Bits from RJ's notes

[threadnecromancer]

I finally read that Reddit chat, Rand using both of the Choedan Kal to fight the Dark One would have been interesting, any more detail anyone could shed on that?

Would he have been doing that alone?

[Barid Bel Medar]

Well, it would end in failure, as Callandor was needed for the True Power access and to trap Moridin to allow Rand to seal the DO away again without tainting the Source. 

 

The Chodean Kal was built to suppress the DO and gain them more time, not fight the DO. Looking at the nature of the Dark One, even with the power of the Chodean Kal, Rand couldn't win. It wasn't brute force that defeated the Dark One. 

 

Also, it is implied that Rand was using as much - if not more - power with Callandor as he did with the Chodean Kal. The lack of Callandor's buffer allowed him to draw on immense power. (I am referring to Logain commenting that he had never felt anything so powerful, not even at the Cleansing.) 

So really, all signs point to the Chodean Kal being irrelevant in Rand's battle. Besides, the Female Chodean Kal was destroyed at the Cleansing. (But I'll assume here that it survived somehow.) 

 

Now, if Logain/Asha'man or Egwene/Aes Sedai had access to the Chodean Kal at the physical Last Battle against Demandred, that might have helped a lot. The sheer amount of power clashing might have also destroyed half the world. 

 

I'm of the opinion Rand did the right thing destroying the Chodean Kal. 

[jack of shadows]

@barid,

"i'm of the opinion rand did the right thing destroying the choedan kal".

keep in mind that there are many steps between zero(destroying the choedan kal)

and 100(destroying half the world),just imagine rand going(with the sa'angreal) from

the field of merrilor to tarwin's gap, annihilating the shadowspawn army,and then,

onlly then,destroying the sa'angreal,or even better,rand using the choedan kal to

turn thakan'dar valley into a sea of molten lava and then giving the sa'angreal to aviendha

to guard (with a circle) the entrance to the pit of doom (just imagine how many soldiers

rand could have saved), i could easily write 10 more scenarios like these.

in my opinion,destroying the choedan kal was a mistake(certainly when rand did it) and 

like i wrote in a previous post,it was just a plot device to weaken the light side.

[Sabio]

And if he arrived to use it and found a full circle or Dem waiting for him.  Sea of molten metal, you do understand the amount of power what you are suggesting would take?  Or leave Rand tired and weakend.  None of what you suggest was worth the risks for him. 

[threadnecromancer]

I would presume Barid that in this case the Choedan Kal would have functioned somewhat differently given that RJ was planning to have Rand use them to (I presume) win.

 

I suppose Logain perhaps would have used Callandor in the last battle given that I would think someone would have to employ Callandor.

The question (and I can't recall with any precise detail) is what foreshadowing on the Pit of Doom RJ left in the books at the time he was planning for this to be the end game.

 

As it seems to me based on Lanfear's earlier comments that Cyndane would be the natural partner for this endeavour, there is a certain symmetry to that after all as well.

[mbuehner]

keep in mind that there are many steps between zero(destroying the choedan kal)

and 100(destroying half the world),just imagine rand going(with the sa'angreal) from

the field of merrilor to tarwin's gap,

 

 

True, but to fall back on the LOTR analogy, there's no reason Gandalf couldnt have borrowed the ring to cast down the walls of Mordor so Frodo could walk in no problem. Well the problem is the nature of the problem itself- Rand couldn't trust himself (much less anyone else) with the CK. Whether one more use, or two more, or a dozen would have been the breaking point was unknowable. To us, but more importantly to Rand himself. Thats the problem with addiction, and power is the greatest addiction there is.  Deciding that one last indulgence couldnt hurt is addict talk.

[mbuehner]

-double post, I am stupid.-