Nakomi

[Terez]

Brandon said it wasn't a Portal Stone.

[sc0122]

Even more reason it could be Rand: Aviendha wouldn't sense him channeling to Travel to or from the area, so no need for a Portal Stone.

[Terez]

Wait, people think Nakomi is Rand? LOL.

[RandA lThor]

I am pretty sure that Aviendha can sense where Rand is using the Warder bond. I am also sure that Rand wouldn't try to pass as an Aiel, he doesn't know nearly enough to pass as a perfect Aiel. Rand would also have made up a clan he was part of. There are a million other reasons that it wasn't Rand, but that should be enough.

[wookiebear]

I have read through most of this thread and hope I did not miss this, but I think Nakomi is Verin in Tel'aran'rhiod

 

now I know Verin is not a dreamwalker, but she did supply Egwene with the original dreaming ter'angreal, and I seem to recall she kept the notes that had been with that device when she gave it to Egwene. We don't know what was in those notes, but an operators manual for Tel'aran'rhiod may not be out of question.

 

The idea of the Avienda/Nakomi encounter happening in Tel'aran'rhiod covers a lot of oddities that occur. The food being the best ever, the lapses of time, the coals, the silence of Nakomi's coming and going, everything that seemed off can be explained by being in the dreaming realm, at least to me.

 

As to it being Verin, it just seems to me that this is the type thing and action that Verin would do, mysterious, informative and a little bit, well, creepy . It seems to me she is a fount of knowledge, and where other AS have been tentative in what they do with the various angreal, Verin seems to be willing to utilize them, so I could believe she has a Dream ter'angreal tucked away somewhere so she can spy on peoples dreams. Verin is one of the characters painted in awesome in the last couple of books, and this would just add to that

 

As always your mileage may vary, but this is what I think and have thought since I originally read of the Nakomi character

[Suttree]

Wait, people think Nakomi is Rand? LOL.

 

So good...

[TristanWebb]

I really dislike the whole Verin idea. The most 'someone in the background pulling all the strings' that WoT has was Gitara Moroso who was guided by the pattern. I don't like the idea that Verin is suddenly this omniscient being who is controlling all events. If it is true, fine, I can accept it, but it seems a very weak plot device considering the scene could be removed fairly easily.

[Terez]

She's hardly 'suddenly' anything seeing as how she's lived three times as long as normal humans and has a very, very sharp brain. She has been studying not only the Black Ajah for 70 years, but also the logic behind their orders, what of it she can find, and and she even studied the Aiel. Anything that is relevant, she files away. She's missed a couple of things that we know of. But not much.

[Guest DanCohenour]

Sorry if this has been said, I looked but quickly,

Considering the weakening walls of reality, and how she's 'familiar'

 

Nakomi is Aviendha's olderself.

 

I LIKE that!!

 

Only problem is, Avi sensed that Nakomi could not channel. There could be many ways in which this could be, of course.

 

And then there's this:

 

From inside her pack, {Nakomi} drew forth several deepearth roots. Aviendha's mother had always cooked those.

 

Not Avi, but her mother, perhaps?

I don't know about FarShainMael, but my mother died at 93. I would have recognized her even if I had been 20. Unless there has been ssomething disfiguring in the mother's life, I think most people would recognize their mother at any age. I vote for grandmother.

[yoniy0]

She's hardly 'suddenly' anything

Yeah, but it's still a stretch. Just doesn't fit neatly, not with what she might've known (exactly where and when to find Aviendha?) or the way she usually did things. Also, what would've been her motivation? The reason this visit ties so well with Avienhda's experience is intricately intertwined in things Verin could know nothing about (there was no one to teach her how the Columns work, because no one knows). Sure, it all could've been on some other book she found. But in that case, we've seen not a glimpse of it, making it a textbook case of deus ex machina.

[sc0122]

Quote: "I am pretty sure that Aviendha can sense where Rand is using the Warder bond"

 

Never said she couldn't, but note the phrase where Aviendha is trying to puzzle Nakomi out where she thinks to herself, "She did not wear the clothing of a Wise One, but there was something about her ..." (p.605). The "something about her" feeling that Aviendha has could well be her sensing the Bond but not realising it because she's so confused about who Nakomi could be. She certainly wouldn't expect Rand to be there.

 

Quote: "I am also sure that Rand wouldn't try to pass as an Aiel, he doesn't know nearly enough to pass as a perfect Aiel."

 

Really? The whole journey back through the history of the Aiel in Rhiudean, the fact that he was in the Waste for months with the Aiel, learning about them and their ways, the fact that he's spent an extraordinary amount of time with the Clan Chiefs and the Wise Ones, and the fact that he is in fact Aiel himself says to me that he'd have a pretty good idea how to pass himself off as one - male or female.

 

 

Quote: "Rand would also have made up a clan he was part of"

 

Why? What's your reasoning for this statement? That's an assumption. Rand is Aiel, but he's of no clan - he's the Car'a'carn.

 

The other main supports for my contention that Nakomi could be Rand are:

1. the fact that Aviendha thinks to herself how good the food tastes - the same reaction Egwene has to drinking her tea after Rand goes to the White Tower; and

2. the smiling, cryptic final reference from Nakomi that she has to "go and take care of nature" - this is exactly what Rand's been doing, ref: TOM, chapter 1, Apples First

 

I'd love to hear people's arguments as to why it couldn't be Rand rather than simply dismissing it out of hand. The only thing this theory doesn't explain is how Nakomi's pack and plate disappear, but so far I haven't read a single theory that does explain this. To me, the Rand theory is just as, if not more plausible, than the Verin/Forsaken/future Aviendha (which I think is the most ridiculous) theories I've read so far.

[fionwe1987]

It's not Rand simply because this occurred before Rand's epiphany.

[sc0122]

Yes he had. Rand had his epiphany at the end of TGS. Egwene notes the tea tasting fantastic before Nakomi makes an appearance (ref pt.1 above). Apples First is the first chapter of TOM (ref pt.2 above). The timeline fits.

[Terez]

She's hardly 'suddenly' anything

Yeah, but it's still a stretch.

 

That's nice, but if you're going to make an argument you shouldn't make stuff up to support it.

[fionwe1987]

Yes he had. Rand had his epiphany at the end of TGS. Egwene notes the tea tasting fantastic before Nakomi makes an appearance (ref pt.1 above). Apples First is the first chapter of TOM (ref pt.2 above). The timeline fits.

tGS and ToM have overlapping timelines. Several Elayne, Perrin, Mat and Aviendha chapters occure before the epiphany and the battle at Tar Valon.

[Terez]

Aviendha sees the clouds clear in Rhuidean, between visions.

[FarShainMael]

@DanCohenour: Fine, I'll accept 'grandmother'. Though of course, Avi's mum could have died while she was young or even in childbirth.

 

@sc0122: I read that bit about "If you'll excuse me, I need to see to nature' as meaning she was telling Avi she had to go and squat behind a bush for a few minutes. Actully, of course, she wanted to depart without being followed.

[Terez]

Aviendha remembers her mother cooked deepearth roots, so obviouslys he didn't die when Aviendha was too young to remember her.

[FarShainMael]

Good point, but not conclusive. I can remember a lot of the foods we were given when I was very young (especially the ones I didn't like, such as soft-boiled eggs!). Whether I would have remembered my mother from a similar age rather depends on the sort of relationship we had.

 

(Edited to replace bit of post which evaporated somehow!)

[TootThatHorn]

Quote: "I am pretty sure that Aviendha can sense where Rand is using the Warder bond"

 

Never said she couldn't, but note the phrase where Aviendha is trying to puzzle Nakomi out where she thinks to herself, "She did not wear the clothing of a Wise One, but there was something about her ..." (p.605). The "something about her" feeling that Aviendha has could well be her sensing the Bond but not realising it because she's so confused about who Nakomi could be. She certainly wouldn't expect Rand to be there.

 

the idea that she wouldnt expect rand to be there should be enough to tell you that she would know it to be him through the bond...at a distance from someone bonded to you they are a vague hint in your head where you can only vaguely tell what direction they are in...for him to suddenly be right next to her, especially after all this time, would be almost shocking and she would know immediately...wasnt alanna having a hard time dealing with her bond knowing that rand was bouncing all over the place even at a distance? and she doesnt even have the same emotional tie to him

[fionwe1987]

Aviendha sees the clouds clear in Rhuidean, between visions.

Exactly. Two visions of the future done is when she sees the clouds open up, IIRC. Before that, there's a definite mention of the moonlight filtered through the clouds reflected from the lake of Rhuidean. This means Rand's epiphany happened when Aviendha was going through her future visions. Which means Nakomi happened when Rand was in the Stone of Tear/Ebou Dar. Hence Nakomi can't be Rand.

[fikkie77]

Which means Verin was dead as well. VoG happened with Egwene as Amyrlin over the united Tower.

[fionwe1987]

But the idea, I think, is that this was Verin Mathwin, newly minted Hero of the Horn (or maybe she was already a Hero), breaking the precepts (what else is new?), and guiding Aviendha.

[TristanWebb]

Poor Bela, she has lost her place as Creator to Verin.

[Terez]

Which means Verin was dead as well. VoG happened with Egwene as Amyrlin over the united Tower.

 

And Aviendha met Nakomi several days before she reached Rhuidean (quite aside from how long she spent doing past visions).