A New Theory from a New Reader

[Barid Bel Medar]

Alright, first of all, this theory is about Egwene's actions primarily in ToM. I refused to put it in the title for obvious reasons, all the bashers and defenders would flock here and end up ruining the whole thing. Probably will still do so, but I try.

 

So, I introduced the WoT to my aunt about a year and a half back, she has since read through once and is on her second read. I tell her about the theories and public opinion about certain topics, and as you can imagine, Egwene in ToM is one such topic which generates much interest. (A theory I have adapted with my experience and knowledge which, although it is far from perfect, is more so than said family member.)

 

She likes Egwene's character and did not think her actions in ToM were cause for concern. I obviously related to her the common arguments, at which point she introduced this theory which got me thinking, I like it a lot.

 

The basic outline, in case you are lazy and don't want to read the whole thing is this :Egwene is playing "devil's advocate" in regards to Rand breaking the seals.

 

Before any mudslinging beings, she does not suggest that Egwene agrees with Rand at the moment. Clearly Egwene is taken aback and is, naturally, opposed to the breaking of the seals. However, while she noted Egwene's unusual stubbornness and refusal to listen or try and find out more about the seals, she does not believe it is through fault, but on purpose.

 

I Shall start from the "beginning" of this episode, Rand visiting the White Tower.

 

Rand, as we later find out (epiclogue), had planned the meeting and its outcome before it happened. He had counted on Egwene's reaction, something anyone can agree on, since it is stated in text plainly. What this theory suggests is that he is also counting on her intelligence and is putting his faith in their familiarity with each other.

 

The White Tower scene, in this theory, is intentionally misleading (by the author, not characters). Rand wanted that reaction, and got it. He wants Egwene to gather the nations together while he figures out the details and comes to terms with his newly found 400 years of memory. Thus, he declares boldly in front of the Hall that he is going to Break the Seals, then bids the ladies farewell without another word. This, as we know, was intentional. He knew that any sane man or woman would immediately say "Rand, you be crazy!" Which is basically what happened, although in a much more civilized manner.

 

The pattern, too, wanted this to happen. I cite Egwene's dizziness. We see the exact same thing happen to Galad when he agrees to Perrin's demands. And Perrin says himself that it was due to him capitulating to the Patterns demands. (How on earth Perrin knows about any of that I will leave for another discussion, point is, it seems he is right.)

 

Moving on, Rand announces the meeting in a months time, and goes on his way. This is where the theory comes into play. What we haven't seen, suspiciously, one might even say, is a lack of insight into Egwene's thoughts on the matter. Almost all of the chapters we see from her is the preoccupation of the matter of Mesaana.

 

This, just like the Tower scene, is intentionally misleading. Egwene, who I think, we can all agree, is a pretty sharp girl, having time to mull over Rand's words and strange actions without the pressure of ta'veren and the Hall breathing down her neck has understood his intention and is now playing along.

 

Basically, she knows the best way to gather the people is to gather them under the pretence of stopping Rand letting the DO free. What better excuse to gather the armies of the world? As they say, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." If there is one thing every nation can agree on, it is the fact that breaking the seals on the DO's prison is a stupid idea. (as far as they know)

 

This explains her heavy-handed letter to Darlin, which leaves no room for compromise, but states her opposition to Rand's plan without room for interpretation.

 

This is intentional on Egwene's part. As mentioned, she is hardly stupid, she is willing to listen to reason at the FoM, nobody can be that blind. However, as the Amyrlin and leader of the world (basically) it would cause great chaos if she is seen to agree with such a crazy and foolhardy plan, she would loose all of her credibility and the nations would rebel against Rand.

 

By becoming the leader of Rand's "opposition", she can keep the other rulers and such in check and prevent outright rebellion. It also neatly gives her a legitimate reason to gather the armies of the world in one place.

 

Now, again I will say that she does not agree with Rand at the present. However, she is not as blindly opposed as one would think. This, then, is the crux of their teamwork and faith in one another. Rand has faith that she has understood what he means and will play along with him and not do anything stupid. She places faith in him, that he will explain himself and is doing the right thing.

 

What better way to win the peoples loyalty than convincing your most vocal opponent? If she was seen to by sympathetic to his cause, her compliance would be worth far less.

 

We have hints of this from the conspicuous silence on the matter from both Egwene and Rand, the only two people who know about it.

 

It explains the very uncompromising way Egwene (and Rand, to a lesser extent, because we don't see as much) act. For all intents and purposes, Egwene must be seen to be his greatest critic, so she becomes and remains his biggest opponent, and no other, legitimately pissed leader takes over and messes with everything.

 

It explains her request of dealing with Rand personally. Again, for much the same reason, that she is in on his plan and ultimately, when she decides to support him, she has full authority in "forcing" the others to go along with it.

 

Rand is always commenting on "not having enough time." Coincidence? Possible, but it would make more sense if it had meaning. He does not have the time to deal with politics, so he has left it to Egwene to make the necessary preparations.

 

Rand, whenever he mentions breaking the seals, is deliberately vague. Only with Min, who he trusts completely, does he admit anything in regards to his plans (or lackthereof). Thus further confirming their scheme, he is basically all but handing everyone over to Egwene on a plate by acting so careless that they can't help but oppose him.

 

To adress some issues:

 

Why would Rand do this? Why not just be honest?

 

Time.

 

As noted, he does not have time to convince and explain himself to every leader of the world.

 

Why doesn't he say "meet at Merrilor in a month and I will explain?"

 

Well, he actually does say that to Egwene (if not precisely) but again, it is a matter of efficiency. If he did do this, then the leaders of the world would sceme and form alliances and cannot be trusted to act rationally because they do not have the capacity to understand at the moment. Under Egwene's influence, however, the opposition will be carefully guided and controlled so that nothing....unfortunate happens.

 

Why does Egwene seem genuinely opposed?

 

In a way, she is. If Rand does not come up with a sufficient explanation, she WILL oppose him in reality. However, they are placing their trust in one another to do the right thing. In regards to the Tower scene and her genuine objection, at that time she DID NOT understand. It was only later that she had time to think and adapt to his plan.

 

Why didn't she tell Nynaeve or Elayne?

The best way to keep a secret is to keep it to yourself. Simply, they do not need to know. In fact, it is more chance that the secret will slip if the Amyrlin is seen to be "conspiring" with Elayne (the Dragon Reborn's girlfriend) and Nynaeve (recently returned from said Dragon Reborn's company). Also, would you tell Nynave? Honestly? She has no time for Aes Sedai politics, as is evident in ToM. Egwene is doing her a favour, she is not cut out for this kind of plan.

 

Why did she recall Nynaeve?

To help spread the word of Rand's nature. Nynaeve is fully supportive of Rand and has been in his company recently. Egwene has to take a hardline approach to Rand's plan, she knows it is a ruse, however, the other Aes Sedai do not. With Nynaeve to speak her mind and spread the word that Rand is reasonable creates sympathy towards him, so the transition from opposition to ally is softened.

 

 

In conclusion, the two most powerful people in the world, the Dragon Reborn, Light of the World, and the Amyrlin Seat, Leader of the White Tower are going to pull of the greatest manipulation since the Age of Legends.

[Kahsm]

I don't think it's quite as purposeful as you're suggesting. I really can't see Egwene sitting down afterwards and thinking, "Oh! He WANTS me to build him an army!" And if she did, I think her two rivers blood would make her too stubborn to capitulate and be manipulated like that... even if she knows it's ultimately the right direction. She would have to somehow spin it to be more in control, it's one of those failings I apparently never admit she has.

 

But overall, I think that's effectively what Suttree and I have been saying. She's acting as though she's going to need to oppose him because given what she knows, there's no other course to take -- for now. He gave her nothing to work with and she can't show up unprepared to do what she may need to do. But nowhere does it say she's unwilling to listen or follow him if he shows up with a good plan.

 

And now that my name is on your thread, you'll get the haters flocking in. Sorry =)

[randsc]

Interesting, but I'm not fully buying it. In part, perhaps ironically given how I feel about the character generally, because I think it is insufficiently respectful of Egwene.

 

Egwene is, if nothing else, portrayed as strong-willed. I think everyone can agree on that. This is true throughout the series, from very early on in the very first book. But your Aunt's theory would have us believe that Egwene doesn't in fact strongly hold the beliefs that her own internal dialog indicates she does strongly hold.

 

If you want some hating, I could phrase that by saying she is not, in fact, at all open-minded about what she plans to do at Merilor. She plans to oppose Rand, because she strongly believes two things. One, that there "must be" some way for Rand to defeat the Dark One without breaking the seals. Two, that Rand actually subconsciously wants her to prevent him from breaking the seals. We know she believes these thing from her own thoughts. I am prepared to take her at her word.

 

In spite of the fact that I don't like Egwene, I don't actually blame her for opposing Rand. I think it is extremely clear from the text that she was under ta'veren influence during their meeting, and we later learn from Rand that she is acting exactly as he wishes.

 

At Merilor, Egwene will come around. We know this, because we know that fundamentally, she is wrong and Rand is right. The seals must, in fact, be broken. Just how readily she will come around, and just what events occur to make her come around, are not known. I would point out that the "bad ass" and "Character development complete" tweet we have refers to her readiness for the Last Battle, not Merilor.

 

Bottom line, she is not "acting" like she plans to oppose Rand. She does, in fact, plan to oppose Rand. To beleive otherwise is to believe that she is lying to herself, in her own internal conversations. But she will not oppose him, in the end.

 

Unless she turns, which would be awesome.

[Agitel]

I'm not 100% behind this, but I'm far from 100% behind the criticism of her actions in ToM, too. It's refreshing to hear a different take. I also don't want to just assume Rand is right on the matter of breaking the Seals. Oh, I'm sure they do need to be broken, I just don't want to assume what he's doing (at least going by what he's stated) is the right approach. I don't think Rand has a good idea of how to confront the Dark One yet. Verin's words to Egwene in tGS were certainly interesting.

[randsc]

I'm not 100% behind this, but I'm far from 100% behind the criticism of her actions in ToM, too. It's refreshing to hear a different take. I also don't want to just assume Rand is right on the matter of breaking the Seals. Oh, I'm sure they do need to be broken, I just don't want to assume what he's doing (at least going by what he's stated) is the right approach. I don't think Rand has a good idea of how to confront the Dark One yet. Verin's words to Egwene in tGS were certainly interesting.

 

Personally, I suspect that Rand will not break the seals at Merilor. Rather, he will reveal that they are already broken. Rendering the whole, "Should he or shouldn't he" discussion moot.

[Barid Bel Medar]

The point with Rand's statement is that he was intentionally being vague. He knows he hasn't figured it out, admitted it to himself and Min. That is no issue (for me at least). That is why Egwene first assumed he told her because he wanted her to stop him.

 

Perhaps I can revise the theory to state that at some point from their meeting -> Rand arriving at Merrilor she developed at least a sense of what he was doing. She has not had much time for any real reflection, busy with Mesaana and everyone else nagging at her, so it may have taken some time. And perhaps she doesn't know it all, I just cannot believe that she is completely clueless as to his actions. It is abundantly clear after a bit of thinking that SOMETHING was up with his appearance. I cannot believe that she would continue in her strong belief against him without stopping to think why he did it. Fear of him being mad is no excuse, Nynaeve and even Elayne have told her about his changes, and she saw it firsthand and even thinks he does not look insane. Nobody can be that stupid or stubborn and hold on to such conviction without at least thinking about it. Perhaps her as a friend, or just another person, but as Amyrlin, that is the kind of politics she has been playing for the last God-knows-how-long.

 

I refuse to believe that this is just the recurring: never agree on anything, always fighting because they don't talk scenario.

 

I would like to think better of them, as the two most powerful people in the world, it would be foolish for Rand to intentionally provoke her without some kind of goal like I have stated, and it would be more than foolish of Egwene to not have caught on in some way.

 

To Randsc, I mentioned several times in the post that I am not suggesting that she is simply fabricating her opposition. She is genuinely against the breaking of the seals until such a time as Rand explains himself satisfactorily. However, that does not mean she has to be extremist opposition, I am suggesting she is doing a bit of damage control. As mentioned in the OP, if she is at the head of the opposition, she can control how they oppose him. If left to their own devices, who knows what Darlin or any other would think up?

 

I cannot believe that she would rally the armies of the world to basically act like strongarms and risk outright war like Perrin feels. I think that she is doing what she is doing to limit the possibilities of violence.

 

Is it really so hard to believe that they haven't taken the slightest hint and actually realised working together could be good? Is it really that hard to believe that they might actually WANT to help one another ?

 

 

Don't get me wrong, I am not exactly disagreeing with you guys, you make valid points, I suppose I would just like to believe that for once they have found common cause.

 

Note: It is funny that pro-Egwene side says that she will not simply "give in" to Rand and that anti-Egwene says she is too foolsih or power hungry to see resason.

 

Even the fandom reflects the situation. Not once have I seen any theory like this or any possibility that they may be doing something mutually beneficial.

 

Does one side have to be right and one wrong here?

 

One says Rand is being foolish, the other Egwene.

 

I mean, that is most likely, but I would like to think that it would be good and a great twist to have them at least partly be scheming together,

 

For who in the world could stop them if they joined together? The Dragon and Amyrlin!

[rand4747]

I think she will oppose him till the very end, may even try and physically (with the power) stop him, unless he has the best argument you could ever think of that would force her to change her mind if she wants to remain in control, of fear of losing all her support. This world is quite sexist though and so it would have to be great for her to listen to what he has to say and take it on board. She may listen to Elayne and Nynaeve though if they side with Rand.

[TootThatHorn]

I see it as yes, Rand isnt fully sure what he is doing, well, he knows what he needs to do but the details arent worked out yet, and as so far the WT is something that he probably assumed he would have the backing of once eqwene took over but its not a gaurantee as to how they would back him. TG is so close he really just needs to have a no-nonsense approach to it so why not stroll in, put it bluntly, and walk out. He knows he needs Egwene there to fight, and probably knows about the seanchan raid as well so he knows she is distracted with that, and has to realign her to what is important, while at the same time smoothing things over with the seanchan to get them to fight as well. And to be honest i dont foresee Egwene having a big role to play in his side of the last battle, i think he is setting her up to be a general in the fight against the shadowspawn, but i dont think she will be involved in what he is doing. And if his intent is for her to rally troops from other kingdoms, well, theres not alot left that are unaccounted for but whoever she can rally behind her, well, maybe this is part of some long term goal of rands to ensure that egwene has some influence after the fight is over. im sure he trusts her to see that matters are taken care of after the last battle, and lets face it, a strong amyrlin is a better leader than someone strictly made for battle. Rand can lead, but he is a hard leader that is driven for one single purpose, i dont think he should be leading anything once its all said and done.

 

good post by the way, i dig it

[Smittyphi]

It's a sound theory that cannot be readily rebuked (a la Taimandred). The only way for people to try to disprove it is with other theories. I don't know if I agree with it 100% as I can't see Egwene putting TTR stubborn streak aside for anyone, including Rand.

[TootThatHorn]

its a RAFO thing lol but always fun to theorize, but i feel like the post egwene holds supercedes her stuborn streak some, i feel like she is the one character, besides rand, most distantly removed from her original persona

[James al'Dylan]

I see the whole Rand v Egwene confrontation as a re-run of the Lews Therin Telamon v Latra Posae Decume during the War of Power. RJ seems to like his this sort of echo in other areas of the story. My best guess is that Rand and Egwene will come to an agreement, probably through necessity. I don't really think Egwene is playing devil's advocate. I think she is genuinely against Rand breaking the seals. Egwene's a conservative at heart, Rand isn't. The male and female halves of the power must work in unison to defeat the DO. That seems to be the whole point. The wrongs of the War of Power must be righted and a compromise must be reached. For one of the two to go into the process more willing to compromise than the other would be counter to the underlying thrust of the narrative. In my view.

[Kahsm]

[...]

 

I refuse to believe that this is just the recurring: never agree on anything, always fighting because they don't talk scenario.

 

[...]

 

Note: It is funny that pro-Egwene side says that she will not simply "give in" to Rand and that anti-Egwene says she is too foolsih or power hungry to see resason.

 

Even the fandom reflects the situation. Not once have I seen any theory like this or any possibility that they may be doing something mutually beneficial.

 

Does one side have to be right and one wrong here?

 

One says Rand is being foolish, the other Egwene.

 

Yeah but even if you're right, Rand is still being foolish. So the "pro-Egwne" side can't lose ;) Because instead of finding a way to talk to her seriously and honestly, he made it into a spectacle to manipulate her into action. Even if she understands and is going along with it now, that doesn't make the plan less ridiculous.

 

And I don't mean that as a slight against Rand, it's just exactly as you mentioned above, in WOT, characters do not talk to one another. And no, I don't believe that has changed. It's pretty much a core value right along with lack luster villains.

[Maleshub]

Barid, thanks for starting the thread and outlining this interesting theory.

 

As Smittyphi stated above, it is a sound theory. And I think it has its textual foundations and support. The key to this theory is the mutual trust between Rand and Egwene. It is something that has been overlooked or ignored in other discussions; but I feel that there is a great degree of mutual trust between them, now that they are confident and comfortable in their roles and functions.

 

And it would be great if this is how the events unfold vis-a-vis Rand - Egwene in AMoL. As a fan of Rand and Egwene, I want to see them work together; and hope they do.

[DaoineSidhe]

I think your point on Rand's side is correct, although I am not quite sure about Egwene yet, while it is interesting.

 

From some of the POVs around Rand, I think it is pretty clear Rand behaved the way he did in his visit to the White Tower because he knew such actions would cause Egwene to draw everyone together This is his primary goal in his talk to Egwene, and the breaking of the Seals is just a red-herring that he knows will cause everyone to gather together with lots of channelers, meaning he could deploy men as needed during the Last Battle.

 

Egwene, on the other hand, I think, has completely fallen for the red herring, and is doing exactly as Rand wants her to. He isn't worried about all the opposition to his plan, because either

 

A: they will already be broken when everyone meets, making the argument moot (as someone already stated above); or

 

B: he knows he will be able to win them over either with a good argument and/or his growing ta'veren manipulation of the pattern.

 

I would like to believe that Egwene is a knowing ally in this plan, because for most of the series she's been one of my favorite characters. However, I think RJ has set this all up so that Egwene can have a "reality check" before we start the Last Battle, her last little character growth to become the true Amyrlin Seat for the coming days. She has grown too powerful, too fast, and has become a tad arrogant in the use of that power recently, setting her up quite nicely for this, I think. Anyway, those are my two cents.

[Hyronimus]

Good post, it gives an interesting prespective to events.

 

I believe (without looking at the book) in that scene Egwene notes that she wasn't caught up in the ta'veren pull as much, which she atributes to her training and that she thought of him as Rand, not the Dragon Reborn. This reference does support the idea that she may appose the unpredicatable force of the Dragon, but trust Rand as she did before.

[DaoineSidhe]

That is quite true... I think I should ammend it a bit: I think that Rand may think he will be able to change people's mind's minds by his ta'veren, nature, however, in reality, for Egwene, it will be her final growth as a character. Her discussion with Rand, and realization that she is wrong (something that she hasn't realized in a very long time) will give her that tempering she needs in her thoughts, a realization that there are limits to power. I still think that at the end of ToM Egwene is very much against, Rand, because at this point, she has lost the ability to trust anyone, as shown by her reaction to Gawyn, Suian, and Gareth rescuing her. (Even though this way actually brought the Tower together faster, and enabled her to destroy a very large part of the Black Ajah, probably a larger portion than she could have if things had gone any other way)

 

But it is in the FoM that she will learn trust again, and renew her bond with others, most especially Rand, because while they may not be romantically involved, an argument could be made that they are the two biggest protagonists in the story, and so invariably linked.

[muddasssir]

Her discussion with Rand, and realization that she is wrong (something that she hasn't realized in a very long time) will give her that tempering she needs in her thoughts, a realization that there are limits to power. I still think that at the end of ToM Egwene is very much against, Rand, because at this point, she has lost the ability to trust anyone, as shown by her reaction to Gawyn, Suian, and Gareth rescuing her way)(Even though this way actually brought the Tower together faster, and enabled her to destroy a very large part of the Black Ajah, probably a larger portion than she could have if things had gone any other

 

But it is in the FoM that she will learn trust again, and renew her bond with others, most especially Rand, because while they may not be romantically involved, an argument could be made that they are the two biggest protagonists in the story, and so invariably linked.

 

This is by far the most sensible post that I have ever read about Egwene and if she can do that I will forgive her everything well almost everything I am not that sensible regards to Egwene

[WMBunt]

Great post, and most of what you (and your aunt) have pointed out is right there in the text of ToM. Brandon hits us over the head with it so hard we shouldn't be able to miss it, but many have. It's hinted at very thinly veiled and sometimes even heavy handed.

 

She doesn't appear committed to stopping him if the plan he has is sound. She believes there has to be a way to do it if it's thought about enough, but doesn't seem opposed to hearing him out. She expressly sets people on researching the issue in ToM. She comes to the realization in her meeting that she has to reconcile the dual nature of Rand/LTT and that they have both ascended to their positions because it's what the Pattern needs.

 

She acknowledges during their meeting she has to view him as both Rand and the Dragon. Rand because he can be trusted. The Dragon because he must also be feared.

 

Rand acknowledges he has no plan in his own PoV and that he needs her to plan. He acknowledges that he has no idea what went wrong (and I think by ascending these two to these positions, the Pattern will provide the answer to what went wrong that prevented cooperation the first time the Bore was sealed). In fact that's the very strong hint.

 

There are all kinds of scenes that indicate that the WT is being given the answer it needs to transform itself from the rigid society it once was to something more and we see in many PoV that Egwene is open to that, but not open to forcing the transition on everyone immediately. We see it in the conversation at the end of the testing of Nynaeve where she does not disagree with Nynaeve on the nature of Aes Sedai and the Tower and it's rigidity, but she simply cautions her to not be so vocal about it at that moment. Basically finishing the course of the meal that's on the table before them now before grabbing for the main course.

 

I don't know that I would go so far as to say that she's planning to intentionally gather the armies because it's what Rand expects her to do in that sense, but she views it more as a chance for an intervention should one be needed. Meet with him, hear him out, choose the course of action from there.

 

But no, she's not stumbling along blindly and arrogantly. We are handed the epiphany by BS pretty bluntly when she recognizes they are both at the point they are for a reason and she has to figure out why and choose a course from there wisely.

 

I'm at work at the moment, but also in my third read of ToM so it's all been read through in the immediate past. Am currently on the parley scene with Perrin and the Whitecloaks. I'll come back and add references from the text when I can.

 

Good job. Rational. Well thought out and voiced. Not sure that I agree completely, but you've nailed it pretty damn well at least based on the books I read.

[Suttree]

Her discussion with Rand, and realization that she is wrong (something that she hasn't realized in a very long time) will give her that tempering she needs in her thoughts, a realization that there are limits to power.

 

Long as in all the way back to TGS? I never get this one when people claim it because it is not rare for her to admit her mistakes and think of ways to do better.

 

TGS Ch. 43

Had she fallen into the same trap as Siuan? It was a danger. She had been trained by Siuan, after all. If Egwene had explained in more detail how well her work in the White Tower was going, would the others have stayed their hands?

 

It was a difficult line to walk. There were many secrets that an Amyrlin had to hold. To be transparent would be to lose her edge of authority. But with Siuan herself, Egwene should have been more forthcoming. The woman was too accustomed to taking action on her own. The way she had kept that dream ter'angreal against the Hall's knowledge and wishes was an indication of that. Yet Egwene had approved of that, unconsciously encouraging Siuan to defy authority.

 

Yes, Egwene had made mistakes. She could not lay all the blame on Siuan, Bryne and Gawyn. She had likely made other mistakes as well; she would need to look at her own actions in more detail later.

[yoniy0]

Suttree, in all fairness, the Egwene we got in ToM isn't quite the one we knew from KoD and TGS. She was belligerently unable to see her mistakes with both Rand and Gawyn.

[Barid Bel Medar]

Suttree, in all fairness, the Egwene we got in ToM isn't quite the one we knew from KoD and TGS. She was belligerently unable to see her mistakes with both Rand and Gawyn.

 

Just to tie it in with my theory. This is strange (at least in regards to Rand) Gawyn I suspect, was simply because she is in love, and people be crazy when they are in love. But that strong , unusual change, I suspect to have more meaning than "she is a bitch".

 

I am not saying that it is perfectly orchestrated, or that I am 100% correct on the matter. But there must be SOME reason for her strange behaviour, and I think it more likely there is an actual reason. It would certainly fit her character to act similar to what my aunt believes.

 

 

And lets face it, how awesome would it be if they pulled of some version of this tag-team scenario?

[muddasssir]

What can I say except that Barid you are a very nice person and you want to see good in everyone

[Guest Jeff Austell]

I'm surprised I'm not seeing any theories that perhaps Egwene will Dream something that will change her opinion and show her that she needs to support Rand. I think that it's fairly straightforward at this point that she has unresolved fears and doubts about the plan, and while it would be nice to think that gathering the armies of the world was a scheme that was entered into unspoken by Egwene and Rand, it is also rather apparant that anything less than a full show of force and solidarity between the armies of the White Tower and all nations Egwene can convince to stand with her wouldn't be enough to sway Rand from his intended course of action. The fact is, I'd be rather shocked if she didn't have some kind of Dream, either a dream that is symbolic of the cooperation that will be needed, or even something as big as speaking with an AoL persona in tel'aran'rhiod, perhaps even the woman Latra herself (I forget her full name, but LTT's opposite), or maybe even a private conversation with Rand himself. We all know that Egwene is stubborn and opinionated, but she's got a pretty good history on being able to see the truth of things through Dreams, and being able to correctly identify not only the problem, but the solution.

 

Another option is that getting the two fo them to cooperate is part of what Moiraine will accomplish, we still don't know the extent of her knowledge that was gained from the Aelfinn and Eelfinn.

 

That's my two cents, oh, and hello, this is my first post in a long long time, haven't been back on these forums for a couple of years.

[Maleshub]

If Egwene reviews her dreams notebook, she might find an entry where she dreams of Rand marching towards Shayol Ghul walking on ancient Aes Sedai discs. (If I remember correctly). The dream she was relying on to resist Rand is him destroying the fragmented crystal sphere (early ToM). But I don't think that dream has anything to do with resealing the Bore. It is probably something to do with the post-TG world.

 

I think her dreams notebook is one minor detail that is ignored (or doesn't have space) in the last books.

[Barid Bel Medar]

If Egwene reviews her dreams notebook, she might find an entry where she dreams of Rand marching towards Shayol Ghul walking on ancient Aes Sedai discs. (If I remember correctly). The dream she was relying on to resist Rand is him destroying the fragmented crystal sphere (early ToM). But I don't think that dream has anything to do with resealing the Bore. It is probably something to do with the post-TG world.

 

I think her dreams notebook is one minor detail that is ignored (or doesn't have space) in the last books.

 

I am going to shamelessly promote the theory and say this has possibly happened off screen, or at least while reviewing her dreams, she has found one that at least supports the idea of working with Rand in any way.

 

I don't remember any dream specifically, and I don't think this is what has happened (it may possibly happen, but not likely if my theory is correct) but anything than can be possibly used to promote the theory, I am all for

 

Edit: I didn't mean I think your theory is bad, I actually think that it is possible, just that it is unlikely to have already happened, thus being a part of the OP.