because if he has the memories from his past lives still after veins of gold this way the would fade with time and Rand could hopefully lead a more normal existence.

 

Hey bit of topic but what will the consequences of this for Birgette? By the way I mean getting ripped from T'A'R.

 

Oh and  :)

[destroyer of rockets]

Personally, I think that Rand  (unfortunatly) will only be seriosly injured. He will then hand control of his forces to Narshima. Then he will go to Tar Valon to recover from his wounds. You might recognize that from coming from athurian legends. I should also point out that Tar Valon is an imperfect anagram of Avalon, the island were King Arthur was brought to after he was mortally wounded. He was carried there by four enchantresses, one of whom was Morgan Le Fay (Sounds kind of like Moraine), who was related to Elaine and Morgause, the later having a son named Gawain. Combined with the fact that Rand is carrying the sword Justice, which was owned by Artur Paedrag, this isn't an unlikely senario (being carried to tar valon by Moraine and 3 others probably elaine, avienda,nynaeve, min, or egwene.

[pacificflows]

 

Hey bit of topic but what will the consequences of this for Birgette? By the way I mean getting ripped from T'A'R.

 

Oh and  :)

 

I posed this question a while back:

 

"Has anyone speculated on what the repercussions of Birgitte Trahelion violating the precepts of Tel'aran'rhiod might be? Have other heros of legend been removed from the world of dreams in a similar fashion? If so, who are they and what are they doing?

 

Any thoughts?"

[FarShainMael]

The Prescripts appear to forbid the Heroes to interact with 'mortals' who enter T'A'R or the Wolf Dream, such as Nynaeve and Perrin. (So the Heroes can enter the Wolf Dream.. hmm. Curious, since Hopper  cannot see her: 'There is no she here, Young Bull'.)

 

We don't know enough about these Prescripts. It seems sort of reasonable to look at it thus: the HotH are dead and should not 'interfere' with the living, except under special circumstances when they are specifically summoned by the HoV - and that is a choice made by the living, not by the Heroes. This sounds as though some sort of covenant is in operation. Probably the Creator wants the living to do the job the Pattern requires of them, and so develop themselves, rather than 'cheating' by getting powerful Heroes to clean up for them.

 

If this is so, the Wheel would take corrective measures, by restricting the offending Hero in some way. This suggests that Birgitte's removal from T'A'R by Moggy may have been spun into the Pattern - something along the lines of 'so you want to help the mortals? So go help them!'