WOT Reread Questions

[Turok]

So I just started rereading the series and I am done with book 1 and 2 and I had quite a few questions while I was reading them but I have forgotten most of them haha. Anyway two I remember are...

 

Frist, can someone explain to me the point of the eye of the world scene? So you have this giant resivor of saidan which Rand uses to kill Aginor and wound Ish but how did he stop the Dark One? Was it just the army of Trollocs and Fades that was the big deal or did he somehow hurt the Dark One's power for a time? I just don't fully understand the point of everything or what the big deal unless it wa using the resivor up just so the Forsaken couldn't use it themselves.

 

Second, how is it that the Seanchan don't know about Sul'dam being able to channel. I mean yeah I guess it's possible that it just never came up but it doesn't seem probable at all. Like when they test to find Damane wouldn't they beign putting collars on every women to test them and then realize even the ones that could learn, non spark ones, could be controlled by adam? Plus does it explain what happened when they find the two chained Sul'dam in Falme later on in the books, I can't remember. I mean maybe Jordan is just stretching chance a little for the sake of the sotry line but it just doesn't seem very likely that they haven't figured it out in hundreds of years.

[somathus]

So I just started rereading the series and I am done with book 1 and 2 and I had quite a few questions while I was reading them but I have forgotten most of them haha. Anyway two I remember are...

 

Frist, can someone explain to me the point of the eye of the world scene? So you have this giant resivor of saidan which Rand uses to kill Aginor and wound Ish but how did he stop the Dark One? Was it just the army of Trollocs and Fades that was the big deal or did he somehow hurt the Dark One's power for a time? I just don't fully understand the point of everything or what the big deal unless it wa using the resivor up just so the Forsaken couldn't use it themselves.

 

Second, how is it that the Seanchan don't know about Sul'dam being able to channel. I mean yeah I guess it's possible that it just never came up but it doesn't seem probable at all. Like when they test to find Damane wouldn't they beign putting collars on every women to test them and then realize even the ones that could learn, non spark ones, could be controlled by adam? Plus does it explain what happened when they find the two chained Sul'dam in Falme later on in the books, I can't remember. I mean maybe Jordan is just stretching chance a little for the sake of the sotry line but it just doesn't seem very likely that they haven't figured it out in hundreds of years.

 

 

It has been theorized that the Eye was created for a larger purpose then Rand used it for. If so, something should hit the fan in AMOL. I believe it was originally created in response to a foretelling, but I don't think the actual point of it was ever mentioned.

 

The fact that sul'dam can channel is known by a few Seanchen but it is a very, VERY tightly kept secret.

[Turok]

Wait would Tuon be one of those in on the secret because if so...what the crap!

[spoke]

The secret was initially buried hundreds of years ago by tradition, sul'dams are only tested after sparking ages have occured, so they never knew that they had the talent to learn, and since they are only collaring sparkers, there is no real issue, until the two Renna and (what's her bucket) and bethamin (later collared by egean(lewilin shipless)) are all collared, and reappear in the story, one is killed by Mat's order, the other two go on to the white tower with Mrs Shipless.

[spoke]

Wait would Tuon be one of those in on the secret because if so...what the crap!

 

 

yes she is in on the secret, but her comments were something along the lines of she chooses not to channel (as if there was ever a choice for the damane sparkers).

[Sharaman]

There's been several long threads about the sul'dam secret.

Yes, some Seanchan know and yes, given the sheer numbers of sul'dam-damane, it's stretching credulity to write a narrative that hangs on Seanchan society not knowing in general. But that's how RJ did it.

 

In sum, every Seanchan woman is tested from early puberty (Alivia was 11 when collared) every year until she's around 25 for both "sul'dam" quality as well as "damane-ness". The natural sparkers get picked up as damane, the ones who have the passive ability and would need to be trained to channel show up as sul'dam. Since the sul'dam continue to be tested for many years, we may assume that some of them also manifest as damanes before they cross 25. Apparently, prolonged use of the A'dam brings a sul'dam closer to sensing the Source and spontaneously channeling.

 

But apparently the Seanchan assume that anybody who has passed the a'dam test 10-odd times and not turned out to be damane, until they are past the cutoff age of 25, is safe.

Also most sul'dam (they outnumber damane by some multiples given that sparkers are rare) rarely get much practice using the a'dam so they don't get pushed over the edge into becoming damane that easily.

 

However, given the sheer numbers - millions of women have been tested for a thousand years, the meticulous bureaucratic records we're told about listing every damane and sul'dam in the Empire, village by village testing, family roll by family roll strikes, and RJ's own estimate that around 1% of the WoT population are channelers (sparkers + passives; male and female) it's stretching statistical improbability to the limit to assume that this isn't already known to a very large number of people (random clerks and quartermasters, families of sul'dam who got caught out as damane before turning 25, the entire sul'dam community, many damane, etc.) in Seanchan.

 

We've also seen at least two people - Aviendha and Alise of the Kin who can sense "weak" channeling ability in sul'dam. Even if this is a rare Talent, there are many thousands of damane in Seanchan and some of them may also have this talent.

 

Furthermore since it was discovered in WoTland, Elayne and the Kin have made no secret of it; in fact they've pushed hard to make it public knowledge. Again, it's stretching credulity to assume that the Seanchan seekers have not discovered this.

 

But that's how he wrote it.

(Much of the above information comes mainly from Bethamin's PoVs with a few other details thrown in).