Prologue: Spoilery thoughts, PoV by PoV.

[fionwe1987]

Caemlyn/Talmanes: Why did Elayne leave only one set of Kinswomen? More importantly, since weak Aes Sedai can make tiny Gayeways they can, say, put their arms through, why didn't Jesamyn and the other Kiswoman link and make a tiny gateway to warn Elayne? Seems a serious oversight on their part.

 

The battle here was more cinematic and less personal, I feel, but on the whole not too bad. I just hope the more major battles have more details on the actual tactics that Jordan used to give us. To be fair, this wasn't a tactic heavy battle.

 

And what's up with Talmanes surviving so long with a Myrdraal wound? I'm sure Nynaeve or someone can Heal him if they find him, but his extended survival is surprising, if well handled. The characterization was serviceable, but oh the unsubtlety!

 

Isam: Well damn. That's one long held theory played right. The fact that this has been going on for 2000 years seems significant to me. It is possible that the good showing of the Aiel in the Trolloc Wars woke Ishamael to the fact that they would be major players in the LB. And since this was a time when he had many Dreadlords, he may have had several Dark Prophesies revealing their importance to him. It may well have triggered the construction of the town and the initiation of the Samma N'Sei. This also was the time the Black Ajah was founded, which would explain where the first set of DF women for 13x13 came from. It is very possible that they were tasked with finding women who could channel so that the breeding program mentioned could begin. And the Talentless who are mentioned are probably the ones we saw in the ToM epilogue.

 

This also raises the question: why aren't there female Samma N'Sei? I mean, don't they end up birthing some daughters who can channel too? Or are these the women who do the turnings? It would be interesting if as a group, these people also have male-female links. That would negate a serious advantage for the Light.

 

Also, how many of them are there? The numbers could be staggering.

 

Isam's PoV was interesting in other ways, of course. Clearly, this is more evidence TAR will be in play a lot in aMoL. And Cyndane's end game seems clearer now. I think her helpless woman act is a way to lure Rand to TAR. Which has implications for any possible Egwene-Cyndane confrontations too, of course. And Rand and/or Egwene being threatened with 13x13 is also firmly back in the table, I think.

 

Also, excited by the signs of Cyndane being elevated as a villain here. She doesn't seem to be broken by the tortures. And her being compared to Moridin is interesting.

 

Leilwin: I also felt it was a little absurd for Nynaeve to lay full blame on Leilwin. Not that she is blameless, of course. Her being the Seanchan woman with Egwene in Egwene's dream about the confrontation with Rand seems more likely now. The woman with the sword is still not settled, I think. Egwene's reaction to being offered a da'covale should be... interesting, at the very least. This would also be the first nice/good Seanchan Egwene will meet in the series. A softening of her position regarding them seems inevitable. But to what extent, and how soon? How will Leilwin react to the knowledge that Egwene was formerly Damane? Interesting times ahead.

 

Who was Nynaeve writing a letter to? She's certainly a very high profile Sister now. How soon before it isn't just Warders following her and being dedicated to her?

 

Aviendha: I felt Aviendha came out much better here. The tone seemed right, somehow.

I personally feel the tone of the sweat-tent social points to none of the WO present being DFs. In fact, with the reveal of the Samma N'Sei, maybe none of the major WO will be revealed as DFs. Sorelia's reaction seemed very reasoned to me, and her statement about the truth of the viewing being secondary to the fact that they'll all bust their asses to prevent it anyway seals the deal for me. Why wouldn't she cast doubt on Aviendha and instead make any such doubt irrelevant?

 

That aside, I find the admission of the WO that their recent Dreams are confusing and hard to interpret interesting. Egwene has reported no such issue, and given that she's certainly a stronger Dreamer than them (and they know it now) makes me think they might turn to her for help. The survival of the Aiel is as important to her as to them, and while she is not a Wise One, I think they may take her into confidence on this.

 

Which brings me to my next point. I think my prediction that the chief disagreement in Merrilor will be the Seanchan peace deal, and not the Seals, seems more likely now. I don't think Aviendha will sit for it, and definitely not Egwene, Elayne or Nynaeve, and perhaps not Leilwin either. This could well be the bunch of women Rand confronts in Egwene's dream.

 

Also... Nakomi is an ancient name, not much used now. DomA had some ideas on Nakomi being a kind of spirit guide for the Aiel. Maybe this is indeed true. Or she may be a Hero Soul who was a Wise One in her last incarnation, and she was violating the rules like Birgette was. That seems very likely, I think.

 

Androl: I think an Androl-Pevara romance is in the offing. They both surprised each other, and gained respect. When Androl learns men must control any link Pevara is in, but she still wants to do it, I think it'll smooth all the current natural mistrust.

The talk of them playing the Game of Houses, and Androl's point about not letting the BT name being tainted were exciting. I think they both foreshadow an eventual merger between the White and Black Towers.

 

Naeff... when will he get in there disguised? That will be the catalyst for a lot of things, I think. It'll cement the leadership of Androl, and seal the deal on the battle against Taim's chronies.

 

Moghedien: AHA! Graendal is alive. Once again, I predicted she isn't finished, and once again that's true! The ugly face may barely bother her. She certainly seems to have lost none of her usual self, unlike Mesaana and Moghedien. I predict Graendal is now out hunting for Nynaeve. Her wearing a yellow dress is interesting. Here's a whacky idea: what if she has now infiltrated the Tower as a Yellow Sister? The problem with the whole Oath Rod snafu is that any substitution now would be completely undetected. And how better to watch Nynaeve and strike at her at the right moment than to pose as a member of her Ajah? Graendal may well be in Merrilor, close to Egwene and Nynaeve.

 

Dreamshards. Actually like the name. It is worth noting that Egwene figured out the making of them on her own. Can Slayer or Perrin do this? If not, Slayer at least may be in for a big surprise. That these are locations one can physically Travel to, and that reality itself can be seriously twisted here with ease (unlike in TAR) is interesting. That Ishmael could have a sun and blue skies here, as opposed to Perrin's difficulty with changing TAR to non-blighted in ToM is suggestive. They kind of seem like vacuoles. And could such a place be used by Egwene to speed Elayne's pregnancy, say?

 

Cyndane is the one who is punished most. Given Graendal's relatively tame punishment for serious violations, I'm wondering what the reason for this is. Is this an act, with Cyndane actually not being tortured at all? Or is this to prevent her from taking any knowledge of the Seals to Rand/LTT in her quest for power?

 

The cour'sovra channeling issue seems resolved, though Moghedien's "elevation" is surprising. And why wasn't Graendal mindtrapped? It seems to me that for all her lack of favor, she isn't being punished to a great degree.

 

That Moridin seems to respect Demandred's achievements, yet Demandred claims Moridin doesn't know the full extent of his work is confusing. Interesting, though. Demandred having multiple armies makes much sense. Moggy leading one of them does not, at all. What game is being played here?

 

If the ever-drowning souls are real...that's the kind of pain Verin may be in. Respect...

 

Thoughts?

[NitroS]

Theres already a thread open about this. Just copy and paste this to that thread otherwise we ill have 700 topics saying everyones thoughts on the prologue.