A List of Unanswered Questions/Unresolved Plotlines

[Olver_is_a_Forsaken]

Like all Dragonmount members I am a fan of the series; like most, I am happy with the work Brandon Sanderson has done with The Gathering Storm and Towers of Midnight. I found his world-building to be incredibly creative, and the novels well written, the occasional weakness in character dialogue notwithstanding. I am enough of a fan to have been among those desperate and reckless people trying to find a copy of Towers of Midnight before the release date.

 

Despite what I am sure were the best efforts of Brandon, Harriet and Team Jordan, in the last two books there were a few minor plot inconsistencies and spelling mistakes. Now I don’t care about spelling mistakes that much but I really care about erratum/continuity errors and as a big fan of the series I was happy to contribute my very small part in helping Brandon/Peter Ahlstrom in finding erratum so they could be rectified in subsequent paperback editions.

http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/topic/53020-the-typoerrata-thread/

 

Now as fans, we all have plotlines we would like to see resolved, prophecies we would like to see fulfilled and questions we would like answered. It seems almost unavoidable that with the sheer amount of detail in the series, one of them will be left out of A Memory of Light. Despite the fact that a first draft for A Memory of Light is already written, I believe it may be helpful to create a thread that lists all of these loose ends together so that none are left forgotten. There are so many minor details in this epic series that if this thread manages to bring a conclusion to at least one detail that Brandon/Harriet/Team Jordan overlooked, I will be a happy fan. This thread may also be useful for The Official Wheel of Time Encyclopedia to be published after AMoL

 

I intend this thread to be a list of unanswered questions/unresolved plotlines NOT a discussion of said things. Just a comprehensive list built by fans that are as passionate as or more so than I am. (http://encyclopaedia-wot.org seems to have unfulfilled prophecies covered, so no need to post them here)

 

I suggest doing this in the following way (if people have a better suggestion let me know): I will list in the second post of this thread all book titles and underneath each we can list relevant questions dealing with that book. All more generalized questions can be listed at the end. People can post their additions to the list and Mods/Admins could edit them in to create a concise list for use by Brandon/Harriet/Team Jordan and us fans.

 

If this project is seen as a good idea feel free to sticky this thread; if this project is nonsense my over-caffeinated brain has come up with at 2:30am feel free to delete this thread.

[Olver_is_a_Forsaken]

New Spring

 

 

The Eye of the World

 

Chapter 49- The Dark One Stirs

Lan says: “Worms are afraid of what lives in the high passes”

Question: What manner of Shadowspawn is so bad-ass that the Worms are afraid of it?

 

 

The Great Hunt

 

 

The Dragon Reborn

 

 

The Shadow Rising

 

 

The Fires of Heaven

 

 

Lord of Chaos

 

 

A Crown of Swords

 

 

The Path of Daggers

 

 

Winter’s Heart

 

 

Crossroads of Twilight

 

 

Knife of Dreams

 

 

The Gathering Storm

 

 

Towers of Midnight

 

 

 

Non-Book-Specific Unresolved Plotlines:

 

What will be the fate of the Tuatha'an?/The rediscovery of the Song.

What is going on in Shara?

What is going on in Seanchan/their civil war? Will anybody Travel there seeking additional troops for Tarmon Gai'don?

[Bob T Dwarf]

To give this a shove to get it started, and because I mentioned it in another thread.

 

Towers of Midnight

 

What does Aviendha decide to do to prevent the fate she foresaw for the Aiel in her second trip through the Glass Columns?

 

 

 

Non-Book-Specific Unresolved Plotlines:

 

What will be the fate of the Tuatha'an?/The rediscovery of the Song.

What is going on in Shara?

What is going on in Seanchan/their civil war? Will anybody Travel there seeking additional troops for Tarmon Gai'don?

[Eht Slat Meit]

 

The Eye of the World

 

Chapter 49- The Dark One Stirs

Lan says: “Worms are afraid of what lives in the high passes”

Question: What manner of Shadowspawn is so bad-ass that the Worms are afraid of it?

 

Seems clear to me that this is either a reference to Isam.

 

Luc came to the Mountains of Dhoom.

Isam waited in the high passes.

~ "Blood Calls Blood" prophecy

[rand4747]

"What does Aviendha decide to do to prevent the fate she foresaw for the Aiel in her second trip through the Glass Columns?"

 

 

Likly its something that will happen at the fields of Merilor, Aviendah will show up just in time to change the future of the world.

[Edorion]

 

The Eye of the World

 

Chapter 49- The Dark One Stirs

Lan says: “Worms are afraid of what lives in the high passes”

Question: What manner of Shadowspawn is so bad-ass that the Worms are afraid of it?

 

Seems clear to me that this is either a reference to Isam.

 

Luc came to the Mountains of Dhoom.

Isam waited in the high passes.

~ "Blood Calls Blood" prophecy

 

Lan is not aware of Isam's existence at this point. Moiraine thinks it flat out after she hears the dark prophecy on the wall in the dungeon of Fal Dara.

[Eht Slat Meit]

Lan is not aware of Isam's existence at this point. Moiraine thinks it flat out after she hears the dark prophecy on the wall in the dungeon of Fal Dara.

 

Accidentally cut myself off on that reply, should have been "either Isam, or whatever created Isam."

 

Note that Lan doesn't actually indicate that he knows what the Worms are afraid of, just that they're afraid of whatever lives up there. That particular verse is suggestive that the answer to Lan's comment is either Isam or whatever created Isam.

[Jon Paul]

Meit, tees try to kill you in the Blight. It's hardly unreasonable to assume there's something else up there that could make a Worm tremble. It could be a possible reference to Dark Hounds though?

[Bob T Dwarf]

Meit, tees try to kill you in the Blight. It's hardly unreasonable to assume there's something else up there that could make a Worm tremble. It could be a possible reference to Dark Hounds though?

 

Dark Hounds bring us back to Slayer. Lord Luc hunts wolves wherever he finds them. In the Waking World or the World of Dreams. Those he kills in the Waking World can be made into Dark Hounds by being killed again in Tel'aran'rhiod.

 

I have trouble seeing Slayer as Muad Dib, though.

[Eht Slat Meit]

Meit, tees try to kill you in the Blight. It's hardly unreasonable to assume there's something else up there that could make a Worm tremble. It could be a possible reference to Dark Hounds though?

 

I have a hard time seeing a dark hound as a threat to a Worm, and as Bob mentions, the dark hounds circle back to the Isam argument.

 

It is safe to assume that there are worse things in the Blight, though.

 

After all - something made Isam into what he became, and what he became is pretty goshawful.

[Jon Paul]

Dark Hounds bring us back to Slayer. Lord Luc hunts wolves wherever he finds them. In the Waking World or the World of Dreams. Those he kills in the Waking World can be made into Dark Hounds by being killed again in Tel'aran'rhiod.

 

I have trouble seeing Slayer as Muad Dib, though.

 

Isam's relationship with the Darkhounds is speculation at best. It's not canon and nor is it canon that dead wolves in TAR become Darkhounds.

 

 

I have a hard time seeing a dark hound as a threat to a Worm, and as Bob mentions, the dark hounds circle back to the Isam argument.

 

Darkhounds are almost impossible to kill. You need to balefire the things. And they roam in bigger packs the Worm packs.

 

After all - something made Isam into what he became, and what he became is pretty goshawful.

 

Yea.. the Dark One made Isam/Luc what he is.

[Kiriath Til Asdod]

How did Moridin know Rand was in Shadar Logoth when Rand and Sammeal were fighting? (my guess: he is taim and one of the ashaman who helped in Illian traveled to the BT and told him)

 

What caused the ripples that Faile and company felt in KoD? (weakening of the seals further?)

 

The Fate of the Shaido who returned to the Waste? (they are the remnant of the remnant?)

 

Why 11 chairs at the forsaken meeting in the Ansaline gardens when only nine were alive at that point. (No idea, apparently the Shadow doesn't know Sammy is dead which strikes me as very odd...)

 

What happened to the fat man angreal that Rand had taken when he was captured in LoC? (Aes Sedai souvenir?)

 

Will the Warder bond counteract the poison of the ter'angreal rings of the bloodknives? (Its setting up for Gawyn to use one or all of them)

[Aquarius]

To add to waht is above, a few questions (sorry if some of them have known answers)

 

- Where has Merilile (sp?) gone, carrying a Windfinder under her arm?

- The fate of the DF in Caemlyn who seem the most active at this time.

- Will Liandrin remain shielded her whole life ?

- What of the countless DFs that will inevitably survive the last battle ?

- Who is Olver ?

- Why Bela just didn't kill the Dark One in book 1 ?

- Is Tomas a DF ? Did he really spend "his last hour with his family" ?

- Who unraveled the traps on the male A'dam (I'm not convinced it's Elza) --> Is there a high profile DF among the remaining AS or Aiel around Rand ?

 

I listed only (relatively) minor plots here, as I guess/hope all the major ones will be resolved in AMoL (things like "where is Demandred" or "what will Moirane do").

[Mr Hindley]

A few more:

- What is the deal with the Aes Sedai who have been staying at the Silver Swan in Caemlyn - I think these are separate to the BA that Elayne got captured by?

- How does Harine become Mistress of the Ships, presuming that Min's vision was accurate?

- Egwene has some Aes Sedai that she blackmailed into swearing fealty to her - will that situation change / be discovered?

- Toveine and Gabrelle, and the plots that they, and the other Tower AS, were working on to free themselves from Logain. Are we going to hear any more on that, or has that just sort of faded away as a storyline..?

[Tom Sawyer]

What exactly did happen to Dav's badger?

[Dreggs Morlock]

What happened to the fat man angreal that Rand had taken when he was captured in LoC? (Aes Sedai souvenir?)

 

THIS has bugged me since I first read it. In fact, I asked DM forum readers if there were any clues I missed in the "Ask a simple question" thread. I hope it has a resolution.

[Luckers]

What caused the ripples that Faile and company felt in KoD? (weakening of the seals further?)

 

I've seen two theories offered on this based on the similarity of the description to the balescream. The first and least likely in my opinion was that this was the effect of Rand balefiring Graendal's palace either rolling back through time, or else that the strength of Rand balefire burned that much of Natrin's Barrow out of the pattern (so removed up to that day, causing a balescream on the day Rand did it and on the day it vanished from the pattern). I say the least likely because Brandon seemed uncertain as to how far back the Balefire burned, which if this was the result he wouldn't have been. Still, he may have just been keeping this from the reader, but yeah...

 

The second, and in my opinion more likely, scenario is that Demandred indeed was willing to use balefire for the Dark One. Of course we don't know to what purpose, and RJ seemed to rule out that he was doing it simply to destabalize the pattern... but yes.

 

The Fate of the Shaido who returned to the Waste? (they are the remnant of the remnant?)

 

I don't think they can be the remnant. The prophecy is clear--Rand is the one who will save the remnant, which is seemingly what Aviendha is being aimed at doing--bringing Rand into the fate of the Aiel, and I'd personally be pretty annoyed if it were the Aiel that didn't help Rand in his mission that were saved.

 

I liked the theory that the shaido were going to be caught in a flash flood caused by Rand messing with the weather in the waste back in book four.

 

What happened to the fat man angreal that Rand had taken when he was captured in LoC? (Aes Sedai souvenir?)

 

Back after tGS I had this theory that one of the Aes Sedai had grabbed it, and that at some point her warder had handled it, and it had become warm to the touch. Realising what that meant the Aes Sedai had kept it hidden, and the knowledge about her warder (because obviously he was too old to start channeling now, but it'd still hold a stygma).

 

The main reason I liked this theory was because it would answer Egwene's need to learn what was going on in the Black Tower. The whole Big Ominous Silence and all that which actually just turned out to be timeline issues and nothing else. But yeaah, back then the theory ran that the Aes Sedai and her warder would step forward and offer for the warder to go to the Black Tower as a recruit and do some recon.

 

Sadly, that holds no weight now. I still like the idea though. :/

 

Will the Warder bond counteract the poison of the ter'angreal rings of the bloodknives? (Its setting up for Gawyn to use one or all of them)

 

I hope not. :-)

 

 

- Where has Merilile (sp?) gone, carrying a Windfinder under her arm?

 

I'm of the opinion that Careane killed, first Merilille, and then after disguising herself as Merilille led Talaan out of the Palace (ensuring she was seen by a reliable witness) and then killed her too, before returning comfortably to the palace and continuing her subterfuges. The purpose being to make the Windfinders think that an Aes Sedai had not only broken the Bargain (part of which states that a teacher shall not leave until her replacement arrived), and abducted an apprentice. This would fit with Careane's mission to get the channelers out of the palace for the Black Ajah. With the Kin, she was killing them in the hopes of scaring them into running, but that wouldn't work with the Windfinders who moved in a pack, were too untrusting (aside from Talaan), and too strong. Getting them to leave in an indignant rage would be a very viable plan b.

 

It also fits in the sense that Meilille broke her word in leaving (though of course we've seen other Aes Sedai pull similar stunts without breaking the Oaths--Elaida and her 'I will do as I am told' thing). It also fits RJ's love of symmetry--Careane's job was to get the Windfinders to leave, she failed, and they were thus the undoing of the Black Ajah in Caemlyn.

 

The one clunky part is the issue of strength, and that unless Careane and Merilille where very close, Talaan should have sense the difference. That being said, Talaan was so enamoured of Aes Sedai that she'd likely have trusted anything Careane-as-Merilille said--for instance "We need to sneak out, so I'm going to mask our ability to channel so as to not attract attention. I've already done mine, now you."

 

Or she could know Mesaana's trick of masking part of your strength.

 

- The fate of the DF in Caemlyn who seem the most active at this time.

 

Do you mean Mili Skane? Aka the Lady Shiaine? I think its a safe bet we'll see her in aMoL given she was one of the ones specifically freed in that orgy of stupidity that was Elayne in TofM.

 

A few more:

- What is the deal with the Aes Sedai who have been staying at the Silver Swan in Caemlyn - I think these are separate to the BA that Elayne got captured by?

 

They are. My belief is that these are sisters that are loyal to Cadsuane. We know after the split in the Tower Cadsuane began to gather sisters she trusts, and we know that she sent some of those sister elsewhere (onwards, I think was the word she used--though admittedly she is a bit acerbic about those sisters [but then who is she not acerbic about]). We know that when Cadsuane sent these sisters on she was preparing for a meeting with Rand, and that she knew (by rumour at least) that Rand was dividing his time between the Sun Palace and the Royal Palace of Andor, and thus would likely want to establish a power base of sisters she trusts in both cities, should she need them. Furthermore we know that one of the things Elayne's spies overheard the Sisters at the Silver Swan talking about was Cadsuane's name.

 

- How does Harine become Mistress of the Ships, presuming that Min's vision was accurate?

 

I like the theory that Zaida is a darkfriend whom Harine will displace. It kind of fits in a thematic sense--of all the Sea Folk, Harine is the one we've brought to have the most connection with. She went through the fires that are Cadsuane, and shows at least glimmers of looking beyond her own personal greed, unlike the rest. It seems a good position for RJ to have placed her in for a confrontation with Zaida--sort prepping her for that to serve as a realisation that perhaps there are more important things than just getting the best bargain in the world.

 

Also if Zaida walks the path of trying to use the Sea Folk to the detriment of the Light it would serve a good answer to what the Windfinders get up to during the Last Battle. There are already too many Light-sided channelers.

 

- Toveine and Gabrelle, and the plots that they, and the other Tower AS, were working on to free themselves from Logain. Are we going to hear any more on that, or has that just sort of faded away as a storyline..?

 

I fear that may be the case, which saddens me. I liked that plotline.

[Durinax]

as for the shaido return to the waste, I think it may be Avi after her meditation to bring them back to the Dragons cause

 

a person point of interest for me is if Tam will make it through

 

as for the Shara bit, Graendal took both the leaders, so it is reasonable that its in chaos atm.

 

oh, why is it bad to travel or hold the power around SG

[Bob T Dwarf]

oh, why is it bad to travel or hold the power around SG

 

Because Shai'tan is one paranoid SOB. If you channel anywhere in his vicinity you are presumed guilty of trying to harm him and he will kill you just in case.

[Durinax]

oh, why is it bad to travel or hold the power around SG

 

Because Shai'tan is one paranoid SOB. If you channel anywhere in his vicinity you are presumed guilty of trying to harm him and he will kill you just in case.

yes and Rand seems to be planning to travel to that particular location. . . does anyone else see a problem with that?

 

maybe this is where the Lanfear/cyndane plea for assistance comes in? Her intimate knowledge of the shadow helping rand from making an ultimate blunder

[Finnssss22]

 

 

oh, why is it bad to travel or hold the power around SG

 

 

Most likely has to do with the thinness of the pattern there.

[Omega]

I agree, I think its more of a thinness of the pattern. The Forsaken have been shown to travel there, at least nearby, without use of the True Power. It is dangerous around SG, but I think it is most deadly in the Pit of Doom itself, where the dark one resides.

[Finnssss22]

I agree, I think its more of a thinness of the pattern. The Forsaken have been shown to travel there, at least nearby, without use of the True Power. It is dangerous around SG, but I think it is most deadly in the Pit of Doom itself, where the dark one resides.

 

 

Yeah if you remember how traveling is described, "boring a hole in the pattern" for men and "bringing two places in the pattern together" for women.

It's prolly not a good idea to use either where the pattern is thinned.

[The Fisher King]

The.Black.Tower. - PERIOD ... I'm almost to the point where its really the only thing I care about at this point.

 

 

Fish

[TheAngryDruid]

Good topic, though I much prefer the 13th's details of various Foretellings, Dreams, visions, and Prophecy to the job at the encyclopedia. I love Linda, what can I say?

 

http://13depository.blogspot.com/2000/05/index-by-theme.html