To survive the Last Battle, Rand must die.

[Terez]

The discussion came up on this thread, so...

 

*bump*

[hazelkrs1]

As I discussed in the FAQ article linked upthread (and in my sig), Min has had viewings of Birgitte indicating that she is still tied to the Wheel, and to Gaidal. The main consequence for Birgitte is that she can remember Gaidal at all, which leaves her to worry about whether she will ever see him again. Min could tell her one way or another, but Min doesn't often volunteer her viewings any more, and she does not appear to have told Birgitte. And her birth cycle was disrupted, so now she will be younger than Gaidal, when he was always older before. Rand won't have that problem.

 

Permanent death of the Hero occurs when they are killed after their death in Tel'aran'rhiod (in other words, it's probably not permanent death if they are incarnate and just visiting). Just like for the wolves. Or DBZ for that matter. If you already have a halo and you die again, that's it for your soul.

 

I also commented on the literary problems with stacking up four prophecies promising the death of the main character, and then copping out with a metaphorical explanation. It's called cheating.

 

LOL first DBZ reference I see on this site, and it comes from Terez Awesome.

 

Terez you should probably just have a link to your FAQ in every post you make, since a visit to it would resolve most debate and arguments. Oh wait...

 

 

Main reason I'm bumping this is cause I figured this would be the best place to shamelessly self promote the blog which I wrote on this subject, which will be featured on Dragonmount's front page today. Dark Rand 2.0 stops in for a visit, we discuss some prophecies, and I kill a vampire, so come check it out if you'd like. Another place to find it would be in my blog, but if you'd like to comment please do so on the front page version.

[dwn]

Something occurred to me when reading the FAQ entry (great write-up, BTW). I haven't packed this into a fully formed theory--it's more some interesting parallels that I didn't connect before.

 

1) Rand in VoG is visible to Perrin in T'A'R

3) Heroes of the Horn exist in T'A'R between incarnations where they remember all their past lives

2) During and after VoG, Rand has access to his past-life memories; LTT's are the clearest

4) The Dragon is a Hero of the Horn

 

Twice and twice shall he be marked,

twice to live, and twice to die.

Once the heron, to set his path.

Twice the heron, to name him true.

Once the Dragon, for remembrance lost.

Twice the Dragon, for the price he must pay.

 

Does "for remembrance lost" not sound like part of what resulted from VoG? Certainly VoG could be considered a metaphorical death. Is Rand's enlightened state due to him being--in a sense--between lives?

 

Edit to clarify:

 

Yes 'remembrance lost' overtly refers to his trip through the Rhuidean columns, but this prophecy has the same sort of 'twice' language as others that mention Rand's death.

 

-- dwn

[hazelkrs1]

The easy explanation for the "twice to die" part of the prophecy is that after the first time Rand dies and is resurrected, his next death could be well after the Last Battle caused by natural events. I think another possible explanation could be that he would be "marked" for the permanent death in tel'aran'rhiod by the Dark One, and that fight in and of itself would be intense, with Slayer, Perrin, Egwene, other Forsaken still left (moggy comes to mind as a possibility), other dreamwalkers, and he's near death in t'a'r when Nyneave can finally extract him into the real world. Another possibility could be the idea that he would have two deaths that would consist of his body with Moridin inhabiting it and when he dies later on in Moridin's body. His second body would be "marked for death" maybe by the saa and the effects of using TP, and it would represent the price he had to pay, as in he's committed a crime and is being punished (by execution).

 

I'm really stoked to see what the "price he must pay" ends up being

[FarShainMael]

He may already have paid it - by losing a hand, and incidentally part of the Dragon marking on that arm.

 

I'm wondering if Galad will heal Rand of those wounds in his side. In the Fisher King legend, this is accomplished by Percival, and Galahad doesn't turn up in the legend until later on, but of course is represented as the greatest of the Knights of the Round Table, the only knight 'pure enough' to achieve the Grail Quest.

 

A couple of interesting points: Galahad is tested by King Arthur to see if he can also draw the Sword from the stone (pity Narishma got there first!); and our attention is drawn to one Perival Mantear as though he were significant:

 

Elayne studied Perival more closely. His blue eyes met hers for a moment without blinking before he shyly lowered his eyes. A boy, but he knew what he had ridden into better than Conail or Catalyn.. Lord Willin had done good work with young Perival. Now she had to keep it from going to waste.

 

I wonder if young Perival is at the FoM..

[Majsju]

However it plays out, it will not include a bodyswap.

 

Since TOM, I have started to lean towards the Shadow (most likely Moridin) will seize control over rand through the flaw in Callandor Min thinks she has discovered. We have already seen Dark Rand, so it needs to play out differently if he once again becomes a threat, to the extent that Alivia has to put him down. This also fits with Alivia helping Rand die, as he would be himself underneath the control.

 

After he dies, I want to believe Nynaeve figures out how to pull him out of t'a'r. Much because all the references to nynaeve not giving up on someone until he's been dead three days. An actual ressurection would be too much, but pulling someone out of t'a'r was introduced as a possibility long ago. Big problem with that is how nynaeve would know how to do it, as she was not exactly in a position to pay attention when moggy pulled Birgitte out. But, we are after all talking about the person who discovered how to heal stilling, so...

[stevengabrielmartinez]

Hello,

 

I am new to posting, so please forgive me if I make any mistakes. I would like to raise a point I have not seen yet. There are so many comments about Rand having to die. Well, what about Moridin? If they cohabitate on some level, what if "To live, you must die" means that Rand must kill Moridin? Super Rand knows that info seeps through to the other side, he proposes FoM "knowing" Moridin will stike, Moridin walks into a trap, Alivia "helps" Rand die by shielding Moridin so Rand slices the old bean off the top ala Highlander, Rand is his own person once again and is now free to confront the DO without a nasty link that would give away intelligence to the farces of the DO. Remember when Dammer (sp?) sealed away Fain's poison in the wound? How about the time Rand used Shadar Logoth to cleanse the taint? At SG, since we don't have a portable SL handy, he could open the seal on his wound (blood on rocks) and somehow use what was festering inside him to seal away/kill the DO?

 

I personally don't think this is correct, I just wanted to have a bit of fun and throw another perspective out there to see what the experts would have to say.

 

P.S. No matter how it all plays out, I have been reading ever since the first book came out. For my entire adult life, I have always had the pleasure of another Rober Jordan book to look forward to. I know that when I finally get the last book in my hands, I will be a wreck. I salute both Mr. Jordan and Mr. Sanderson for giving me so many wonderful moments.

[JKN-SW]

Rand will die before the LB, then Nyn will rip him out of T'A'R to win the last battle. And his blood on the rocks are the Aiel and the "remnant of a remnant" are the Shaido that returned to The Waste. Or..... ?

[Terez]

Hello,

 

I am new to posting, so please forgive me if I make any mistakes. I would like to raise a point I have not seen yet. There are so many comments about Rand having to die. Well, what about Moridin? If they cohabitate on some level, what if "To live, you must die" means that Rand must kill Moridin?

Cheating. (From a literary perspective anyway.) You don't promise the death of your Chosen One in four separate prophecies (and that's just the explicit ones) and then have him kill someone else instead, even if you've got a justification for it. He has to die, or you cheated.

[Terez]

After he dies, I want to believe Nynaeve figures out how to pull him out of t'a'r. Much because all the references to nynaeve not giving up on someone until he's been dead three days. An actual ressurection would be too much, but pulling someone out of t'a'r was introduced as a possibility long ago. Big problem with that is how nynaeve would know how to do it, as she was not exactly in a position to pay attention when moggy pulled Birgitte out. But, we are after all talking about the person who discovered how to heal stilling, so...

I doubt it's an accident that RJ reminded us three times that Nynaeve only has to see a weave once to remember it. Brandon also reminded us in TGS.

[Malruhn]

There is a conspiracy theory that says that the Christian Christ did not die on the cross - that he staged his own death (or it was staged FOR him by supporters). Case in point are the huge disparities between the manner of his crucifixion and the standard manner the Roman's used (everyone was tied - it made the suffering last longer), the location (private land owned by Joseph of Aramathea), his body was released to loved ones (standard operations said that the body stayed up there until either it fell apart OR the ropes rotted through - in either case the person was dead), and the fact that a "common" man was buried in the tomb of a wealthy land-owner (Joseph of Aramathea, again).

 

On top of this conspiracy theory, we also have the actual prophecy. Just because his "blood" should be spilled on the rocks of Shayol Ghul (or however it is spelled) doesn't necessarily mean his LITERAL blood. It could be the blood from his uncle... Lord Luc, who is Rand's uncle by blood. If Slayer is wounded (or if Rand is wounded), Rand's "blood" will drip/spill on the rocks. It doesn't say he has to perish.

 

THEN, we move on to the definition of "death." It doesn't necessarily have to mean that the heart stops and he ceases to exist. It COULD mean that Rand puts down the mantle of being the Dragon Reborn - thereby "killing" the Dragon (effectively saying, "I QUIT"). This can very easily be done AFTER the last battle - like a gunslinger in the US Old West that puts up his six-shooters - and saying that "Bad Bart is dead". Voila! The Dragon is dead.

 

Personally, I think his death will be staged - with Alvira's unwitting help. Rand will apparently "die" and then "rise up" again to defeat the DO - possibly after the ensuing battle with Luc/Isam and when Fain comes back to fight the DO in revenge for the DO's "killing" of his long-lost target - Rand. (this fits with my opinion that the DO will be slain - and Fain will have to be imprisoned... which will make a new "DO" and the Wheel will continue to spin).

[FarShainMael]

Right to reply.. I won't go into details here - the mods won't like it - but if anyone wishes to investigate the 'crucifixion conspiracy', try these for starters.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vision_hypothesis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swoon_hypothesis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolen_body_hypothesis

 

Also

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Jesus

 

Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if the story involves something along the lines of any of those first three. It would explain Min's viewing of the 'paper puppet'.

[Majsju]

After he dies, I want to believe Nynaeve figures out how to pull him out of t'a'r. Much because all the references to nynaeve not giving up on someone until he's been dead three days. An actual ressurection would be too much, but pulling someone out of t'a'r was introduced as a possibility long ago. Big problem with that is how nynaeve would know how to do it, as she was not exactly in a position to pay attention when moggy pulled Birgitte out. But, we are after all talking about the person who discovered how to heal stilling, so...

I doubt it's an accident that RJ reminded us three times that Nynaeve only has to see a weave once to remember it. Brandon also reminded us in TGS.

 

I know, that is why I keep this theory. Still, from a readers perspective it is a bit hard to accept that Nynaeve despite the circumstances actually could pay attention to the weave. But, we have accepted weirder things than that, so...

[hazelkrs1]

Hello,

 

I am new to posting, so please forgive me if I make any mistakes. I would like to raise a point I have not seen yet. There are so many comments about Rand having to die. Well, what about Moridin? If they cohabitate on some level, what if "To live, you must die" means that Rand must kill Moridin? Super Rand knows that info seeps through to the other side, he proposes FoM "knowing" Moridin will stike, Moridin walks into a trap, Alivia "helps" Rand die by shielding Moridin so Rand slices the old bean off the top ala Highlander, Rand is his own person once again and is now free to confront the DO without a nasty link that would give away intelligence to the farces of the DO. Remember when Dammer (sp?) sealed away Fain's poison in the wound? How about the time Rand used Shadar Logoth to cleanse the taint? At SG, since we don't have a portable SL handy, he could open the seal on his wound (blood on rocks) and somehow use what was festering inside him to seal away/kill the DO?

 

I personally don't think this is correct, I just wanted to have a bit of fun and throw another perspective out there to see what the experts would have to say.

 

P.S. No matter how it all plays out, I have been reading ever since the first book came out. For my entire adult life, I have always had the pleasure of another Rober Jordan book to look forward to. I know that when I finally get the last book in my hands, I will be a wreck. I salute both Mr. Jordan and Mr. Sanderson for giving me so many wonderful moments.

 

Really good first post! Welcome to the forums KSE, always good to have someone else to bring up different viewpoints. I do agree with Terez tho, that if Rand doesn't literally die in some way, it's cheating. I do really like your idea about the Shadar Logoth poison in Rand's wound spilling out on the rocks of Shayol Ghul having something to do with sealing away the Dark One.

 

I thought it was understood that what Moghediendid to Birgitte wasn't just channeling, I mean after all it's stated many times that channeling in t'a'r only has effects because the target of the channeling accepts that the weaves are real. How would the One Power alone then be able to defy the laws of a place like t'a'r if the actual uses of it depend on something existing only in the minds of it's residents? Just because Birgitte "believed" that Moghedien was using a weave which would force her out of t'a'r made her force herself out of t'a'r? I have a feeling it's not that simple.

 

I also don't think it will be as simple as Nyneave extracting Rand from t'a'r by herself, I think the stage is set for some HUGE showdown in the world of dreams.

[contempt]

I decided to take Terez's advice & start reading RJ & BS blogs and interviews. I came across something interesting:

Wow. TDR 27 has a cool little foreshadowing for the end of AMOL that I'd never noticed before.

I went back & read it. It's just about all Egwene in TAR looking for the BA, but along the way she encounters Rand sitting alone at a campfire. I think this must be what BS was talking about:

He was on his feet so suddenly that she stopped dead. He seemed in some way larger than she remembered. And a touch dangerous. Perhaps more than a touch. His blue-grey eyes seemed to burn like frozen fire.

And two paragraphs later:

There was a sword in his hands, suddenly, out of nowhere. Its blade was worked out of a single flame, slightly curved and graven with a heron. "My mother gave me honeycake," he said in a tight voice, "with the smell of poison rank on it. My father had a knife for my ribs. She- she offered kisses, and more." Sweat slicked his face; his stare seemed enough to set her afire. "What do you bring?"

The only other thing it could be in that chapter is Lanfear (as Silvie) saying to Egwene:

"What wouldn't one of the Forsaken give, to hold Callandor?"

But I don't think that's it. Just her warning Egwene of Be'lal's plan to take callandor after Rand draws it.

 

Anyway, about Rand's eyes. I think this might add credence to the body-swap theory. Or perhaps that he will have to draw heavily on the TP to reseal the DO, killing himself in the process. Or both.

 

I'm not confident enough to draw a firm conclusion though. I just thought the info should be here in this thread because I think it must have something to do with how Rand will die, since BS said it had to do with the end of AMOL.

[Entreri]

Rand is toast.

 

From Aviehnda's vision, it does not appear that any of the main characters live every long. 100 years or less.

[hazelkrs1]

I decided to take Terez's advice & start reading RJ & BS blogs and interviews. I came across something interesting:

Wow. TDR 27 has a cool little foreshadowing for the end of AMOL that I'd never noticed before.

I went back & read it. It's just about all Egwene in TAR looking for the BA, but along the way she encounters Rand sitting alone at a campfire. I think this must be what BS was talking about:

He was on his feet so suddenly that she stopped dead. He seemed in some way larger than she remembered. And a touch dangerous. Perhaps more than a touch. His blue-grey eyes seemed to burn like frozen fire.

And two paragraphs later:

There was a sword in his hands, suddenly, out of nowhere. Its blade was worked out of a single flame, slightly curved and graven with a heron. "My mother gave me honeycake," he said in a tight voice, "with the smell of poison rank on it. My father had a knife for my ribs. She- she offered kisses, and more." Sweat slicked his face; his stare seemed enough to set her afire. "What do you bring?"

The only other thing it could be in that chapter is Lanfear (as Silvie) saying to Egwene:

"What wouldn't one of the Forsaken give, to hold Callandor?"

But I don't think that's it. Just her warning Egwene of Be'lal's plan to take callandor after Rand draws it.

Anyway, about Rand's eyes. I think this might add credence to the body-swap theory. Or perhaps that he will have to draw heavily on the TP to reseal the DO, killing himself in the process. Or both.

 

I'm not confident enough to draw a firm conclusion though. I just thought the info should be here in this thread because I think it must have something to do with how Rand will die, since BS said it had to do with the end of AMOL.

 

There's another couple of possible examples in that chapter of hidden foreshadowing, but this is actually one of the easier ones to spot:

 

The Dragon Reborn

Chapter 27, Tel'Aran'Rhiod

 

She took another long breath to calm herself. "The only way to help him is to gentle him," she muttered. "As well go ahead and kill him." Her stomach twisted and knotted. "I'll never do that. Never!"

 

Could be big, if Egwene ends up having something to do with his death. Other thing I noticed is that Egwene's first trip into t'a'r puts her into a nice spring afternoon, with only a few clouds obstructing a sunlight filled blue sky. I was under the impression that there wasn't any sunlight in t'a'r. Plus we don't see Egwene mention anything about any "unseen eyes" feel to the place

[contempt]

I decided to take Terez's advice & start reading RJ & BS blogs and interviews. I came across something interesting:

Wow. TDR 27 has a cool little foreshadowing for the end of AMOL that I'd never noticed before.

I went back & read it. It's just about all Egwene in TAR looking for the BA, but along the way she encounters Rand sitting alone at a campfire. I think this must be what BS was talking about:

He was on his feet so suddenly that she stopped dead. He seemed in some way larger than she remembered. And a touch dangerous. Perhaps more than a touch. His blue-grey eyes seemed to burn like frozen fire.

And two paragraphs later:

There was a sword in his hands, suddenly, out of nowhere. Its blade was worked out of a single flame, slightly curved and graven with a heron. "My mother gave me honeycake," he said in a tight voice, "with the smell of poison rank on it. My father had a knife for my ribs. She- she offered kisses, and more." Sweat slicked his face; his stare seemed enough to set her afire. "What do you bring?"

The only other thing it could be in that chapter is Lanfear (as Silvie) saying to Egwene:

"What wouldn't one of the Forsaken give, to hold Callandor?"

But I don't think that's it. Just her warning Egwene of Be'lal's plan to take callandor after Rand draws it.

Anyway, about Rand's eyes. I think this might add credence to the body-swap theory. Or perhaps that he will have to draw heavily on the TP to reseal the DO, killing himself in the process. Or both.

 

I'm not confident enough to draw a firm conclusion though. I just thought the info should be here in this thread because I think it must have something to do with how Rand will die, since BS said it had to do with the end of AMOL.

 

There's another couple of possible examples in that chapter of hidden foreshadowing, but this is actually one of the easier ones to spot:

 

The Dragon Reborn

Chapter 27, Tel'Aran'Rhiod

 

She took another long breath to calm herself. "The only way to help him is to gentle him," she muttered. "As well go ahead and kill him." Her stomach twisted and knotted. "I'll never do that. Never!"

 

Could be big, if Egwene ends up having something to do with his death. Other thing I noticed is that Egwene's first trip into t'a'r puts her into a nice spring afternoon, with only a few clouds obstructing a sunlight filled blue sky. I was under the impression that there wasn't any sunlight in t'a'r. Plus we don't see Egwene mention anything about any "unseen eyes" feel to the place

I didn't want to respond right away because my theories have been slapped down so many times here by quotes getting shoved in my face. But I was sure Perrin had seen the sun in TAR before & I decided not to reply until I found it. I actually found two examples, the first with Egwene (I was happy about that because it means we can rule out the wolves being somehow responsible for the sunlight).

 

In TSR, Chapter 11, What Lies Hidden:

Tanchico spread out in every direction across steep hills, white buildings upon white buildings shining in the sun, hundreds of thin towers and almost as many pointed domes, some gilded.

 

And also in TSR, the very first sentence of Chapter 42, A Missing Leaf:

Perrin stood near the Tuatha'an wagons under a bright sunlight, alone, and there was no arrow in his side, no pain.

I'm sure there are other examples. I think we tend to believe there is no sun in TAR because we remember so many more examples of them being indoors, yet having light come from everywhere & nowhere. Also, both chapters didn't have any mention of unseen eyes (I always assumed that to be the Forsaken watching them, but it's not a firm stance, so please don't clobber me with an RJ quote to the contrary).

 

As for the first line you caught in that chapter:

 

"As well go ahead and kill him."

 

I can't believe I missed that! It's probably because it comes right after the part about Rand's eyes & I was so proud of myself for finding it that I just flew right past it. I think you're right, that is more likely to be what BS was talking about. Still very exciting, though, if you just discovered at least one of Rand's deaths will be Egwene killing him.

 

Nice catch!

[Hybrid]

I decided to take Terez's advice & start reading RJ & BS blogs and interviews. I came across something interesting:

Wow. TDR 27 has a cool little foreshadowing for the end of AMOL that I'd never noticed before.

I went back & read it. It's just about all Egwene in TAR looking for the BA, but along the way she encounters Rand sitting alone at a campfire. I think this must be what BS was talking about:

He was on his feet so suddenly that she stopped dead. He seemed in some way larger than she remembered. And a touch dangerous. Perhaps more than a touch. His blue-grey eyes seemed to burn like frozen fire.

 

Having trouble meeting Rand's eyes . . . sounds familiar . . . clearly Egwene is a Darkfriend.

 

(That's a joke, not an Egwene bash -- shouldn't have to put this in, but everyone is taking this Egwene stuff seriously)

[smthappy]

The Creator will revive him and buff him so much so he can eat DO for breakfast

[Luckers]

The Creator will revive him and buff him so much so he can eat DO for breakfast

 

For some reason this sounded sexual to me. :s

[hazelkrs1]

The Creator will revive him and buff him so much so he can eat DO for breakfast

 

For reasons obvious to everyone on Dragonmount by now this sounded sexual to me. :s

 

Fixed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lawlers!!!

[lord of madness]

rand and mordin will both die and one of them will give the orther a small amount of life force and this happens outside of the parten but away for the DO so it can't be told which one will live again

[Kelandon]

Well, this is fun. I kind of like the "Rand dies at the Battle of Caemlyn, gets ripped from T'A'R (or resurrected from apparent death), and dies again at the Last Battle." This seems like a reasonable answer to "when."

 

Still, as I'm reading all of this, I keep being bothered by the boat. Nicola's prophecy puts him in a boat, and Melaine and Bair's dream shortly thereafter seems to have the same thing. Assuming these are the same moment, we have:

 

* Three women on a boat (with no visible faces)

* Rand

* He who is dead yet lives (possibly the same as Rand)

* A scale tilting first one way then the other

 

Given that Elayne, Aviendha, and Min are by far the most likely three women, and given that the previous sentence says, "The lion sword, the dedicated spear, she who sees beyond," which seems pretty obviously to refer to those three, we might also take the rest of Nicola's prophecy together with it: "The great battle done, but the world not done with battle. The land divided by the return, and the guardians balance the servants. The future teeters on the edge of a blade." I doubt that the other Wise One dreams go with the boat, structurally, though.

 

Now, here's what drives me crazy.

 

The "return" links this with the Seanchan Return. There are the Seanchan prophecies in WH that say that the Dragon Reborn must kneel to the Seanchan Empress before the Last Battle, and the Karaethon Cycle, "The north shall he tie to the east, and the west shall be bound to the south," and the Aelfinn, "The north and east must be as one. The west and south must be as one. The two must be as one.” So if the sentences that follow the "boat" part in Nicola's prophecy are related to the boat, and if the Seanchan part relates to the Seanchan prophecies regarding the Dragon Reborn, then the boat might have something to do with Rand allying with Tuon for the Last Battle.

 

The "guardians balance the servants" seems plainly enough to refer to the Asha'man and the Aes Sedai. The word "balance" in Nicola's prophecy seems to align with the "scales" in the dream, and maybe "teeters on the edge of a blade" as well. (Uh, wait. I took "teeters on the edge of a blade" just to mean that it could go one way or the other, but does blade itself have some sort of resonance, in the way that "return," "guardians," and "servants" does? Could "blade" be a specific reference to an event/idea/thing?) But in what way do the Asha'man balance the Aes Sedai, and in what way does the balance seem to tilt one way and then the other? At the founding of the Asha'man in LoC, Taim talks about equaling the White Tower (apparently in numbers), which would be a type of balance, but doesn't fit well with tilting scales. If this is after the Battle of Caemlyn, maybe something happens there that sets Aes Sedai opposed to Asha'man in some sort of stalemate. But this is all if "guardians" refers to Asha'man and "servants" refers to Aes Sedai, and further if the "balance" in one prophecy relates to the "scales" in the other.

 

"The great battle done, but the world not done with battle." Herid Fel rather incoherently mumbles about the Last Battle in LoC, saying that it can't be the Last Battle, or that every Age has a Last Battle, or something. But the point seems to be (and Aviendha's visions in ToM seem to confirm) that even after Rand is done fighting the Dark One, there are more battles. Notably, there's still the problem with the Seanchan vs. everyone else. Even after the Last Battle, the world won't be done with battle. So the "great battle" could very well be the Last Battle, but the Seanchan still remain a monstrous problem. Alternatively, there could be any number of great battles before the Last Battle, but calling them the "great battle" seems strange.

 

And then there's the fact that it's on a boat. Does this have to do with the Sea Folk? Does this have to do with the Seanchan? Does this have to do with Bayle Domon? Where are they coming from and where are they going to?

 

So if the "return" suggests Seanchan, the "boat" suggests Seanchan, and the battle after the great battle suggests Seanchan, then maybe Rand dies at the Last Battle, is resurrected afterward, deals with the Seanchan, and dies again. This would give a good LotR parallel: destroy the Ring (seal the Bore) at Mount Doom (Shayol Ghul) but return to the Shire (Andor, maybe? Randland generally, maybe?) to deal with Saruman and the problems he has caused (the Seanchan, the occupation). Interestingly, this would suggest that the Last Battle actually takes place in the middle of AMOL, and the Seanchan resolution takes place at the end of AMOL; honestly, I like this idea a lot, even if I'm not sure how probable it really is.

 

EDIT: Maybe the future teeters on the edge of this blade.

[funsize]

I always thought Guardians balancing the Servants had something to do with bonding.

 

I find it highly unlikely Rand "deals" with the Seanchan. I mean, Aviendah's second trip kinda shuts that one down.

 

That thing with the boats, wasn't that taken from Arthurian legend? Something about Avalon methinks.