What's in the name anyway

[spoke]

Each book has had interesting names with meanings that relate to what is occurring. so what does "A Memory of Light" mean. My thoughts are that since we haven't really seen the 13x13 thing happen, Rand will be turned forcefully to the dark side, and the book, including the last battle will include him coming back to the light, hence the name "A Memory of Light."

 

I have nothing to really back this up, it is just idle speculation, what are your thoughts?

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

my idle thought was that, similar to when the bore drilling went pear shaped, the DO will at first appear to have won, and darkness will start to cover the land. there will only be left a memory of light. until the end, when the light will at least begin to turn back the darkness.

[SylviaDoreen]

my idle thought was that, similar to when the bore drilling went pear shaped, the DO will at first appear to have won, and darkness will start to cover the land. there will only be left a memory of light. until the end, when the light will at least begin to turn back the darkness.

 

Its quite simple. The spiderwork of the light vs dark in rands brain will finally cause him to succumb to madness. He'll see light everywhere he goes, and in his insanity plunge the world into darkness eternal as he breaks the seal.

 

Nynaeve will see Land die, go crazy, and pull too much of the one power down on herself right there in Tarwin's Gap. The ensuing aftermath of this will cause a massive growth spurt in the blight, trees and critters mutate wildly, and run amuck, spreading throughout the Borderlands.

 

The trollocs will finally decide to settle down and marry each other.

 

Padain Fain will lick his dagger one too many times, get a cut on his tounge, and swell up the size of Mordeth. He'll then eat all the married trollocs.

 

Padain Fain then turns mysteriously into the giant marshmellow man (from ghostbusters movie), and stomp through all the northern forts turning everything into white fluffy sugary treats.

 

Perrin will use the hammer he just forged to smush padan fain into Smores, with a gooey chocolately center. All the problems with no food will then be solved for the rest of the world, though dentists find they had a boon in customers cuz of all the rotten teeth.

 

Mat ends up swallowing his wolfhead medallion, so Tuon can't bond him. After all bonding is being a warder, something mat can't stand.

 

Egwene gets stuffed into an oversized amyrlin chair and told to shut up finally. (And there was much rejoicing).

 

The aiel sing their dirge as the world is finally plunged into darkness. Everyone takes up eating giant mushrooms that grew because of the newly darkened world, after most the smores are gone. Dentists fume because they start losing customers now, and turn to the dark side.

 

The creator shakes his head in disgust, and takes up knitting instead of creating worlds. His new knitting becomes the pattern of the ages. It looks suspiciously like a giant quilt with smurfs on it.

 

When everyone finds out the giant mushrooms were actually smurf huts, and the gooey crunchy center was smurfs, everyone turns to the dark side because after all, eating smurfs is evil and everyone has done it now.

 

The End.

[aball]

I think it refers to a both real and metaphorical instances in the book. Literally, I think it refers to the world after Rand breaks the seals, where it is plunged into eternal night and light becomes only a memory. It also refers to how dire and hopeless the situation becomes for the Light until victory is less than a reality but merely a memory to hold onto. And then out of the darkness comes light.

[Waffleboy]

Iirc, the world didn't suddenly get terrible as soon as the bore was created in the AoL. Bad things did certainly start to happen culminating in the war of power, but it wasn't like the lights went out as soon as the prison was breached.

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

the intial explosion is described as pieces of blackness falling all around, and i'd find the quote but i can't, so maybe someone else could.

[Blood and Ashes]

I think it was more fitting when TGS, ToM and AMoL were all supposed to be one book. A Memory of Light, to me, fits so well with the Veins of Gold chapter in TGS. Rand is remembering what the light means to him: his friends and family. His past in Emond's Field.

 

When I first heard the title like 3 years ago I was so pumped. Now I still think it's an awesome title, but not nearly as fitting as it would've been.

[dscott8]

The story will end with Mat in a tavern, savoring the rich, dark ale and remembering with horror his encounter with the most awful invention of the Dark One's minions -- light beer.

[Shryke]

considering the dream scene with Lanfear/Cyndane in the most recent book i had an idle thought that maybe the "memory of light" was to do with her

[Aiyen kin Leary]

Probably refers to the Veins of Gold sequence. It's been the most pivotal thing to happen in the two thirds of the ending we currently have, and it fits perfectly. Unless something MAJOR happens in the last third (what's now going to be called AMOL), the title seems like just about the most fitting thing to call the end.

[yoshinobu]

Rand lives on in a Memory of Light after dying for said light. At least till he is reborn so he can do it agian. It would be nice, last time he left a memory of shadow, this time he can have light.

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

sad, but sweet.

[Demon_AS]

I would venture to suggest that the memory of Light is what the World has now because it is already so tainted by Darkness. Ever since the Dark One was exposed to the world, when the Bore was created, the world has increasingly been under the influence of the Dark One. The people were thrown from living an idyllic, peaceful existence into war, chaos and, ultimately, madness.

 

I wonder whether the World holds merely a memory of the Light it once did - and whether this is significant in terms of returning the World back to how it was.

 

Just one of many ideas I have, but I thought I'd try and post something new :).

[The Fallen One]

Slightly off topic but still to do with names of the books:

 

What did the title "Knife of Dreams" have to do with the book. I assume just TAR reference, but is there something more?

[Sid]

"The sweetness of victory and the bitterness of defeat are alike a knife of dreams.

 

—from Fog and Steel by Madoc Comadrin"

 

This book was mentioned when Talmanes and the Band of the Red Hand met up with Mat, and its content heavily influenced how he got his army away from the Seanchan and into Murandy.

[rand4747]

I would venture to suggest that the memory of Light is what the World has now because it is already so tainted by Darkness. Ever since the Dark One was exposed to the world, when the Bore was created, the world has increasingly been under the influence of the Dark One. The people were thrown from living an idyllic, peaceful existence into war, chaos and, ultimately, madness.

 

I wonder whether the World holds merely a memory of the Light it once did - and whether this is significant in terms of returning the World back to how it was.

 

Just one of many ideas I have, but I thought I'd try and post something new :).

 

 

I agree, all they have is a memory of there being no effect of the dark one on the world, the worlds been thrown into shadow.

[Gordar]

considering the dream scene with Lanfear/Cyndane in the most recent book i had an idle thought that maybe the "memory of light" was to do with her

 

You might have a good point, especially since she's the only one left of all the people present when the bore was drilled. Since she was there & probably still remembers what they did back then, she might have a simple solution to close the bore, without giving the DO a chance to retaliate.

 

She'll probably have to turn back to the light before telling anyone how to properly seal the bore though and she's been a servant of the DO for so long that the light is probably no more than a distant memory to her.

[Southpaw89]

I think the last battle will be dark and by the ending of it we'll see a glimpse that the future might be different but yet bright meaning a memory of light and how it was in the good old days may be brought back

[Orderofolde]

I would venture to suggest that the memory of Light is what the World has now because it is already so tainted by Darkness. Ever since the Dark One was exposed to the world, when the Bore was created, the world has increasingly been under the influence of the Dark One. The people were thrown from living an idyllic, peaceful existence into war, chaos and, ultimately, madness.

 

I wonder whether the World holds merely a memory of the Light it once did - and whether this is significant in terms of returning the World back to how it was.

 

Just one of many ideas I have, but I thought I'd try and post something new :).

We need to remember that RJ knew the ending of the tale before he wrote it. He had an appiphany, a moment of such clarity and awe likely in his days in Vietnam reading Tolkein when he suddenly thought, "WOW! That would be so AWESOME!" Not your cookie-cutter victory over evil by the forces of good, but something even cooler. RJ was what people call a "Gardener" writer, where you have an idea and plant it and in a meandering way whatch what grows from it, working towards the ending. Whatever it is, we know it's going to be good. We know Perrin and Faile live for the planned outriggers, we know that Matt and Tuon live for those Outriggers. We know that in some prophetic way Rand must "Die and Live Again" and his "Blood on the Rocks of Shayol Ghul" and all that.

 

It will probably be something grand like Rand gets to SG and shakes his fist, cursing the DO, and the DO is like, "... who are you? Just because you followed a prophecy doing all the things listed doesn't make you the Dragon." *Points at Logain* "He was the Dragon, until he was severed. The pattern only used you. Now he's the Dragon again." Rand becomes the "Almost Hero," another false Dragon created by the Aes Sedai meddling in the affairs of men to their own ends, and mistaken like usual, paving the path to the Dark One with good intentions and bungling by stilling the real Dragon. Just a lingering thought I've had from a few books into the series all these years. We know RJ wasn't enamored by the Tolkein tales of wizards showing up and tapping someone on the shoulder saying, "You are the Chosen One. You are the one who will save us all."

[Adam L Fuqua]

I don't think Logain was supposed to be the Dragon. It was mentioned at one point that once the Dragon proclaimed himself the pattern would no longer tolerate false Dragons and Rand didn't really believe that he was the Dragon until he held Callandor. Logain was captured before that. It was also speculated that if Rand was the Dragon Reborn would it be possible to sever him. I don't think that the pattern would have allowed the Dragon to be severed before he fufilled his destiny. I could be wrong but both of my previous points lead me to disagree with your theory. Also both Tain and Logain, the other "Dragons" have admitted that Rand is the Dragon.

 

As to the meaning of the Title AMoL, I keep wavering on the meaning too. It could be the event in VoG, it could also be what saves them when Rand dies, the Memory of Light being the guide to their salvation. I hadn't thought about the idea of Lanfear turning back to the light though.

 

I do recall reading somewhere that the last word of the book was suppossed to be "light", maybe that is the last line of the book, something like, "And the new age dawned because of his (Rand's) Memories of Light." Kinda cheesy, but after all the tragedy a little cheesy happiness might be nice.

[OptimusPrime]

I don't think Logain was supposed to be the Dragon. It was mentioned at one point that once the Dragon proclaimed himself the pattern would no longer tolerate false Dragons and Rand didn't really believe that he was the Dragon until he held Callandor. Logain was captured before that. It was also speculated that if Rand was the Dragon Reborn would it be possible to sever him. I don't think that the pattern would have allowed the Dragon to be severed before he fufilled his destiny.

 

Well that would depend. What is to say that Logain was still an instrument of the Pattern that was supposed to bring about the discovery of Healing severing? I think that discovery was supposed to happen, could only have happened with a False Dragon. Im not saying the Dragon will definitely be severed, only that Logains Healing was a preparation for the possibility, and that the timing of it had to be during the Dragons time otherwise there would be even more motivation for Black Ajah to get male channelers "on side" so they could Heal convicted Aes Sedai when they shouldnt be. Nynaeve being the one to discover it is equally important in the long run because she would without a shadow of a doubt Heal Rand if it came to it, no matter what the Aes Sedai had to say about it.