Dark Prophecy

[Entreri]

The Dark Prophecy is about 3 ta'avern, Ishamael/Death, the Forsaken/Midnight Towers and Shai'tan. The major players in the Last Battle.

 

Broken Wolf is Rand. Broken in the sense of his body/various injuries or possibly what is in store for him.

 

 

 

"And his destruction shall bring fear and sorrow to the hearts of men, and shall shake their very will itself."

 

Only his death would have that kind of impact. Lan is not significant enough. Perrin while very significant, most people hardly know him and his death would not cause this kind of impact among the Light forces. The DR dying would of course.

 

Most of the Forsaken/Midnight Towers hardly consider Mat and Perrin to be of much significance and their target is Rand.

 

 

"Yea, and the Broken Wolf, the one whom Death has known, shall fall and be consumed by the Midnight Towers". The way Death is capitalized means Mordin, and him are Rand are almost bed buddies.

 

So possibly a Forsaken trap will finally do in Rand, at least temporarily until the "Broken Champion" takes care of business. The Jesus like Resurrection.

 

 

"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."

"Twice dawns the day when his blood is shed.

Once for mourning, once for birth.

Red on black, the Dragon's blood stains the rock of Shayol Ghul.

In the Pit of Doom shall his blood free men from the Shadow."

 

 

Twice to live and twice to die.

[Phelix]

The dark prophecies must be fulfilled, just as the light prophecies must be. I discuss this in some detail here, along with why I think the Broken Wolf has to be Rand.

 

I almost think you discount Ituralde too quickly, Terez.

 

The three points for the Broken Wolf are:

 

1. Has known Death.

2. Shall fall and be consumed by the Midnight Towers.

3. His death 'shall bring fear and sorrow to the hearts of men, and shall shake their very will itself'.

 

1. Ituralde is as familiar with death in the lower case as anyone else in the series. He's a Great Captain, a lifetime soldier, and he spent a good chunk of his on screen time contemplating his own death. In the Upper case, there's a lot less to go on, so this is a weak point.

 

2. Ituralde is a General, one of the Great Captains. What else will Rand do with him, but put a large army under his command? If that army is sent to defend the Saldaea/Arad Doman border, where we can expect the horde of Trollocs to continue moving, then there's a significant chance that Ituralde and his men could be sweapt aside, devoured, consumed, by the forces of the Dark One. If those trollocs are being organized and maneuvered by Demandred (as one would hope the Shadow's surviving General is doing) then it could easily be said that an army lead by the Little Wolf was consumed by the Midnight Towers.

 

3. I think this is where you underestimate the status of the Great Captains. These five men are known throughout the world in armies in every nation. Kings and lords study their battles and thoughts. If one of the Great Captains were easily overwhelmed, that would definitely bring sorrow to the hearts of men and shake their will... if a Great Captain cannot mount a defense, what chance do they have?

 

I'm not sure Ituralde is the reference... but I think you discount him too quickly. He's one of the few characters that is actively identified with the Wolf, and in more than a handful of personal thoughts or quotes. It's a well known name for Ituralde. I would have to say that I think Ituralde fits more than Rand.

[yoniy0]

Let me be the first to note that there's a difference between "knowing death" and "Death's knowing you". If we accept Death to be Moridin, then I won't feel comfortable with anything short of a deep familiarity. Such as Moridin has with Rand, but with none other on the Light's side (ahm, perhaps Birggite, she did live back in the WoP).

Otherwise, you'll need to have experienced some close encounter with death. Rand remembers dying (as himself, unlike Mat), so that'll do it. Hopper would also have worked in his TAR incarnation, but he's gone forever now (and wouldn't satisfy other parts of the prophecy). I can't see it holding for Perrin/Bashere/Ituralde. Slayer's good on that respect (one did die), but again fails on others.

[Terez]

Also, I think most people take the bit about shaking the will of the people too lightly. I think only the premature death of the Dragon Reborn could cause that kind of reaction.

[Phelix]

Let me be the first to note that there's a difference between "knowing death" and "Death's knowing you". If we accept Death to be Moridin, then I won't feel comfortable with anything short of a deep familiarity. Such as Moridin has with Rand, but with none other on the Light's side (ahm, perhaps Birggite, she did live back in the WoP).

Otherwise, you'll need to have experienced some close encounter with death. Rand remembers dying (as himself, unlike Mat), so that'll do it. Hopper would also have worked in his TAR incarnation, but he's gone forever now (and wouldn't satisfy other parts of the prophecy). I can't see it holding for Perrin/Bashere/Ituralde. Slayer's good on that respect (one did die), but again fails on others.

 

That's an entirely fair point. I'm not sure how Ituralde could be connected to Moridin. It's a weak point for Ituralde being the Broken Wolf. Though, the events in question could be yet to come. If Ituralde's forces are thoroughly defeated and rather than dying in the conflict, Ituralde is taken and personally broken by Moridin... either by Compulsion or by more normal means... then the Wolf would have been consumed by the Towers of Midnight. If he is then sent back out as a General for the Shadow, it would be a great blow to the will of those fighting for the Light, much like when Sammael and Demandred did so in the War of Power.

 

But that's entirely speculation.

 

 

Also, I think most people take the bit about shaking the will of the people too lightly. I think only the premature death of the Dragon Reborn could cause that kind of reaction.

 

Another fair point, but I disagree, mostly because I think if Ituralde were in a position to be consumed, it would most likely be while he was with a sizable portion of the Light's Armies. He's one of the Great Captains, and one Rand has already trusted to fight for him. If Ituralde were consumed while with a quarter or a fifth of the Light's armies, that would be significant enough to shake the will of the people, in my opinion. The forces of the Light are already outnumbered. If they lost a large chunk of their forces as well as one of the Great Captains... I can see that causing people to lose the will to continue fighting.

 

Yes, Rand's death, capture, or disappearance would most certainly achieve that result... but I don't think he fits the rest of the phrase well. Yes, he was known by Moridin very well... but the title Broken Wolf just doesn't seem to go well with what we know of Rand. Or the idea of him being consumed by the Midnight Towers.

 

Just my opinion though.

[Terez]

Eh, a general dying in the middle of a battle no matter how good he is....not worth mentioning in the prophecies. It happens. It's not going to shake the will of the people - if anything does in that situation, then their losing the battle would be what does it. Generals can be replaced; the Dragon Reborn can't. There are enough wolf connections to Rand to make it work, and we already know he will be consumed by Moridin, who effectively represents the Midnight Towers. That bit fits Rand better than anyone else, hands down. The whole thing does, except the wolf bit (which IMO is a red herring).

[Phelix]

Eh, a general dying in the middle of a battle no matter how good he is....not worth mentioning in the prophecies. It happens. It's not going to shake the will of the people - if anything does in that situation, then their losing the battle would be what does it. Generals can be replaced; the Dragon Reborn can't. There are enough wolf connections to Rand to make it work, and we already know he will be consumed by Moridin, who effectively represents the Midnight Towers. That bit fits Rand better than anyone else, hands down. The whole thing does, except the wolf bit (which IMO is a red herring).

 

As to the point about replacing Generals, sure... you can replace a General. Every nation has Generals... but there are only five Great Captains. If one of those Five were destroyed along with the entire portion of the Light's armies they were leading, that would be more than enough to shake the will of the people.

 

I read through the page you linked, and the connections between Rand and wolves are very minimal. A pair of comments from him, a comment from Sorilea, and the fact that the wolves called him Shadowkiller. I doubt that is enough to call him "the Broken Wolf" which was also capitalized, like Death. The other titles in the prophecy are fairly easily identifiable. It seems odd that this one would be a red herring, especially when it was used as a plot point already.

 

We don't know that Rand will be consumed by Moridin. We know that they will merge, and one will walk away... but that's not necessarily "consuming."

[Entreri]

Iturlade is too insignificant to cause that kind of reaction.

 

Pedron Niall has died, no big deal.

 

Min I think has a prophecy which indicates Bashere will die. No big deal.

 

 

Only the DR dying would shake men's will to fight. With the DR dead, there is no point fighting, just briefly prolonging the inevitable Trolloc feast.

[herid]

Iturlade is too insignificant to cause that kind of reaction.

 

Pedron Niall has died, no big deal.

 

Min I think has a prophecy which indicates Bashere will die. No big deal.

 

 

Only the DR dying would shake men's will to fight. With the DR dead, there is no point fighting, just briefly prolonging the inevitable Trolloc feast.

this is a very subjective argument. yes, Rand would fit best here but I don't agree that it absolutely disqualifies everybody else. Lan's death or Perrin's death would likely cause similar reactions among their followers. Ituralde's death or Bashere's probably wouldn't, I agree with that.

[earlyretirement]

Hi everyone - long time reader, first time poster, little disclaimer, I've only read the books once, but some of the cooler parts many times. And, I've looked around to see if anyone else has posted my theory, but I couldn't find it…sorry if my theory isn't so novel and I just missed it somewhere on the forum…I digress…

 

So we've pretty much figured out the One-Eyed Fool, First Among Vermin, and the Fallen Blacksmith', the Lord of the Evening, but there is no consensus about the Broken Wolf.

 

What if the destruction by the broken wolf is actually a good thing, from the good guys perspective, and the fear and sorrow described is the fear and sorrow of the bad guys, the people this prophecy is directed at? It kinda makes sense as in the next passage Moridin seems like he's sweeping in to save the evil people by fighting Rand.

 

But who could the Broken Wolf be? I remember reading people thought it might be Ituralde, the Little Wolf, or Hopper or even Slayer, but this just didn't seem right when the only other people mentioned are major players. I've seen people saying it might be Perrin, that it talks about Rand twice, so maybe it talks about Perrin twice…but that doesn't seem right either.

 

The Broken Wolf would need to be another major character, on par with Rand and Moridin, and his destruction, either his own actual destruction or what he destroys, is going to be a big deal, so he probably has a great capacity to cause serious damage. And of course he has to have something to do with wolves…..

 

Padan Fain

 

He's a big time player, a wild card that threatens the DO and Rand [did anyone else see his ability to instantly kill fades as an implied threat to Shaidar Haran?].

 

Broken Wolf: He was made into a hound to hunt the Dragon Reborn, and from the Shadow's POV he is broken in that he has gone rogue (and completely mad).

[A hound may not technically be a wolf, but its not a huge leap and the Darkhounds are/were wolves, so the connection may not be too tenuous to be true. The prophecy could have said Broken Hound, but that would not have sounded as cool and it would have been much too easy to figure out]

 

Death has known: DO made Fain into his hound, and if nothing else Fain is very acquainted with death [on a side note, has anyone seen a connection with Fain's focus on 'black above, red beneath' (in ToM) and Moridin? Could be a red herring, but maybe Moridin and Fain are more connected than we know?], and just to cover my bases, Moridin (Death), as Ishmael, probably had everything to do with making Fain into the DOs hound.

 

Consumed by the Midnight Towers: Not sure, but aren't the Forsaken compared to towers by Egwene in one of her dream foretelling/prophecies? If so, this could mean that Fain ends up fighting the Forsaken - and the "consumed" part may hint that Fain takes some of the Forsaken out before he's done.

 

 

Let me know what you think, and sorry again if this was already posted.

 

Additionally, I just wanted to float these ideas, and maybe ya'll could point me to where they've been discussed:

 

What is Shayol Ghul like in the dream world?

 

Are the wild monsters of the blight manifested in the dream world? What are the wolves rushing to fight?

 

Has Rand disconnected from Moridin? I don't think he has, but he doesn't see Moridin when he used the One Power anymore. Does Rand still have access to the True Source?

 

Thanks!

EarlyRetirement

[FarShainMael]

he dark prophecies must be fulfilled, just as the light prophecies must be. I discuss this in some detail here, along with why I think the Broken Wolf has to be Rand.

 

Yes, they must.. but as Elaida could tell us, not quite how we think they will!

 

From your essay:

 

3. His death 'shall bring fear and sorrow to the hearts of men, and shall shake their very will itself'.

 

This is a misquote. It was

 

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

 

What says 'it's not Rand' to me is this: why mention him twice? We have:

the one-eyed fool = Mat

the first among vermin = Rand

the fallen blacksmith = Perrin

 

Then we have

'Yea, and the Broken Wolf'...etc.

 

This suggests to me that the Broken Wolf is someone in addition to the three ta'veren.

 

I'm with Kiriath, Terhan Dahr and earlyretirement. I think 'his destruction' could well mean 'the destruction that he causes'. I'm not sure who this particular 'he' is, though. Could even be Moridin..

 

..And I vote for the 'Broken Wolf' being Slayer.

[yoniy0]

Additionally, I just wanted to float these ideas, and maybe ya'll could point me to where they've been discussed:

A good place to begin is the Ask a Simple Question thread, but just so you don't waste your time:

What is Shayol Ghul like in the dream world?

Are the wild monsters of the blight manifested in the dream world? What are the wolves rushing to fight?

The Blight has no reflection in tel'aran'rhiod.

 

why mention him twice?

He's already mentioned twice. Once as the "First among Vermin" and once as the "Broken Champion". Unless the vermin thing isn't him at all, which is possible but I can't bring myself to believe it (lifting his hand to free the DO is exactly what Rand is planning).

[W_A]

If the Broken Wolf is Rand, then it's possible that the destruction part has already been fulfilled, if we go according to the possessive theory, because it could be all the destruction caused by Dark Rand. I haven't read the Dark Rand parts in a whil,e but I do remember that people were certainly very scared for him around TGS.

[Entreri]

Iturlade is too insignificant to cause that kind of reaction.

 

Pedron Niall has died, no big deal.

 

Min I think has a prophecy which indicates Bashere will die. No big deal.

 

 

Only the DR dying would shake men's will to fight. With the DR dead, there is no point fighting, just briefly prolonging the inevitable Trolloc feast.

this is a very subjective argument. yes, Rand would fit best here but I don't agree that it absolutely disqualifies everybody else. Lan's death or Perrin's death would likely cause similar reactions among their followers. Ituralde's death or Bashere's probably wouldn't, I agree with that.

 

At first reading I also thought Lan, but he is not significant enough to cause the human race to lose the will to fight, only his handful of companions (small army of 12000) = completely insignificant.

 

Same thing with Perrin.

 

 

Somebody mentioned Fain. His death nobody would lose a minute of sleep over it. And certainly not cause the human race to lose the will to fight.

 

 

"And the Lord of the Evening shall face the BROKEN Champion, and shall spill his blood and bring us the Darkness so beautiful".

 

Rand has been called many things: Lord of the Morning, DR, Car'a'carn, Caramoor, Shadowkiller, Chosen One (Creator called him in EoTW), Prince of Dawn, Defender of the Light, First Among Vermin, Broken Champion...

 

So it is not too surprising he is also called the BROKEN Wolf.

[Entreri]

This Dark Prophecy only has the important people mentioned specifically by name:

 

Greatest One/Great Lord/Lord of the Evening = Shai'tan

 

One-Eyed-Fool = Mat

 

First Among Vermin, Broken Champion, Broken Wolf = Rand

 

Fallen Blacksmith = Perrin

 

Death = Ishamael/Moridin

 

 

 

Midnight Towers = just generic Forsaken

 

 

 

While Fain is a major player, especially after what he has done in ToM, his death would never cause "And his destruction shall bring fear and sorrow to the hearts of men, and shall shake their VERY WILL itself".

[Guest mike03]

Personally, I tend to think that it's Lan. To have such an impact on all men, I feel like it would have to be someone well known. Rand certainly fits, but Perrin and Mat really aren't well known by everyone else. However, Lan is known throughout many cultures and his death would be meaningful.

 

That's just one piece of it, though, because I don't think that other parts fit with Lan, such as the title of broken wolf or falling to the Midnight Towers. It seems like there are pieces that fit for many characters, but that entire line of the prophecy doesn't match one person. Hopefully, it will be a good surprise in the story.

[Terez]

As to the point about replacing Generals, sure... you can replace a General. Every nation has Generals... but there are only five Great Captains. If one of those Five were destroyed along with the entire portion of the Light's armies they were leading, that would be more than enough to shake the will of the people.

I disagree. Too much stretching.

 

I read through the page you linked, and the connections between Rand and wolves are very minimal. A pair of comments from him, a comment from Sorilea, and the fact that the wolves called him Shadowkiller. I doubt that is enough to call him "the Broken Wolf" which was also capitalized, like Death. The other titles in the prophecy are fairly easily identifiable. It seems odd that this one would be a red herring, especially when it was used as a plot point already.

It doesn't seem odd to me at all. If they'd made it less counterintuitive that it's Rand, then we'd know that Rand was going to die prematurely. The 'wolf' bit is far less important than the rest of it.

 

We don't know that Rand will be consumed by Moridin. We know that they will merge, and one will walk away... but that's not necessarily "consuming."

Yeah?

He found himself staring at the reflection of his own face, pale and shivering in the knife-edge cold. Ba'alzamon's image grew behind his, staring at him; not seeing, but staring still. In every mirror, the flames of Ba'alzamon's face raged behind him, enveloping, consuming, merging. He wanted to scream, but his throat was frozen. There was only one face in those endless mirrors. His own face. Ba'alzamon's face. One face.

 

From your essay:

 

3. His death 'shall bring fear and sorrow to the hearts of men, and shall shake their very will itself'.

 

This is a misquote.

No, it wasn't. Everything within the quote marks was an exact quote. Most of us assume that 'destruction' means 'death'. Even the body swap folks think that has to count as his death.

 

Slayer is probably one of the more ridiculous Broken Wolf theories. No one will care at all when he dies.

[earlyretirement]

While Fain is a major player, especially after what he has done in ToM, his death would never cause "And his destruction shall bring fear and sorrow to the hearts of men, and shall shake their VERY WILL itself".

 

 

I don't know, I can see a monstrous horde of zombie trollocks wiping out everything in its path to get at Rand pretty disheartening to everyone. And who knows, maybe Fain's new zombie power applies to humans too - so rather than wiping out armies, he just kind of incorporates them - maybe those wicked looking Aiel in ToM were an example of his affect on humans?

 

And if Fain were able to do something really horrible to Rand, which he seems entirely capable of doing now, that would also shake men's will.

 

Wouldn't it be interesting if Moridin and Rand had to team up to fight Fain (neither has had much success taking him on with their own respective forces/strategies, and Fain has dramatically increased his powers), only to face each other in the final final battle? Or I could see a scenario where Fain's chaotic evil threatens both the light and the shadow and instinctively the light and the shadow turn on Fain - that would shake men's will.

 

I think with Fain's new powers, and his nigh invulnerability, he's going to do something big time to Rand and/or the Dark One - and it makes sense that if he is going to do something huge, or get close in a vain attempt, that a prophecy would reflect this.

 

EarlyRetirement

[Terez]

RJ commented that Fain has in a way sidestepped the Pattern. This, along with the fact that Min doesn't see any viewings around him, suggests that maybe there cannot be any prophecies about Fain.

 

But if I was going to peg Fain for a title in this prophecy, it would be First Among Vermin.

[Entreri]

"I think with Fain's new powers, and his nigh invulnerability, he's going to do something big time to Rand and/or the Dark One - and it makes sense that if he is going to do something huge, or get close in a vain attempt, that a prophecy would reflect this."

 

 

Sure, Fain can cause a lot of damage and now I would say more dangerous than even Moridin.

 

A confrontation between him and Shadar Haran would be epic...both evils annihilating each other.

 

However Fain's death will not cause men to lose their will to fight. Rand's death will. The Dark Prophecy does not mention Fain at all.

[PhoenixUK]

Why are people saying "The Dark Prophecy MUST be fulfilled" ? When talking about the karaethon cycle didn't others say that the prophecies only set the scene for the event, and do not guarantee it will happen? I think it was either Suian or Moiraine, worrying about Rand running off on his own, can't remember the exact quote. If so, there's no reason why the dark prophecies are set in stone either.

 

I agree that I think moridin and graendal jumped the gun and interpreted it as they wanted, and that it is quite likely the Wolf mentioned is NOT perrin

[Terez]

Why are people saying "The Dark Prophecy MUST be fulfilled" ? When talking about the karaethon cycle didn't others say that the prophecies only set the scene for the event, and do not guarantee it will happen?

No. Rand has observed that the prophecies dictate a number of circumstances that are necessary in order for Rand to win the Last Battle - they don't guarantee that he will win it.

 

Taim spread his hands. "You are the Dragon Reborn. I don’t doubt that; I acknowledge it publicly. We march toward Tarmon Gai’don. Which the Prophecies say you will win. And the histories will say that Mazrim Taim stood at your right hand."

 

"Perhaps," Rand told him curtly. He had lived too many prophecies to believe any of them meant exactly what they said. Or even that they insured anything. In his opinion, prophecy set the conditions that had to be met for a thing to happen; only, meeting them did not mean the thing would happen, just that it could. Some of the conditions set in the Prophecies of the Dragon more than implied that he had to die for any chance at victory. Thinking of that did nothing for his temper.

Context is important.

 

ETA: to put it more simply, the outcome of the Last Battle is the only thing that the prophecies can't actually predict, because if he loses, then the Pattern will be destroyed and none of the prophecies will be fulfilled. Other than that, if they say something is going to happen, it will happen. As Brandon says, some prophecies might be recorded wrong, and some might be interpreted wrong, but they will happen either way. Dreaming is a little different because it shows possibilities rather than certainties, but it's rare that dreams are used preventatively in the WoT world. Usually they happen. The only exception I can call to mind was the fact that the Dreamwalkers saw Moiraine demanding the right to go to Rhuidean, but instead she learned that she must go (or die - that was implicit) from them.

[FarShainMael]

why mention him twice?

He's already mentioned twice. Once as the "First among Vermin" and once as the "Broken Champion". Unless the vermin thing isn't him at all, which is possible but I can't bring myself to believe it (lifting his hand to free the DO is exactly what Rand is planning).

 

It was the 'Yea, and..' that I meant, as I pointed out. I agree with Terez that context is important.

 

Most of us assume that 'destruction' means 'death'. Even the body swap folks think that has to count as his death.

 

What any of us assume is not relevant. What matters, surely, is what did RJ intend.

[Terez]

You're free to theorize that destruction≠death in this case, but I didn't misquote it, and I can hardly be accused of taking something out of context when the full prophecy is quoted on the page.

[Phelix]

Iturlade is too insignificant to cause that kind of reaction.

 

Pedron Niall has died, no big deal.

 

Min I think has a prophecy which indicates Bashere will die. No big deal.

 

 

Only the DR dying would shake men's will to fight. With the DR dead, there is no point fighting, just briefly prolonging the inevitable Trolloc feast.

 

I disagree, still. Niall died in an internal strife situation while the world was relatively at peace. If Ituralde were captured, or his forces were destroyed, or he were consumed by the shadow and converted in some manner, that would be earth shaking.

 

There's a very clean parallel between this proposal and the Age of Legends. Sammael was a trusted General, but when he turned to the Shadow he was renamed the Destroyer of Hope. If one of the Light's top Generals in this Age were turned, it would be a major event. We know that when Generals in the past flipped sides it was enough to shake men's will to fight.

 

I am not saying that the prophecy will definitely be fulfilled by Ituralde dying. I am saying that if he died, along with the forces he commands, it would be a major blow to the Light. If he were captured and turned (probably by compulsion or torture) that would be a major blow to the Light. Either of those situations would fulfill being "consumed by the Midnight Towers."

 

 

Iturlade is too insignificant to cause that kind of reaction.

 

Pedron Niall has died, no big deal.

 

Min I think has a prophecy which indicates Bashere will die. No big deal.

 

 

Only the DR dying would shake men's will to fight. With the DR dead, there is no point fighting, just briefly prolonging the inevitable Trolloc feast.

this is a very subjective argument. yes, Rand would fit best here but I don't agree that it absolutely disqualifies everybody else. Lan's death or Perrin's death would likely cause similar reactions among their followers. Ituralde's death or Bashere's probably wouldn't, I agree with that.

 

It's not just his death, though. It's his consumption and destruction.

 

As to the point about replacing Generals, sure... you can replace a General. Every nation has Generals... but there are only five Great Captains. If one of those Five were destroyed along with the entire portion of the Light's armies they were leading, that would be more than enough to shake the will of the people.

I disagree. Too much stretching.

 

It's too much stretching to assume that a General Rand has already trusted to defend the blight Border, an acknowledged Great Captain, will be commanding a large chunk of the Light's military forces?

 

I read through the page you linked, and the connections between Rand and wolves are very minimal. A pair of comments from him, a comment from Sorilea, and the fact that the wolves called him Shadowkiller. I doubt that is enough to call him "the Broken Wolf" which was also capitalized, like Death. The other titles in the prophecy are fairly easily identifiable. It seems odd that this one would be a red herring, especially when it was used as a plot point already.

It doesn't seem odd to me at all. If they'd made it less counterintuitive that it's Rand, then we'd know that Rand was going to die prematurely. The 'wolf' bit is far less important than the rest of it.

 

That's a very subjective argument. You believe the wolf bit is far less important, but there's no way to say whether it is or not until we see it fulfilled. I will say it still doesn't make sense to me that in a prophecy with five or six named figures, one is a red herring.

 

We don't know that Rand will be consumed by Moridin. We know that they will merge, and one will walk away... but that's not necessarily "consuming."

Yeah?

He found himself staring at the reflection of his own face, pale and shivering in the knife-edge cold. Ba'alzamon's image grew behind his, staring at him; not seeing, but staring still. In every mirror, the flames of Ba'alzamon's face raged behind him, enveloping, consuming, merging. He wanted to scream, but his throat was frozen. There was only one face in those endless mirrors. His own face. Ba'alzamon's face. One face.

 

That's one quote that says Ba'alzamon's face was consuming. Yes. That was a Dream Rand was having, so it was either his own subconscious or a Dream in T'A'R constructed by Ishy to harass Rand. Rand's dreams are not prophetic, unless I've missed it somewhere where we are told that Rand has the Talent of Dreaming like Egwene or the Dreamwalkers.