TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT cover art, blurb and opening paragraph

[Random Man]

 

As it is, my best guess is that Lan's somewhere in Kandor now as he once read about him in 'New Spring: the novel'   

 

When Lan arrived in Kandor in NS, didn't he think about it as the place where he always knew he was going to die?

 

I'm sure we all dismissed that as him thinking about his death being somewhere in the Borderlands or the Blight, but I wouldn't put it past RJ to throw in something sneaky like that in there to foreshadow where he was actually going to die.

[Devolution]

So, the towers of midnight was referring to the Seanchan towers after all.

Brandon said he used "The Three Towers" as a working title, somewhat jokingly. So the Seanchan towers are only part of it. My guess is the others are the Tower of Genji, and the Black Tower. I mean, what else is there? But it's a guess.

 

I don't know if this has been covered through the rest of the post (I realize my response is delayed but I'm new-ish!), but doing my re-read through tGS, I came across something that might refer to The Three Towers.  It's on page 303 of the Hardcover.

 

"This morning when I arose," Tuon said, "I saw a pattern like three towers in the sky and a hawk, high in the air, passing between them."

 

...

 

"The hawk and three towers were an omen of difficult choices to come."

 

Couldn't it just be referring to the omen rather than actual, physical towers?  And sure it's a Seanchan omen but the omen could be for anybody in the book.

[Barid Bel Medar]

Considering RJ said we  would not actaully go to Seanchan continent, i doubt it will be Imfaral. The black tower and ToG are probably 2 of the three, not sure about the third though, possibly the White Tower involved in the Black Tower affairs as representatives of the "third Tower" the seven towers of malkier? lan seems to be headed that way? Stone of Tear? (not likely but it is atower) topless towers of cairhien ? (again not likely but ill put it there).

 

I cant really think of any others, but we arnt going back to Seanchan, Fortuna wants to fight the last battle and secure the mainland before going back.

[Dida]

"This morning when I arose," Tuon said, "I saw a pattern like three towers in the sky and a hawk, high in the air, passing between them."

 

...

 

"The hawk and three towers were an omen of difficult choices to come."

 

  Vague isn't it? 

 

  R.J. really did seem to enjoy writing about hawks the story.

 

  The Hawk part alone could be refer to a single item or to many, many things and or symbols at the same time: Tuon herself, Berelain, a real Trolloc with a Hawk's head, Artur Hawkwing via the Horn of Valere, Egwene as Amyrlin Seat and so on. 

 

Other Hawk examples, Galad saw a Hawk at the start of the Prologue in KoD, near the border of the Shadow Coast on the Amadicia side.  Curiously, a crude tattoo of a hawk was being spread commonly among the soldiers in the Band of Red Hand, in parts of the body normally covered according to Mat (LoC,Ch.5)--Harnan is an exception to that practice by having a crude hawk on his face. Even Olver carries a redhawk's feather, similar to one Mat's once carried himself.

 

Hawk comparisons.  An Aes Sedai named Brendas was compared to physically to Hawk by Nynaence once before (LoC,Ch.29)--likewise Larissa Lyndel, Zenare Ghodar (LoC, Ch.30). Curiously, the former second in command of the Questioners under Jaichim Carridin, a Einor Saren has a hawk-nose if that means anything? But then seemingly most Saldaean's have hawk-noses, including Bashere's soldiers and Faile herself?  Yes, Taim has a hawk-nosed too. Yet even Asha'man have been compared to hawks, by Perrin (aCoS,Ch.3)  :-X 

 

 

  There are more hawk references, comparisons in the Wheel of Time, than those I already mentioned.  But that would be an essay not a forum post. So I'm moving on.

 

 

  Even the three Towers part can be considered vague, as there are many, many Towers in the story.  From a nameless Tower in forests of Aridhol which caused  Egwene to have nightmares (tEoW) to Towers in Malkeri, Cairhien, Illian, Ebou Dar, Maradon, and even Tanchico's own "Tower of Morning".  That is besides the more extensively written about Black Tower, White Tower, Tower of Ravens, Tower of Ghenjei.   

 

 

  However, that Omen which Tuon saw in the 'Gathering Storm' does not only apply to her, but to other individuals as well.  Perrin, Galad, Rand, Mat, Egwene, Galgan et la.

 

 

 

 

 

  We could see Imfaral from the point of view of an Omniscient narrator, as Robert Jordan has on other prior occasions. Its a possibility at least.   

 

 

 

  If you want to speak about Omens, take a look at the below quotations:

 

 

A soaring albatross seemed to be following the Kidron, an omen of victory indeed, though the bird’s long wings were black instead of white. It must still mean the same thing. Omens did not change according to location. An owl calling at dawn meant a death and rain without clouds an unexpected visitor whether in Imfaral or Noren M’Shar.

 

 

Source: Winter's Heart, Chapter 14 "What a Veil Hides" - Tuon point of view on  The Victory of Kidron

 

 

  Imfaral. Rain without clouds?  A soaring albatross with black wings?

 

 

  Next omen up is, "Lightning on a day without rain."

 

Lightning on a day without rain. Tread very lightly, she thought, reading the omen, and be careful what you speak.  Not the most illuminating of omens.  If she trod any more carefully, she would have to take flight into the air!

 

 

Source: The Gathering Storm, Chapter "A Halo of Blackness" - Tuon point of view at Falme with many, many other people in the scene & area

 

 

  Interestingly, Perrin did not know this particular Omen and was not careful enough in speaking with Faile, in a previous scene.  Perrin and his ignorance of Omens, ends up in essence blindly helping to set up Faile to gain an intelligence network in Cairhien--Cha Faile.  :D 

 

  Otherwise, Faile might never have been able to leave Two Rivers with Perrin successfully. 

 

 

Perrin was where she expected, all the way up on the third floor, on the roofed porch at the front, a curly-haired man in a plain brown coat, with heavy shoulders and arms. Broad back to her, he was leaning against one of the porch columns. Staring down at the ground to one side of the manor, not up at the sky. Faile stopped in the doorway.

 

 

Thunder boomed again, and lightning sheeted blue across the sky. Heat lightning, in a cloudless sky. Not a herald of rain. No rain to break heat. No snow to follow. Sweat beaded on her face, but she shivered.

 

(skipped 9 paragraphs)

 

 

Faile compressed her lips. So he had spoken to Tam al’Thor and Abell Cauthon, had he, but not to her? And the Wisdoms! She would like to make him wear her skin for a day and see how easy the Wisdoms were. “We can’t leave as quickly as that. It will take time to organize a proper entourage.”

 

Perrin’s eyes narrowed. “We? You’re not going! It will be—!” He coughed, went on in a milder tone. “It will be best if one of us stays here. If the lord goes off, the lady should remain to take care of things. That makes sense. More refugees every day. All those disputes to be settled. If you go, too, it’ll be worse than the Trollocs around here.”

 

How could he think she would not notice such a clumsy recovery? He had been going to say it would be dangerous. How could his wanting to keep her out of danger always make her feel so warm inside at the same time it made her so angry? “We will do what you think best,” she said mildly, and he blinked suspiciously, scratched his beard, then nodded.

 

 

Lord of Chaos, Prologue "The First Message" - Faile point of view with Perrin, while watching Tam al'Thor & Aram using swords in practice, in Two Rivers.

 

 

  Its seems that Tuon's Seanchan Omens were accurate in the case of Perrin & Faile's interactions in Two Rivers, at the very least on 'a day with Lightning and no rain'.

[gatesofhaven]

It doesnt say anything about rand. Is that the whole blurb? Rand has to be doing something this close to the end.

[Barid Bel Medar]

Remember this was supposed to be one last book, not three, most of Rand and Egwene's plot has been in tGS, ToM will be more focused on worldwide events, Perrin and Mat.

[azrael.1289]

Remember this was supposed to be one last book, not three, most of Rand and Egwene's plot has been in tGS, ToM will be more focused on worldwide events, Perrin and Mat.

I don't think the book can afford to focus on Mat and Perrin as much as tGS did on Rand and Egwene unless some of them meet up. Otherwise, too much would have to happen in aMoL.

[TheBeerPatriot]

Remember this was supposed to be one last book, not three, most of Rand and Egwene's plot has been in tGS, ToM will be more focused on worldwide events, Perrin and Mat.

I don't think the book can afford to focus on Mat and Perrin as much as tGS did on Rand and Egwene unless some of them meet up. Otherwise, too much would have to happen in aMoL.

Brandon's been saying all along that ToM will feel like a very different book, as evidenced from this blog post on 12/18/09:

(Progress on TofM is going well, but this is—in many ways—a much BIGGER book than TGS. There are a lot more viewpoints and plots to wrangle, including many people who were not seen in TGS. TGS was very focused by intention and design. TofM is going to feel very different, as we're going to be expanding the scope a little to include all of the things we need to see to get ready for the Last Battle. That's making the editing and revision process of what I've done go more slowly than I would have liked.)

Based on that, I think we'll see at least a chapter or two of all the major characters.