Spoiler Prologue Poll: Talmanes

[mike hunt's here]

How many think he lives, or dies?

[Neophyte]

Butter him up - he's toast.

[MasterAblar]

Call me optimistic but I think he'll live. He seemed very determined to keep living at the end.

[ggourde]

I think they'll find him in time

[Guest TBRaiders]

I hope he doesn't die, but it looks grim.

 

FWIW, loved the choice of words "nick" of time" and "fades" away.

[aross]

I've been debating this one back and forth since I read the Prologue. The way it's written seems to suggest that an 11th hour (hell, stroke of midnight!) Healing is about to take place and we'll see Talmanes again.

 

But then, it's just like our author to toss us that kernel of hope and then squash it. So I figure that Talmanes might be an unceremonious deader.

 

But my final feeling is that he'll be given a Healer's reprieve only to die spectacularly in The Last Battle.

[flinn]

We NEED to see many more big named characters drop. No way you make it through the Last Battle with all the likeable characters alive.

[MarkDiLillo]

The way it was written tends to indicate he will survive. But I dont see why he should or would survive...especially given the nature of his injuries and what we know of how difficult they are to heal. It would literally take Nynaeve, that Kin healer, or Semirhage to heal him if you consider how difficult it was for Moiraine to heal Tam during the first book. Now multiply Tam's injury times 50 and thats what Talmanes suffers from right now.

[Suttree]

I think Talmanes is a prime candidate for Brandon's talk of having GRRM moments...

[MarkDiLillo]

I think Talmanes is a prime candidate for Brandon's talk of having GRRM moments...

 

I suspect that honor is reserved for Rand. Outside of the theory and DM readers there are very few who suspect Rand is going to die prior to sealing the bore. I had never considered it before coming on these sites.

[Wolf505]

As I mentioned in another thread, I predict that Mat will get back to the Band with Moiraine in tow, right as the battle is raging. Moiraine is experienced in healing wounds caused by thankandar forged blades, and she can link with the Asha'man that makes the gateway- Grady and Neald are both experienced at linking. It fits perfectly with Mat's theme of pulling the Band's fat out of the fire based purely on luck.

[Gabriel Kross]

Ok, my theory is some of the Aes Sedai outside the Black Tower are sent to assist Caemlyn because they see the glow from the city. Just speculation, but I'm suspecting that is how Talmanes is rescued.

[Maleshub]

Does the "pipe" dream apply to Talmanes?

[MarkDiLillo]

The problem with that is that Moiraine is nowhere near capable of healing the horrific wounds Talmanes received. She had to struggle to heal Tam's wounds in the first book and he had only been knicked by a trolloc blade and left to suffer overnight. Talmanes has half his body rotting off from multiple Fade wounds.

[Wolf505]

The problem with that is that Moiraine is nowhere near capable of healing the horrific wounds Talmanes received. She had to struggle to heal Tam's wounds in the first book and he had only been knicked by a trolloc blade and left to suffer overnight. Talmanes has half his body rotting off from multiple Fade wounds.

 

Except you're forgetting that A. She has the Angreal that makes here stronger then she was before, and B. She has an Asha'man to link with.

[Mashiara Sedai]

We NEED to see many more big named characters drop. No way you make it through the Last Battle with all the likeable characters alive.

 

I agree. As much as I want Talmanes to live (because he really is awesome!), I'd rather him die than someone I like more (like Lan). He's important enough, and a big enough name, to count as being a major character, I think.

[fisher80]

Lives now, toast later in book saving mat

[MarkDiLillo]

The problem with that is that Moiraine is nowhere near capable of healing the horrific wounds Talmanes received. She had to struggle to heal Tam's wounds in the first book and he had only been knicked by a trolloc blade and left to suffer overnight. Talmanes has half his body rotting off from multiple Fade wounds.

 

Except you're forgetting that A. She has the Angreal that makes here stronger then she was before, and B. She has an Asha'man to link with.

 

She used an angreal to heal Tam as well. The Asha'man may help things, but I dont really think she has a chance to heal Talmanes given how screwed up he is atm. It would take Nynaeve or the Kin woman. I suspect Mat will find Talmanes body in another chapter or two.

[mike hunt's here]

 

She used an angreal to heal Tam as well. The Asha'man may help things, but I dont really think she has a chance to heal Talmanes given how screwed up he is atm. It would take Nynaeve or the Kin woman. I suspect Mat will find Talmanes body in another chapter or two.

 

The only thing i see flawed about Mo healing him is that Mat's first appearance is scheduled for chapter 11, and from what we saw of chapter 11, mo and tal are not even in his thoughts.

 

Although i think Tal is doomed, I would think a bigger enemy (Forsaken, Black sister, M'hael, Slayer, Hanlon, Bela) would have taken him out, not a random Eyeless. At least Nalaesan was offed by the gholam.

 

Where is Olver?

[Terez]

I didn't vote because I can see it either way. Talmanes is often connected to Min's 'two dead men surrounded by ranks and ranks of Trollocs', but that was a Rand viewing, so it would have to be connected to Rand in some way. And it doesn't seem to fit with what we see at the end of the prologue. I wouldn't be surprised if he were Healed in the nick of time, and then died some other way.

[Gabriel Kross]

The problem with that is that Moiraine is nowhere near capable of healing the horrific wounds Talmanes received. She had to struggle to heal Tam's wounds in the first book and he had only been knicked by a trolloc blade and left to suffer overnight. Talmanes has half his body rotting off from multiple Fade wounds.

 

Except you're forgetting that A. She has the Angreal that makes here stronger then she was before, and B. She has an Asha'man to link with.

 

She used an angreal to heal Tam as well. The Asha'man may help things, but I dont really think she has a chance to heal Talmanes given how screwed up he is atm. It would take Nynaeve or the Kin woman. I suspect Mat will find Talmanes body in another chapter or two.

 

She was also exhausted when she healed Tam. I do not think it will be Moiraine that heals him if anyone unless it's just off screen and Talmanes just wakes up later wondering why he's alive.

[Wolf505]

The problem with that is that Moiraine is nowhere near capable of healing the horrific wounds Talmanes received. She had to struggle to heal Tam's wounds in the first book and he had only been knicked by a trolloc blade and left to suffer overnight. Talmanes has half his body rotting off from multiple Fade wounds.

 

Except you're forgetting that A. She has the Angreal that makes here stronger then she was before, and B. She has an Asha'man to link with.

 

She used an angreal to heal Tam as well. The Asha'man may help things, but I dont really think she has a chance to heal Talmanes given how screwed up he is atm. It would take Nynaeve or the Kin woman. I suspect Mat will find Talmanes body in another chapter or two.

 

She was also exhausted when she healed Tam. I do not think it will be Moiraine that heals him if anyone unless it's just off screen and Talmanes just wakes up later wondering why he's alive.

 

Not to mention the Angreal she has now is much, MUCH more powerful then her old one. It's described as nearly a Sa'angreal in power. And I would reiterate that the timing is excellent- Mat returning from ToG with Moiraine and an Asha'man right as he's needed to save Talmanes and the Band. Sounds like just the kind of thing that happens to Mat.

[GYLD]

Unless I'm forgetting something, I don't see any reason for Moiraine to be any where near Caemlyn. Grady, who is responsible for making the gateways for Mat and the rest, followed Perrin to the Fields of Merrilor. If Moiraine and the rest take his gateway, they will arrive there, not Caemlyn. Mat may take another gateway to meet up with the band before the Ebou Dar trip, but I don't see Moiraine leaving Rand's side any time soon after they are reunited.

[Luckers]

Personally I think the entire tone of Talmanes' roles was to lend the Shadow threat--Caemlyn lost and the 'hero' of the scene dead.

[herid]

When I was reading the Talmanes' line in the prologue I was reminded of terez' pipe theory. It's mentioned on page 10 that Talmanes is smoking his second best pipe ( his first best pipe presumably being the gold one that Roedran gave him). It's a pretty weird thing to mention IMO unless it plays a role somehow so perhaps terez has something there. Then in Min's vision about a pipe and two dead men on the ground surrounded by lots of Trollocs one of them could indeed be Talmanes. Which means that he will be a goner. It would also mean that Rand is going to show up in Caemlyn pretty soon.

 

On the other hand it's also mentioned on page 10 that Talmanes never took his best pipe into battle in which case his gold pipe is probably back in the camp. not sure how that would tie in with the vision then.

Sorry if this was recently discussed - I haven't been to this site in a quite a while.