White Brain Insulation

[Caveatar]

Since the white powder/Liquid Light that Nynaeve found in Rand's

brain separates/shields/insulates the darkness/taint from his brain

it might be used to keep the One Power weaves from touching the D.O.

when sealing the Bore.

 

I had a long line of reasoning on how it would be done but it is too

long so I will just post the idea.

(Or possibly Rand's blood is now saturated with the same stuff and

that is how "his blood on the rocks of Shayol Ghul" saves the world.)

[Never]

To long for Dragonmount?

[OptimusPrime]

I think the white stuff is protection from the Taint, gained from being linked to Moridin.

[MasterAblar]

I think the white stuff is protection from the Taint, gained from being linked to Moridin.

 

It's sort of a strange representation for a protection that comes from the DO though.

[aunt_pol]

I'd bet everything I have that the lovely white stuff didn't exist before Rand's epiphany on Dragonmount.

[amegakure]

Yah I can't believe that came from moridan because its pretty much known that lews therein was his madness. Which didn't leave until the end of ToM when his revelation happens.

 

Its crazy but I think the white is a physical manifestation of lews thereon on rand becoming a whole person. So in essence he beat the taint

[Jemlin]

I think I agree that it came from the Epiphany on the Dragon Mount. I think its a combination of: 1. him being a Champion of the Light/Pattern, 2. connection with past lives, and 3. the "Belief & Order Give Strength" theme that runs in the books (he has great belief and order in his mind now).

 

So....not sure how it can be duplicated, but I DO think its a clue to defeating the DO

[OptimusPrime]

I think the white stuff is protection from the Taint, gained from being linked to Moridin.

 

It's sort of a strange representation for a protection that comes from the DO though.

 

Agreed, but then again the blackness associated with the True Power isnt described when Rand channels it. When he channels saidin he thinks of it as a light within or some such, yet the True Power wasnt described as feeling black, just violent even compared to saidin. Unless I remember wrong.

 

I do think the whole idea about it being because hes the CotL is a good possibility though.

[Owayn The Traveller]

Reminds me of the explanation for Homer being an excellent boxer, well boxee, in Homer They Fall.

 

http://www.freakinawesomenetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/thesimpsons4f03ee1.png

[Kahsm]

Yah I can't believe that came from moridan because its pretty much known that lews therein was his madness. Which didn't leave until the end of ToM when his revelation happens.

 

Its crazy but I think the white is a physical manifestation of lews thereon on rand becoming a whole person. So in essence he beat the taint

 

I don't believe we know that it left at all, we haven't seen a Rand PoV since VoG

 

We also don't know that the voice was 'madness' caused by the taint. If you insist on calling any voice in Rand's head madness, fine, but I'd suggest having someone else's memories/personality floating in your head is a pretty good, mundane, reason to develop a voice (or personality, as RJ himself calls it) in your head.

 

Rand split the memories off as a separate entity in his head to cope with them. Then during VoG he reconciled with himself and who he was (both LTT and Rand), so all the LTT memories fit back nicely in with his own, hence the outward personality changes.

 

As for the taint protection, I'm still signed up to the nutz-o theory on that which is way more contentious and I certainly understand. But since the creator doesn't take part I'll go with man-made inoculation stored in TEotW, likely to be used by many MCs to repair the seals at some point or something to that effect, which is why RJ said it wasn't used for it's intended purpose. Of course that means Rand would have had it all along, and that only works if you buy that the memories are not madness, which you shouldn't think they are -- since they're real.

[MasterAblar]

Yah I can't believe that came from moridan because its pretty much known that lews therein was his madness. Which didn't leave until the end of ToM when his revelation happens.

 

Its crazy but I think the white is a physical manifestation of lews thereon on rand becoming a whole person. So in essence he beat the taint

 

We also don't know that the voice was 'madness' caused by the taint.

 

We don't? Didn't Brandon or RJ say that it is part of caused him to hear LTT's voice in his head?

[Kahsm]

Yah I can't believe that came from moridan because its pretty much known that lews therein was his madness. Which didn't leave until the end of ToM when his revelation happens.

 

Its crazy but I think the white is a physical manifestation of lews thereon on rand becoming a whole person. So in essence he beat the taint

 

We also don't know that the voice was 'madness' caused by the taint.

 

We don't? Didn't Brandon or RJ say that it is part of caused him to hear LTT's voice in his head?

 

You refering to this?

Question: Was the taint influential in the creation/development/existence of the voice of Lews Therin in Rand's head?

Brandon answered that the taint was influential, but not the only factor. He referenced Semirhage, that of course we can't believe the Forsaken always, but yes, that the taint was an influence in the the voice. That we have to accept that in fact, in a way, Rand is going insane (as in as the books progress).

 

It's paraphrased, I particularly question the monologue at the end. But either way, I admit that "in a way" he is "insane", and I do believe the memories were a result of the taint (or influenced by, as Brandon apparently put it). Just not in the same way that a regular MC might might hallucinate a voice due to pure madness.

 

Expected: Taint -> Madness -> Hallucination -> Hearing voices

Rand: Taint -> Real Memories -> Hearing Voices -> Technically 'insane'?

 

Rand is basically a hypochondriac when it comes to going insane, and the fact Semi and Cads mention MCs of-old hearing voices would obviously make him think "omg! that's what I have!" But other MCs aren't the dragon reborn, so there's a few other factors to consider.

Edit: And there's this one:

GD: Anyone who knows the books at all knows that Rand al’Thor hears the voice of Lews Therin in his head—sometimes cackling like a madman, other times more helpfully. After wading through all of Robert Jordan’s notes, and listening to those dictated comments, do you have a new sympathy for Rand?

 

BS: Robert Jordan dropped a bomb at the end of Knife of Dreams, with what Semirhage was saying about or to Rand, talking about his level of stability. I remember as a reader, going through as a kid—I think Robert Jordan blindsided me with Lews Therin, because I’d been told that “Rand will go mad, Rand will go mad,” but I didn’t accept that voice as Rand going mad. I accepted that as another person, inside of Rand’s head, and not a delusion or anything like that. Across the course of the books, Robert Jordan brought together this thing that he’d promised: “No, look, this guy is just going crazy. Yes, he’s seeing part of his past life, but he’s going insane. It’s the immense pressure that’s doing this.” In looking through the notes, and seeing what Rand has to go through, it’s hard not to sympathize with the poor guy.

 

But really, that quote actually specifically says it's NOT the taint, but the immense pressure, which is what I've said before, he has "mundane" reasons to be the way he is. Attributing it all to the taint just because we were told "MCs go insane" seems foolish.