What if...

[OptimusPrime]

...the Eye of the World AND Callandor were created to help Rand with his role?

 

This seems obvious of course. However. It seems to me that AoLers were much more exposed to the wider variety of Talents that we have seen so far, including things like Dreaming.

 

First thing, Ive said this before but I might as well say it again, I think the Dark One is going to try and possess Rand, and Narishma, Alivia and whoever else will kill Rand with the Dark One in him, using Callandor, which it turns out can deliver flows without touching the target with the Power directly-no Taint.

 

But what if there was a Dreamer or Foreteller in the Age of Legends that predicted the Dragon being Reborn in a time when only the Forsaken could teach him? What if they created the Eye of the World, a pool of the Power that would breach the line between the past and present, granting a source of knowledge that (if not mistaken for madness caused by the Taint) would not only give Rand experience with the Power, but also the ability to recognise the Forsaken as his enemies.

 

The main things that made me think of this about the Eye is that first of all, the Eye of the World as the name of book 1 to me sounds very much like a sort of awakening, a beginning if you will. The Eye itself signals this by also having the two key physical reminders of what Rand is-Lews Therin reborn, and a Hero of the Horn. Placing these items together, with a pool of energy that MIGHT be turned with a weave that grants past life knowledge, those two items would immediately register as icons of what Rand really was. The bad thing is, one of the Forsaken got to the Eye first and IIRC their shrivelled body began to grow younger while holding the Eye, possibly lessening the benefit that Rand would get from it somehow. The other main thing that made me consider this is the whole theme of the Eyeless, and the Eye of the World being its opposite, and Rand being "blind" yet seeing again on Dragonmount when he realizes Lews Therin had always been himself and getting even more memories as a result of that realization.

 

Of course, this clashes with my previous comments about Rand being supposed to get the memories because hes a Hero, but this has only just occurred to me. Of course both could be wrong, but I thought Id throw this one out there.

 

So could it be that the Eye of the World is what makes Rand see through his past lives eyes, his denial of them being his own lives being the blindness, the Eye being able to see again now that hes not in turmoil with his own existence?

 

P.S. If this was true, it would be awesome if Rand, now with the full experience of his past lives, knew the weave for unlocking past lives, and used it on Birgitte once he found out what happened with her.

[The Fisher King]

...the Eye of the World AND Callandor were created to help Rand with his role?

 

This seems obvious of course. However. It seems to me that AoLers were much more exposed to the wider variety of Talents that we have seen so far, including things like Dreaming.

 

First thing, Ive said this before but I might as well say it again, I think the Dark One is going to try and possess Rand, and Narishma, Alivia and whoever else will kill Rand with the Dark One in him, using Callandor, which it turns out can deliver flows without touching the target with the Power directly-no Taint.

 

But what if there was a Dreamer or Foreteller in the Age of Legends that predicted the Dragon being Reborn in a time when only the Forsaken could teach him? What if they created the Eye of the World, a pool of the Power that would breach the line between the past and present, granting a source of knowledge that (if not mistaken for madness caused by the Taint) would not only give Rand experience with the Power, but also the ability to recognise the Forsaken as his enemies.

 

The main things that made me think of this about the Eye is that first of all, the Eye of the World as the name of book 1 to me sounds very much like a sort of awakening, a beginning if you will. The Eye itself signals this by also having the two key physical reminders of what Rand is-Lews Therin reborn, and a Hero of the Horn. Placing these items together, with a pool of energy that MIGHT be turned with a weave that grants past life knowledge, those two items would immediately register as icons of what Rand really was. The bad thing is, one of the Forsaken got to the Eye first and IIRC their shrivelled body began to grow younger while holding the Eye, possibly lessening the benefit that Rand would get from it somehow. The other main thing that made me consider this is the whole theme of the Eyeless, and the Eye of the World being its opposite, and Rand being "blind" yet seeing again on Dragonmount when he realizes Lews Therin had always been himself and getting even more memories as a result of that realization.

 

Of course, this clashes with my previous comments about Rand being supposed to get the memories because hes a Hero, but this has only just occurred to me. Of course both could be wrong, but I thought Id throw this one out there.

 

So could it be that the Eye of the World is what makes Rand see through his past lives eyes, his denial of them being his own lives being the blindness, the Eye being able to see again now that hes not in turmoil with his own existence?

 

P.S. If this was true, it would be awesome if Rand, now with the full experience of his past lives, knew the weave for unlocking past lives, and used it on Birgitte once he found out what happened with her.

 

Some really interesting thoughts, Drekka. Unfortunately, I am afraid you may be putting far more thought into the Eye than Jordan did early on.

 

I have always maintained that the Eye itself (the physical thing, not the title) was merely a plot device used by Jordan to achieve an exciting climax to the end of Book 1. Remember. After Book 1 and the events that occured at the Eye, Jordan originally thought he may be only writing 2 more books (he was originally under contract for a simple trilogy).

 

I mean, honestly, in all the books since, (with the exception of one very vague possible allsuion in TSR during Rand's trip through the ''Aiel History Columns'' has the Eye itself ever even been mentioned anywhere again???

 

The fact that the Dragon Banner and the Horn of Valere were ''found'' always came off as a bit of Dues Ex Machina to me. I would bet ya that if Jordan had KNOWN he we get to write ELEVEN+ Books and not just 3 that you would not have seen the Banner or the Horn 'discovered' at the Eye at the end of the first book.

 

As for the idea of the Dragon Reborn being taught by a male Forsaken - didn't that get fulfilled already by the Asmodean Story Arc?

 

Finally, as to the notion of the Eye itself basically just being a giant container of clean saidin, well, yeah, I like this notion alot and always have. It would also be maybe the only thing that would ever convince me that the Eye wasn't originally meant as only a ''One-Off'' plot device in Jordan's mind. It would also even add even more wait to the Cleansing in Winter's Heart.

 

A sane Dragon Reborn assisted by a bunch of sane Ashaman (sane thanks to the cleansing) could go a long way to attacking the DO at TG as well as repairing the holes in the DO's Prison - or possibly building an entirely new one.

 

A really interesting topic, Drekka - those are just my opinions.

 

 

 

Fish

[Elend]

RJ seemed to indicate in his Q&A sessions that the Eye had a purpose, and that the purpose was not what it was used for. So Drekka's theory could be entirely accurate and I rather like it.

 

Good one.

[Aquarius]

It was also said that Callandor was a factory defect, not defective by design.