Nakomi

[MountaineerWV]

b3arz3rg3r,

 

I don't want to quote your entire post, but I agree with quite a bit.

 

Perhaps Need doesn't explain Nakomi...but I haven't read another theory that really holds up. Basing the theory that Verin is Nakomi on her rambling and Verin's curiosity about everything is pretty weak.

 

We have a lot of ramblers. I also think that Verin's character is too....knowing. I mean, she's smart, observant, experienced...but not even Cads compares with Verin in many respects. Verin joined the Black Ajah on accident. She was able to hide that she didn't really want to be evil for many years...all the while compiling notes of BA sisters. It's theorized that she was studying how to forcible spark female channellers. She has questioned and gathered info from wilders and novices in order to figure out how to compulse others. Now all the sudden she took such an interest in the Aiel and their future that she figured out where Avi was in the Waste, travelled there, learned at some point in the past to cook a typical buy delicious Aiel meal, AND pushed Avi into changing something about the crystal columns (that she could have only learned about within the past year or so max) so Avi could see the future (that Verin somehow already knows) and therefore change it?

 

Taking all the into account, Verin must be the dang Creator! Heck, what can't she do?

 

Avi may not be a dreamer, but apparently she has the ter'angreal ring originally given to Egwene. Now if an AS can cast a tracing weave on a Ter'angreal (like Moiraine did with the gold pieces given to Rand and Co at the beginning) then in the remote possibility that Nakomi is Vering - we now know how she tracked Avi down.

[yoniy0]

I think that we might as well look at the possibility that -- while Nakomi cannot be Hoid -- the reason this encounter feels so Hoid-ish is that Brandon wrote it. I don't know how much of it we can rely upon for a good indication of who and what Nakomi was.

[thisguy]

I think that we might as well look at the possibility that -- while Nakomi cannot be Hoid -- the reason this encounter feels so Hoid-ish is that Brandon wrote it. I don't know how much of it we can rely upon for a good indication of who and what Nakomi was.

 

What's 'Hoid'?

[MarkDiLillo]

If I had to choose between Lanfear and Verin - my money is on Lanfear. We have seen her pull off convincing disguises before and it seems to fit her standard MO. We know she has plenty of knowledge about the ORIGINAL Aiel while she also spent a good deal of time in the Waste learning about the modern Aiel. Her comments definitely imply a deeper understanding of Aiel than the modern world seems to possess. The only thing that doesn't fit is the why...

 

As for why she would not kill Avi - the simple answer is that Moridin did not allow it.

 

The problem with Verin is that it just doesn't fit and seems to extend beyond the reach of her abilities that we've seen throughout the book. We would need yet another huge plot reveal with Verin if this were the case.

 

This is also another stretch...but what about Alanna? Could this be where Alanna ran off to in the middle of the night per Verin's instructions?

 

Lanfear makes the most sense to me though honestly. Either her or some other explanation entirely.

[yoniy0]

What's 'Hoid'?

A character Brandon has in all of his books, which seemingly doesn't belong to any one particular world, but instead just drops some knowledge on the different protagonists and then disappears (on his way to the next world, I assume). Nakomi can't be Hoid because Brandon said he wouldn't do that to the WoT, but that needn't mean that he wouldn't lean on familiar habits when designing this scene.

[thisguy]

What's 'Hoid'?

A character Brandon has in all of his books, which seemingly doesn't belong to any one particular world, but instead just drops some knowledge on the different protagonists and then disappears (on his way to the next world, I assume). Nakomi can't be Hoid because Brandon said he wouldn't do that to the WoT, but that needn't mean that he wouldn't lean on familiar habits when designing this scene.

Ah! Thank you. Much appreciated.

[MountaineerWV]

What's 'Hoid'?

A character Brandon has in all of his books, which seemingly doesn't belong to any one particular world, but instead just drops some knowledge on the different protagonists and then disappears (on his way to the next world, I assume). Nakomi can't be Hoid because Brandon said he wouldn't do that to the WoT, but that needn't mean that he wouldn't lean on familiar habits when designing this scene.

 

Using a such a literary tool would be quite an alteration to RJ's WoT. I don't believe Harriet and the team would allow it.

 

All signs point at Nakomi being...well, supernatural and her purpose is to point the Aiel in a direction other than where they are currently pointed.

[Andrew the Asha'Man]

When i read the part i had to read it quite a few times through just to get everything but in doing so i still couldn't put a finger on who it could be. And after all these great posts i have come down to a choice between 2 people. Verin or a Jenn of some sort (a ghost or as said earlier A Jenn thats been in secret. But i lean towards the Ghost Jenn.)

 

Reason i say Verin because of how she act but i Don't think that she would of hid herself from Avi. If Avi would of tried to ignore Verin, Verin would of told her to stop being a silly girl and listen type deal. Ecspecially with her so close to her end she wouldn't of hid herself. But Verin does do her things a special way i guess.

 

But I truely Believe that it was a Jenn Aiel. With how everything is going why couldn't it be a ghost. Yes they say they recognize some of the dead but why couldn't there be ghosts of the past. With how quickly she came and went, the stuff coming out of thing air with no weaves seen, my mind goes straight to ghost. But thats just what i think

[Ozzie_aiel]

Does Verin have the weave to block people sensing her ability to channel? I don't think she does.

 

Perhaps Nakomi is a manifestation of the Creator, sent simply to lead the Aiel, through Aviendha, away from this course that will see them reduced to that state.

 

I doubt she works for the Dark One in any capacity.

[Knivy]

The creator does not participate, though...

[Cybertrolloc]

It's not much of a stretch to make Verin capable of being Nakomi, the power is fine if she can hide her ability and weaves and find Avi who she's never met. You don't need to add new abilities, just some tangled way for Verin to get the info needed to be there and those two OP tricks she hasn't used.

 

The info problem is well...: Verin has dealt with female Forsaken, and was at the Cleansing and around Cads/Ny for a while. Knows hiding the power and inverting are possible, hasn't been shown to know them, but not a stretch either. Melaine knows about Avi + terangreal, would have blabbed to other WO. Fine, one of them is a darkfriend, and enough info has to get back to Verin to use for whatever mysterious motivation we don't know about :)

 

--

 

Question: would a WoT ghost be able to do these things? (Personally I want to see what other WO have to say if Avi ever reveals the encounter to anyone (which she probably won't lol.)

[MountaineerWV]

Jeez....

 

Verin = Creator

[Sasha Grayes]

i've always thought nakomi is BS original. He has a penchant for this type of characters in his books.

[shortkut]

The creator does not participate, though...

sharing a meal and idle chit-chat is not participating

[Morsker]

I think she's an Aeil Wise One, and that the Dreamwalkers saw a need to get Aviendha thinking about the future of the Aeil before she reached Rhuidean. There's a Wise One hanging out in the dream space, waiting for Aviendha to fall asleep, to pull her into TAR. Of course it's "forbidden", but that just means the Wise Ones make a fuss about doing it, not that they never do it. They were rather quick to accept Egwene entering TAR physically even after they'd forbidden that. They can do the same for themselves.

 

Of course, mostly the scene is just bad writing, evident in how many readers are willing to think it's the Creator.

[yoniy0]

Aviendha knows TAR; she would hardly miss the signs.

[thisguy]

I really can't wait until I get to the two new books in my reread. A lot of people just throw "bad writing" around. I find it odd how everything is just bad writing. Oh well....

[Suttree]

I really can't wait until I get to the two new books in my reread. A lot of people just throw "bad writing" around. I find it odd how everything is just bad writing. Oh well....

 

Actually there are always good scenes referenced as well such as the Avi's column sequence. Again both books were met with mostly positive responses upon release. It is only when people have gone back and really dug into the rereads that the writing doesn't hold up. Unfortunately the quality varies so wildly and things are just super unpolished. Most of the critiques I have seen have been very detailed in breaking specific scenes down though. It certainly hasn't just been a blanket condemnation or something people just toss out with nothing to back it up. Luckers for instance was requested by Brandon to send over a critique from the fans perspective. I think he may make it public post AMoL. It is an impressive, very detailed piece of work.

[Morsker]

Aviendha knows TAR; she would hardly miss the signs.

It's easy to miss the signs. If you don't realize you're dreaming, you don't realize the importance of the signs. Slayer knows TAR, but he falls into a nightmare and doesn't realize it. We also see Egwene almost pulled into a trap by Moghedien, and only able to resist because of her remarkable talent. Aviendha doesn't have that.

[TristanWebb]

Avi doesn't know TAR, she knows of it and has visited it, but to say she knows it to the extent that the Nakomi meeting couldn't be in TAR because she would notice is wrong.

[yoniy0]

Avi doesn't know TAR, she knows of it and has visited it, but to say she knows it to the extent that the Nakomi meeting couldn't be in TAR because she would notice is wrong.

Slayer knows TAR, but he falls into a nightmare and doesn't realize it. We also see Egwene almost pulled into a trap by Moghedien, and only able to resist because of her remarkable talent. Aviendha doesn't have that.

There's quite a difference between entering a nightmare in TAR, which is chiefly something that distorts perception of your surroundings (even experienced Dreamers have trouble with that) and simply being in TAR. The signs are definitely there to be seen, especially at night (suddenly you don't need a light-source to see, and yet it's still night). Aviendha isn't an experienced Dreamer, but she's been going to TAR on a semi-regular basis ever since TSR. To suggest she wouldn't have noticed... well, I'm highly skeptical.

 

BTW it might work better if you suggest she's been pulled into someone else's dreams -- or manipulated in her own dreams. That way you can do away with these problems, and all you need is the assumption that Nakomi is skilled enough to pull this off.

[TristanWebb]

Well Avi isn't a dreamwalker, by definition she would of had to be pulled into the dream, unless she was holding the dream ter'angreal, which seems like it would be remarked upon.

[yoniy0]

The emphasis was on her being pulled into someone else's dreams, as opposed to TAR, not her being pulled there.

[Sharaman]

All comes back to the same set of doubts and queries with ref to Verin

The timelines could match and let's assume (big stretch - we've never really seen Verin in TAR) Verin possesses the means (she knows TAR extrapolating from her fooling around with dream ter'angreal and scars, knows Travel, knows how to find somebody in their dreams/ TAR, etc.) .

 

1) Why would she do it ? The motivations are very obscure.

2) Does she know enough about Aiel to even carry it off? No evidence that she does.

As far as we know, her only interaction with Aiel is twice, fleetingly in TGH when she asks questions about WO that suggest she really doesn't know much,

In TPoD when she's doing things to AS prisoners.

Is this enough for her to cook the right things, speak with the right accent, etc.

 

3) How does she have such a clean connect to Aviendha, either in TAR or in real-life? How does she even find AvI in either locale?

They've never met onscreen and they've only been in the same place for a very short while when there's no evidence that they actually met.

 

None of the Verin = Nakomi fanciers have given reasonable answers to these questions.

[Knivy]

If it was verin, it wouldnt be in TAR....