The Prophecies of the Shadow

[patrick5988]

Lo, it shall come upon the world that the prison of the Greatest One shall grow weak, like the limbs of those who crafted it. Once again, His

glorious cloak shall smother the Pattern of all things, and the Great Lord shall stretch forth His hand to claim what is His. The rebellious

nations shall be laid barren, their children caused to weep. There shall be none but Him, and those who have turned their eyes to His majesty.

 

In that day, when the One-Eyed Fool travels the halls of mourning, and the First Among Vermin lifts his hand to bring freedom to Him who

will Destroy, the last days of the Fallen Blacksmith's pride shall come. Yea, and the Broken Wolf, the one whom Death has known, shall fall and

be consumed by the Midnight Towers. And his destruction shall bring fear and sorrow to the hearts of men, and shall shake their very will itself.

 

And then shall the Lord of the Evening come. And He shall take our eyes, for our souls shall bow before Him, and he shall take our skin, for

our flesh shall serve Him, and He shall take our lips, for only Him will we praise. And the Lord of the Evening shall face the Broken Champion,

and shall spill his blood and bring us the Darkness so beautiful. Let the screams begin, O followers of the Shadow. Beg for your destruction!

 

—From The Prophecies of the Shadow

 

 

 

 

The prophecies were presented to graendel or a former earlier in the story. setting the curiosity and settings within the realm in motion for both character and reader.

 

the first paragraph explains what has been happening in all time all ages (so to speak to the point of the dark one) to the now current state of the Dragon Reborn unifying the nations.

 

 

Leading to the breaking of the last seal, all the evil bubbles going off, evil forces calculating their odds and maneuvers.. Then the nations placing themselves together to march to the last battle into the blight and at shayoul ghul. the children will feel the wake the lands barren.

 

Second paragraph,

 

Mat does his business to the towers - tavern making it out alive - where he was left to die saved by the dragon

 

 

(prince of ravens ---- Mimickry of Tuon)

 

Rand the one armed man bowing to the ground as he is attacked by semihrage who is working with Graendel.

 

(The hero of times savior of those who need help --- the bringer and the breaker of the world/man)

 

 

 

Perrin - The line where he says Fools to fight fools to hide. Rand releasing the dark one says it will be worse but for a time. So perrin the simple slow and steady black smith dawns on himself through death of his wolf pack in the dream world linked to the living world. The greatest of dangers are wrought all around us.

 

 

Aviendhas viewings of delving the Rhudien angreal Seanchan will inevitably rule the land (I anticipated the shadow was cleansed and man was left to fight amongst themselves...

 

As they did in the time of Rand unifying them ... mere humans these ta verans and figure heads of light....

 

 

 

All that is left is... Who will win?

 

 

ahhhh no body doessss

[Cybertrolloc]

We lose 3-400 posts in this thread?

[Luckers]

We lose 3-400 posts in this thread?

 

Well it jumps from Febuary 2011 to January 2012... perhaps there was another thread of the same title.

[newcastlemal]

Hi, this is my first post here and I hope this doesn't sound stupid! or has already been covered somewhere!

 

2 questions: 1 What can we anticipate in the last book? 2 Can we tie these events with the Dark Prophecy?

 

1 - Tuon intends to use gateways (learned from Elaida, now Damane) to destroy the White Tower. Fain is reforming the darkness of Mashadar, which is all that is left of the evil of Shadar Logoth ("Shadow's Waiting"). Something terrible is going to happen to Bashere. Moiraine's intervention in the Last Battle is essential (or the "light of the world" will not be saved). The Armies of Light will meet at Merrilor and Rand will state his price for going to fight the Dark One.

 

Well... The Midnight Towers is a reference to Egwene's vision but also to a Seanchan belief that when the Towers fall, the Empire will crumble, the Last Battle is imminent. The revolution in Seandar is probably this part of the prophecy. This has already pushed Tuon to attack the White Tower once. Egwene's vision is, I think, not connected to the Dark Prophecy, just a general Dreaming about the return through Transmigration, of some of the Forsaken... Tuon, after meeting Rand in ToM, has decided to destroy the WT in a 2nd devastating attack... So, this must happen just after Rand's Assembly at Merrilor. He'll name conditions (eg. a Griffin Pact, The Dragon's Peace etc, foreshadowed by Aviendha - but she will arrive and persuade him to bind the Aiel to a global peace treaty with Seandar("Slay them with the Leaf"). This will stop them going to war with the Seanchan and getting wiped out in the future. But then Tuon's Seanchan attacks the WT, Rand and allies beat them, and force Tuon to kneel, but Rand (new gentle, kind Rand) will also kneel to Tuon as her equal, to seal a new peace treaty and an alliance. This fulfills another prophecy. Mat might show up too and stop Tuon destroying the Tower, remember Ashaman Grady is going to make a gateway for him near TOG every day, and Grady is now with Perrin at Merrilor. Its going to be a bloody battle - just what the Light can't afford. The Trollocs are attacking Caemlyn and surely someone will tell Rand and co, but Egwene's armies and Rand will be busy saving the WT, so Elayne will go with Perrin to save Caemlyn. Meanwhile Lan is fighting for his life in Tarwin's Gap. Rand rushes off to Shayol Ghul and does his thang with Callandor etc...

 

Prophecies-

 

"Once again, His glorious cloak shall smother the Pattern of all things, and the Great Lord shall stretch forth His hand to claim what is His. The rebellious

nations shall be laid barren..."

I reckon there will be a massive bubble of evil which will be like the Wind which blows at the start of many of the Prologues - but a Dark Wind... it'll cause global panic. The sun will stop shining/ the world covered in darkness (a bit like an eclipse, but much much worse) by "His (The DO's) glorious cloak". Mat ("The One-Eyed Fool") will probably end up in a ruined city, maybe Caemlyn or Maradon, or even Kandor's capital. But nearly everyone will be dead. He will travel the "halls of mourning", a poetic reference to the suffering he sees in the ruins. Maybe the Band comes too late to save a city Rand asks him to save? Or maybe a reference to blowing the Horn of Valere - which has been kept in TV since TDR.

 

I'm going out on a limb here. I reckon the "First Among Vermin" must be Fain, as he is just as much an enemy of the DO as Rand - his power is evil, but from Mashadar/Mordeth/Machin Shin... Fain will "lift his hand to bring freedom to Him who will Destroy"- surely a reference to Mashadar, whose threat is still unresolved. Remember also, Shadar Logoth means Shadow's Waiting, ... waiting for ... Rand? (If Him who will destroy is the DO, why a different name? The Broken Wolf and the Broken Champion can't be the same person, there are 3 taveren not two! so all 3 must be referenced in thie prophecy) And Mat blows the Horn to defeat Mashadar, which is not in the prophecy but makes sense, as it will explain why Mat has to be present, only the Heroes of the Horn can stop Mashadar.

 

Why? Well, other people have pointed out that the titles all refer to a specific creature/ thing/ place, so "The Broken Wolf" is unlikely to be the "Broken Champion" IMO. I think Perrin is the Wolf - who will be broken by the Seanchan (the Midnight Towers), and probably "die" somehow in the battle at the WT. His army will get slaughtered. A hundred thousand dead (including Tenobia and Bashere - the broken crown of Saldaea). That would CERTAINLY "bring fear and sorrow to the hearts of men". Some nasty trap sprung by Slayer perhaps in the battle? But, as others have thought, Perrin probably survives in TAR and fights on in the Wolf Dream (that's why he is "broken"). Surely he will finally kill off Slayer there? Maybe he goes into the Wolf Dream in the "flesh" in order to kill Slayer? And dies, killing him? (explaining "last days of the Fallen Blacksmith"). BTW, remember the Myrdraal prophecy in TGH? "The man who channels stands alone. He gives his friends for sacrifice" Maybe Perrin's death forces Tuon to accept peace with the Dragon?

 

Meanwhile, Rand has one last showdown will Moridin/ Shaidar Haran - who must be "Lord of the Evening", who heralds the night... just as LTT was the "Lord of the Morning" in TEotW. Rand must have used Callandor in a circle by now, and the flaw will leave him open to attack somehow. He will be fatally wounded ("his blood on the rocks of Shayol Ghul") - probably by Shaidar Haran/ Moridin, surely he is the Dark Champion? (BTW on a thread somewhere someone said Moridin and Shaidar Haran are the same person somehow - I am inclined to agree).

 

Sorry for the length of this thing, and hope it's not too obvious! Been thinking about this a lot!

[Mr Ares]

Mashadar has already been destroyed. It didn't require the Heroes of the Horn. It's gone and it isn't coming back. Fain's power is separate, not the same thing as mashadar.

[newcastlemal]

Mashadar has already been destroyed. It didn't require the Heroes of the Horn. It's gone and it isn't coming back. Fain's power is separate, not the same thing as mashadar.

Well, Shadar Logoth was destroyed when the taint was cleansed. And Mashadar has been destroyed, true. But as you point out Padan Fain is a blend of Shadar Logoth, the Dark One's touch, and "other things" (says BS). In ToM we see Fain has a Mashadar-like mist which rises around him, killing Myrdraal and corrupting trollocs to his will. This mist is I am pretty sure, a blend of Mashadar and Fain's peculiar taint. SO OK maybe it is not Mashadar exactly, but a blend...

[newcastlemal]

Mashadar has already been destroyed. It didn't require the Heroes of the Horn. It's gone and it isn't coming back. Fain's power is separate, not the same thing as mashadar.

Well, Shadar Logoth was destroyed when the taint was cleansed. And Mashadar has been destroyed, true. But as you point out Padan Fain is a blend of Shadar Logoth, the Dark One's touch, and "other things" (says BS). In ToM we see Fain has a Mashadar-like mist which rises around him, killing Myrdraal and corrupting trollocs to his will. This mist is I am pretty sure, a blend of Mashadar and Fain's peculiar taint. SO OK maybe it is not Mashadar exactly, but a blend...

[Mr Ares]

Mashadar has already been destroyed. It didn't require the Heroes of the Horn. It's gone and it isn't coming back. Fain's power is separate, not the same thing as mashadar.

Well, Shadar Logoth was destroyed when the taint was cleansed. And Mashadar has been destroyed, true. But as you point out Padan Fain is a blend of Shadar Logoth, the Dark One's touch, and "other things" (says BS). In ToM we see Fain has a Mashadar-like mist which rises around him, killing Myrdraal and corrupting trollocs to his will. This mist is I am pretty sure, a blend of Mashadar and Fain's peculiar taint. SO OK maybe it is not Mashadar exactly, but a blend...

Mashadar is gone and isn't coming back. The mist Fain produced is quite different to mashadar. It's not a blend, it's not "not exactly mashadar", it's something else altogether.

[newcastlemal]

Mashadar has already been destroyed. It didn't require the Heroes of the Horn. It's gone and it isn't coming back. Fain's power is separate, not the same thing as mashadar.

 

Look, Padan Fain himself is a blend of lots of evil things - right? So he is a composite creature. However, the dagger itself is from Shadar Logoth, it has survived. The power that was in the dagger is the power that destroyed Aridhol and made it Shadar Logoth. When everyone in Aridhol died, the mist of Mashadar came out of the evil of Shadar Logoth. It went into every stone, every brick, every thing. Including the dagger. MOIRAINE said so, in TEotW and in TGH. Lets assume she knew what she was talking about. Now, remember Mashadar was a mindless thing, without reason or intelligence. The power of Shadar Logoth is in Padan Fain/ Mordeth/ whatever you call him. So he can call on these powers at will. Including the power of Mashadar. He can also make illusions and trick people, like Mordeth apparently could. Even though Mashadar the fog died, the power of Mashadar still lives - through Fain - but he has a mind (insane as it is). he controls it now, inasmuch as any insane person can control anything! that's why he can control Trollocs instead of killing them with the fog. He wants to corrupt Trollocs not kill them.

 

The fog clearly isn't a bubble of evil or channelling - and it IS the same power that created Mashadar. Mashadar is a symptom of the evil that killed Aridhol, a symptom, not the disease itself! And Fain, a composite, controls it. If you still disagree with my reasoning that's fine, that's your opinion. Its an interesting question about evil. We probably won't ever get an answer - is Mashadar or not - in AMoL about this anyway... but the evil of Shadar Logoth will be there until Fain is destroyed/ removed somehow.

[MarkDiLillo]

Old thread...but I thought I'd point something out that quite a few people seem to be missing for some reason.

 

The broken wolf certainly refers to Rand. Notice how in the text Death is capitalized to show that it has more meaning than just the simple word death. Moridin = Death in the old tongue. Who has Moridin known? This pretty clearly refers to Rand's link with Moridin via balefire IMO. And obviously Rand's destruction will shake the will of everyone, etc etc.

 

Not trying to announce that I'm the first one to discover this, but I scanned over this thread and there is a ton of arguing about who the broken wolf is and to me that capitalized D is the biggest giveaway.

[Eht Slat Meit]

Of course, Moridin isn't the only one who happens to be death personified...

 

"Death rides on my shoulder, death walks in my footsteps. I am death."

~ Lews Therin Telamon, LoC, ch17

[Mr Ares]

Mashadar has already been destroyed. It didn't require the Heroes of the Horn. It's gone and it isn't coming back. Fain's power is separate, not the same thing as mashadar.

 

Look, Padan Fain himself is a blend of lots of evil things - right? So he is a composite creature. However, the dagger itself is from Shadar Logoth, it has survived. The power that was in the dagger is the power that destroyed Aridhol and made it Shadar Logoth. When everyone in Aridhol died, the mist of Mashadar came out of the evil of Shadar Logoth. It went into every stone, every brick, every thing. Including the dagger. MOIRAINE said so, in TEotW and in TGH. Lets assume she knew what she was talking about. Now, remember Mashadar was a mindless thing, without reason or intelligence. The power of Shadar Logoth is in Padan Fain/ Mordeth/ whatever you call him. So he can call on these powers at will. Including the power of Mashadar. He can also make illusions and trick people, like Mordeth apparently could. Even though Mashadar the fog died, the power of Mashadar still lives - through Fain - but he has a mind (insane as it is). he controls it now, inasmuch as any insane person can control anything! that's why he can control Trollocs instead of killing them with the fog. He wants to corrupt Trollocs not kill them.

 

The fog clearly isn't a bubble of evil or channelling - and it IS the same power that created Mashadar. Mashadar is a symptom of the evil that killed Aridhol, a symptom, not the disease itself! And Fain, a composite, controls it. If you still disagree with my reasoning that's fine, that's your opinion. Its an interesting question about evil. We probably won't ever get an answer - is Mashadar or not - in AMoL about this anyway... but the evil of Shadar Logoth will be there until Fain is destroyed/ removed somehow.

Fain has at no stage demonstrated the power to call on the power of Mashadar. It's completely unsupported. To say that he can control Trollocs with the mist he creates because he has a mind and mashadar didn't, but it's still n some way mashadar is ridiculous. What does it have in common with mashadar? It's a mist. Fine, but we've seen dangerous mists that had nothing to do with mashadar as well. Fain has powers. Those powers are not mashadar. They are no longer connected to SL, and were not connected from the moment Fain left that place. What Fain did in ToM porlogue was not mashadar in any way, shape or form. Those are the facts as they stand. If you want to theorise, do so from the basis of the facts.

[wcbrooks]

Okay i am on my re read of Winter Heart and I am not sure if anyone else has mentioned this before -

but I am almost certain that Fain is the "First among Vermin"

 

It states in Winter Heart Chapter 13 - Wonderful News towards the end with Moridin using a rat to describe Fain

 

"This rat. Whether Isam succeeds in finding and killing that other vermin, Fain..."

 

and maybe he helps release Rand - "....bring freedom to Him who will Destroy..." - as this is a Dark Prophecy so its vice versa to what the Dragon etc Prophecies are about

[Suttree]

Okay i am on my re read of Winter Heart and I am not sure if anyone else has mentioned this before -

but I am almost certain that Fain is the "First among Vermin"

 

It states in Winter Heart Chapter 13 - Wonderful News towards the end with Moridin using a rat to describe Fain

 

"This rat. Whether Isam succeeds in finding and killing that other vermin, Fain..."

 

and maybe he helps release Rand - "....bring freedom to Him who will Destroy..." - as this is a Dark Prophecy so its vice versa to what the Dragon etc Prophecies are about

 

It is almost certain that Rand/LTT(first among servants) is the first among vermin and it relates to his decision to break the seals.

[wcbrooks]

Okay i am on my re read of Winter Heart and I am not sure if anyone else has mentioned this before -

but I am almost certain that Fain is the "First among Vermin"

 

It states in Winter Heart Chapter 13 - Wonderful News towards the end with Moridin using a rat to describe Fain

 

"This rat. Whether Isam succeeds in finding and killing that other vermin, Fain..."

 

and maybe he helps release Rand - "....bring freedom to Him who will Destroy..." - as this is a Dark Prophecy so its vice versa to what the Dragon etc Prophecies are about

 

It is almost certain that Rand/LTT(first among servants) is the first among vermin and it relates to his decision to break the seals.

 

 

LTT - Was the first among servants -- but Rand is not

and just a random thought - Isn't Egwene the First among servants for this age????

[AltonJakeStorey]

Okay i am on my re read of Winter Heart and I am not sure if anyone else has mentioned this before -

but I am almost certain that Fain is the "First among Vermin"

 

It states in Winter Heart Chapter 13 - Wonderful News towards the end with Moridin using a rat to describe Fain

 

"This rat. Whether Isam succeeds in finding and killing that other vermin, Fain..."

 

and maybe he helps release Rand - "....bring freedom to Him who will Destroy..." - as this is a Dark Prophecy so its vice versa to what the Dragon etc Prophecies are about

 

It is almost certain that Rand/LTT(first among servants) is the first among vermin and it relates to his decision to break the seals.

 

 

LTT - Was the first among servants -- but Rand is not

and just a random thought - Isn't Egwene the First among servants for this age????

 

I thought this until I reread the prophecy. It refers to the first among vermin as a HE.

[Terez]

Okay i am on my re read of Winter Heart and I am not sure if anyone else has mentioned this before -

but I am almost certain that Fain is the "First among Vermin"

 

It states in Winter Heart Chapter 13 - Wonderful News towards the end with Moridin using a rat to describe Fain

 

"This rat. Whether Isam succeeds in finding and killing that other vermin, Fain..."

 

and maybe he helps release Rand - "....bring freedom to Him who will Destroy..." - as this is a Dark Prophecy so its vice versa to what the Dragon etc Prophecies are about

I addressed this in my FAQ on the subject. (See sig link.) It's not clear which is the red herring, obviously. The vermin thing could be the red herring, or the allusion to Lews Therin's title and seal-breaking could be the red herring. One point against Fain is that Min doesn't have any viewings of him, which fits with RJ's comment that he's sort of sidestepped the Pattern, in a way. So if Min can't have viewings of him, then perhaps no one could speak prophecy about him at all.

[Terez]

Fain has at no stage demonstrated the power to call on the power of Mashadar. It's completely unsupported. To say that he can control Trollocs with the mist he creates because he has a mind and mashadar didn't, but it's still n some way mashadar is ridiculous. What does it have in common with mashadar? It's a mist. Fine, but we've seen dangerous mists that had nothing to do with mashadar as well. Fain has powers. Those powers are not mashadar. They are no longer connected to SL, and were not connected from the moment Fain left that place. What Fain did in ToM porlogue was not mashadar in any way, shape or form. Those are the facts as they stand. If you want to theorise, do so from the basis of the facts.

I disagree completely. For one thing, Brandon had said before TOM that all the remaining power of Shadar Logoth is in Fain, and he hinted that Mashadar had not actually been destroyed. To say it's anything other than Mashadar is really pushing Occam's Razor, and to say it's completely unsupported is just downright ridiculous. And RJ always said that Fain's powers were a result of the mix between the power of Shadar Logoth and the Dark One's Hound. Why do you think he wanted the dagger? Why do you think he can nick himself with it and survive? Why does Rand's wound throb painfully when Fain is in the vicinity? Fain didn't develop any of these powers until he merged with Mordeth, and Mordeth had been snared by Mashadar for 2000 years at that point. Now stop bullying the noobs.

[Mr Ares]

It's not bullying, it's teaching (my bullying is far less vicious). We have Fain producing a mist which behaves differently and looks different to Mashadar, not to mention having a different effect. We have no reason to believe it is Mashadar beyond the mere fact of it being a mist. Yes, it is a manifestation of Fain's powers, gained from SL, but it is a different manifestation to Mashadar. Related, but still different.

[Terez]

How is it different, beyond the fact that Fain controls it?

[wcbrooks]

would it have something to do with the Black Wind from within the ways??

[Mr Ares]

How is it different, beyond the fact that Fain controls it?

It looks different - it doesn't glow. It has a different effect - leaving zombie Trollocs. Better question: how is it the same? It's a mist. It's dangerous. That's about it.

[Terez]

How is it different, beyond the fact that Fain controls it?

It looks different - it doesn't glow.

Probably because it can survive sunlight now. We saw it during the day.

 

IIt has a different effect - leaving zombie Trollocs.

Fain consciously uses it to do this.

 

Better question: how is it the same? It's a mist. It's dangerous. That's about it.

lol. It's a product of a very specific evil, the same evil that destroyed Aridhol. It's now a part of Fain. Again, Occam's Razor.

[Mr Ares]

How is it different, beyond the fact that Fain controls it?

It looks different - it doesn't glow.

Probably because it can survive sunlight now. We saw it during the day.

 

It has a different effect - leaving zombie Trollocs.

Fain consciously uses it to do this.

 

Better question: how is it the same? It's a mist. It's dangerous. That's about it.

lol. It's a product of a very specific evil, the same evil that destroyed Aridhol. It's now a part of Fain. Again, Occam's Razor.

Yes, it is a product of a specific evil. No-one is denying that. It is, however, a different product of that evil. Occam's Razor. If it is different in appearance, behaviour and effect, why should we consider it to be the same?

[Terez]

Yes, it is a product of a specific evil. No-one is denying that. It is, however, a different product of that evil.

It doesn't seem to be very different at all, though. And the differences are easily enough explained by the fact that it's part of Fain now, rather than just mindless. But at least we've established that the aforementioned noob's ideas on the matter are far from 'completely unsupported'.