Twice Dawns the Day

[Naggash]

Maybe the return of the whole Light is the second dawn meaning with it passing from darkness to light more than the literal breaking the dark on the horizon line.

[fikkie77]

There are more references. See Terez´ signature about darkness fitting the sun (surely an eclipse).

 

Back to your eclipse: I saw the same eclipse in 1999 in northern France, except there it became a cloudless sky just before totality (weird; they just disappeared along with the sun disappearing). It became utterly dark. Maybe a glimmer at the horizon, but that's all there was. The difference between our experiences is that clouds disperse light. So your clouds dispersed the sunlight from areas where the eclipse wasn't total to areas where it was. Result: a very dark twilight, but no darkness. At my location there were no clouds (anymore), so the light couldn't be dispersed to where I was.

It is the Wheel of Time!

 

I think the Dark One will be able to adjust the direction and possibly the speed of time.

 

In LoC Prologue, the DO says: 'EVEN I CANNOT STEP OUTSIDE OF TIME'.

 

So no, I don't think It can manipulate time like that.. or It would have been able to un-balefire Its chosen.

 

However, time can run differently in T'A'R, apparently.

aMoL DO has much more power than LoC DO. Just dismissing it might be just too easy.

[FarShainMael]

Maybe the return of the whole Light is the second dawn meaning with it passing from darkness to light more than the literal breaking the dark on the horizon line.

 

That's what I think too.

 

@fikkie: yes, it was apparently like that at the tip of Cornwall (just across La Manche from you!)

 

The quote about 'as darkness fits the sun' could be taken any number of ways. When the DO spreads Its darkness across the land, It might do it by shielding out the sunlight - or perhaps by turning off the sun..

 

Whatever it is, it has to cover the whole land, which an eclipse won't do. The area of totality is never more than 167 miles wide, though the partial-eclipse band can cover nearly a whole hemisphere in partial darkness:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SE1999Aug11T.png

 

PS: You mean the DO could now un-balefire someone...

[Sharaman]

You can extend a total eclipse time period considerably by flying within the umbra. I've done that twice.

Since they can Travel this shouldn't really be a problem.

Edit: There may be also be odd special effects in TAR in the eclipse shadow during the time period.

[yoniy0]

I think we're focusing entirely too much on the properties of naturally occurring eclipses.

[Naggash]

I think we're focusing entirely too much on the properties of naturally occurring eclipses.

Well, that's what I had said prevoiusly. That I think the eclipse will last 3 days because 1) we're not in our world 2)it's likely to be motivated by Rand's death/ DO's touch. And I think this is what will fulfil the prophecy.

[skyfirex]

Here's some support for Terez's idea of a reversal of the planet's rotation: The second Breaking of the World.

 

From the Karaethon Cycle

and he shall break the world again by his coming,

Rand's Second Coming?

 

There can be no health in us, nor any good thing grow,

for the land is one with the Dragon Reborn, and he is one with the land.

Soul of fire, heart of stone, in pride he conquers, forcing the proud to yield.

He calls upon the mountains to kneel, and the seas to give way, and the very skies to bow.

 

 

Dragonmount, EOTW:

The air turned to fire, the fire to light liquefied. The bolt that struck from the heavens would have seared and blinded any eye that glimpsed it, even for an instant. From the heavens it came, blazed through Lews Therin Telamon, bored into the bowels of the earth. Stone turned to vapor at its touch. The earth thrashed and quivered like a living thing in agony. Only a heartbeat did the shining bar exist, connecting ground and sky, but even after it vanished the earth yet heaved like the sea in a storm. Molten rock fountained five hundred feet into the air, and the groaning ground rose, thrusting the burning spray ever upward, ever higher. From north and south, from east and west, the wind howled in, snapping trees like twigs, shrieking and blowing as if to aid the growing mountain ever skyward. Ever skyward.

 

Bors' vision @ the Darkfriend Social

The skies rained fire, and the moon and stars fell; rivers ran in blood, and the dead walked; the earth split open and fountained molten rock ...

 

I think a real world scenario of similar effect would be an asteroid or comet impact. Reverse the rotation, perhaps. Even a tilt of the axis could cause a second dawn.

 

Now this line of thought begs a question: How much of the Breaking was the result of Lews Therin and the creation of Dragonmount alone vs all the other men channeling? Could a tilted axis be one of the things Rand needs to fix this Turning of the Wheel?

[FarShainMael]

An asteroid impact was probably what did for the dinosaurs - possibly coupled with massive volcanic eruptions in India, which may well have been triggered by the impact anyway. That wouldn't be just a breaking; it would wipe the surface of the earth clean of every living thing above the size of a mouse.

 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070118094039.htm

 

An impact big enough to stop the earth's rotation, never mind reverse it, would physically shatter the globe, and there would be nothing left. Possible not even the planet itself. This is how it was thought the Moon was formed.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_impact_hypothesis

 

now OK, this is a fantasy series; but RJ knew some physics, and I can't see him going that far out on a limb. Raising and destroying mountains with the OP, changing the outlines of continents, OK - just. Altering the rotation of a globe some 6*10^24 kg spinning at a an equatorial speed of more than 1000 mph.. No.

[Sharaman]

it would strip 99% of life from the planet for one thing.

[Vardar]

I still don't see how it has to be 1 day dawning twice. But I've explained that many times before. It's all in how you read it.

Anyway, just wanted to say, random good info on Eclipes. And the cover art link. Didn't see that one.

[TootThatHorn]

Here's some support for Terez's idea of a reversal of the planet's rotation: The second Breaking of the World.

 

From the Karaethon Cycle

and he shall break the world again by his coming,

Rand's Second Coming?

 

There can be no health in us, nor any good thing grow,

for the land is one with the Dragon Reborn, and he is one with the land.

Soul of fire, heart of stone, in pride he conquers, forcing the proud to yield.

He calls upon the mountains to kneel, and the seas to give way, and the very skies to bow.

 

 

Dragonmount, EOTW:

The air turned to fire, the fire to light liquefied. The bolt that struck from the heavens would have seared and blinded any eye that glimpsed it, even for an instant. From the heavens it came, blazed through Lews Therin Telamon, bored into the bowels of the earth. Stone turned to vapor at its touch. The earth thrashed and quivered like a living thing in agony. Only a heartbeat did the shining bar exist, connecting ground and sky, but even after it vanished the earth yet heaved like the sea in a storm. Molten rock fountained five hundred feet into the air, and the groaning ground rose, thrusting the burning spray ever upward, ever higher. From north and south, from east and west, the wind howled in, snapping trees like twigs, shrieking and blowing as if to aid the growing mountain ever skyward. Ever skyward.

 

Bors' vision @ the Darkfriend Social

The skies rained fire, and the moon and stars fell; rivers ran in blood, and the dead walked; the earth split open and fountained molten rock ...

 

I think a real world scenario of similar effect would be an asteroid or comet impact. Reverse the rotation, perhaps. Even a tilt of the axis could cause a second dawn.

 

Now this line of thought begs a question: How much of the Breaking was the result of Lews Therin and the creation of Dragonmount alone vs all the other men channeling? Could a tilted axis be one of the things Rand needs to fix this Turning of the Wheel?

 

if these are quotes to support the rotation theory i think you just debunked it circumstantially

[Terez]

it would strip 99% of life from the planet for one thing.

 

If the planet actually moved, it would. But that's not how balefire works. Mat wasn't Healed when he was brought back to life; his injuries simply never happened. However, the earth standing still is somewhat different; I'm curious as to how that will work, if it does happen.

[Hyronimus]

I favour a double reality, one where the DO appears to have won (think the end of the never ending story) but the final characters left preserve some 'memory of light' enough to reset reality back to before the darkness but not from the minds of those consumed. balefire prepares us for the kind of metaphysices required. i guess.

[Wolf505]

Just throwing it out there, but I actually have seen a day dawn twice. I once flew a military hop from London, to Iceland, to Newfoundland, to Pope AFB in North Carolina. The sun rose once the morning we left, of course. Then, while we were refuling in Iceland the sun went down. Flying west we caught up to the sun and it "dawned" again, this time in the west, then a couple of hours later went down again as we turned south. So "twice dawned the day" etc.

 

With regards to the prophecy, personally I think it refers to the eclipse.

 

Also, to Hyronimus, above me: I think the title "A Memory of Light" actually refers to the events of Rand's epiphany, in TGS. Remember, that was the original title before they split it into three books.

[TootThatHorn]

"The heavens above Shayol Ghul are black at noon with his(tGLotD) breath."  This is Padan Fain to Alviarin in tFoH, Ch. 19, 'Memories.'

 

I know the eclipse seems to be depicted on the official cover, which seems to be more accurate than any other cover, but I've never really been to sure of how much I truly expect the eclipse to happen, at least not in a literal sense.  

 

So with that quote above, it kind of makes me think that we shall see a dawning the day Rand goes to fight him, then perhaps a clearing of the sky over the Pit and/or Thakandar.  Perhaps his 'breath' will have spread out, possibly during a time when Rand is incapacitated, yet upon his return/victory the DO's effect will recede or vanish altogether, showing a second dawning.  

 

The weather has been such a constantly affected theme since the first book that it would make sense to me that at some point the DO would simply cast a large part, if not the whole, world into darkness, thus giving Rand's connection to the land a chance herald salvation.

 

This prophecy has always been a fav since you knew it would take so long to know the answer, so I guess the bulk of us will know very soon, while some get to snicker lol.

 

p.s.-I wish I could snicker.