[Editor's note: BFG, a moderator for Dragonmount's Wheel of Time Discussion Board, is doing a guest blog for "WoT If?" this week.]

WARNING: A Memory of Light spoilers throughout.

Foretelling appears to be a very rare Talent that allows glimpses of the future; rare enough that Elaida gains status though her Talent for it is weak.  However, there are a lot of Foretellings that occur that precipitate important events that otherwise would not occur.  So perhaps they are methods of correction similar to ta'veren. 

There are two Aes Sedai whose Foretellings are crucial to the successful outcome of the story: Gitara and Elaida.  

Without Gitara's Foretelling, Luc would not have travelled to the Blight on a mission apparantly important to the survival of the world.  Although the reason for this is not made clear, I believe the importance of Slayer is to prepare Perrin in the world of dreams (the second time that Perrin needs to be there for Rand).

Also without Gitara's Foretelling, Tigraine would not have abandoned Andor, precipitating the War of Sucession and eventually House Trakand's rise to power and also Rand's eventual birth on Dragonmount; the rise of House Trakand is of almost equal importantce (after all, we know that the Dragon Reborn is not the only thing necessary for the Light's victory).

Elaida also has a Foretelling about the Royal House of Andor, which could equally relate to both House Trakand or Tigraine.  Elaida interprets it to mean that House Trakand is important and ensures that she aids them to gain their trust so she's in a position to influence events later, however as the Foretelling is made before Trakand assumes power, it could still relate to Tigraine.

Gitara then has an additional Foretelling resulting in her death, when she sees Rand's birth.  This precipitates Moiraine's search, the death of Tamra, and eventually the Black Ajahs actions, etc....

New Spring

Chapter 2, "A Wish Fulfilled"

 

"He is born again! I feel him! The Dragon takes his first breath on the slopes of Dragonmount! He is coming! He is coming! Light help us! Light help the world! He lies in the snow and cries like the thunder! He burns like the sun!"

So all these Foretellings precipitate action that otherwise would not occur, or at least it's difficult to imagine a sequence of events that would result in the same outcome.  But what of other forms of prophecy?

It's possible to argue that the entire Karaethon Cycle acts in part to prevent the stilling of the Dragon Reborn.  It also directly causes his flight to Tear and everything that happens subsequently, aids his acceptance of the importance of the Aiel, directly influences his actions regarding Callandor, helps inform his ultimate plan for taking on Moridin, etc....  These events all seem to be almost a blueprint to what needs to occur for the Light to win, Rand refers to them in a similar way, and in many ways the Foretellings are acting in a similar manner.  What do you think?

Welcome back to another edition of "WoT If?", Dragonmount's weekly theory blog.  The topic this time is common misconceptions throughout the series, either by us, the fans, or by the characters themselves.  But before we begin:

SPOILER WARNING.  This will include content from A Memory of Light.  Please DO NOT read this if you have not completed the book.

There are tons of things that we misunderstood about the outcome with the Last Battle, and other points within the series.  A lot of this, though, stems from the characters' own misunderstanding of the world and their environment.  We know Robert Jordan intended it that way.  So, many of the things we'll talk about, Robert Jordan did on purpose—he liked to trick us with Aes Sedai words.

During a panel at the Phoenix ComiCon this past May, I was fortunate enough to listen to Brandon Sanderson speak about A Memory of Light and some of the aspects he dealt with while writing it (and in case you missed it, the video of this panel was posted here).  One of the things he spoke about was his own misunderstanding about the Horn of Valere.  He basically said that he assumed, like everyone else in the series, that the Horn could be used by Darkfriends.  He went on to say how Harriet McDougal had to correct him during his writing of A Memory of Light.  He also hinted to this same topic in a different interview:

Brandon Sanderson: I will say that, in the course of writing A Memory of Light, I learned some very interesting things that went against some strong preconceptions I had about the Horn. Some of the ideas I had, about how it worked, turned out to be incorrect.

Another idea I think the characters don't understand correctly is the concept of entering Tel'aran'rhiod in the flesh.  Bair tell Egwene it's wrong:

The Shadow Rising

Chapter 23, "Beyond the Stone"

 

"It is said that once there were those who could enter the dream in the flesh, and no longer be in this world at all. This was an evil thing, for they did evil; it must never be attempted, even if you believe it possible for you, for each time you will lose some part of what makes you human."

It's strange how this is worded.  Bair emphasizes that each time a person enters Tel'aran'rhiod in the flesh, they lose a part of themselves, of their soul.  However, that contracts greatly with it is "an evil thing, for they did evil."  The first implies that the physical act is harmful; yet the second implies that it's only evil because the ones who do it are evil.  I'm reminded of Harry Potter; the ability to speak Parseltongue is considered a Dark Art, but it's unfounded.  It's more that the wizards able to communicate with snakes were evil, not the act itself.

I think we see that the Wise Ones' beliefs on this are false when Perrin is able to master entering Tel'aran'rhiod in the flesh at the end of A Memory of Light.  When he's trying to figure out how to do it, he talks with Edarra, a Wise One.

A Memory of Light

Chapter 12, "A Shard of a Moment"

 

“I need to know of a way to enter the World of Dreams physically. Not just in my dreams, but in my real body. Have you heard of such a thing?”

 

She inhaled sharply. “Do not think of that, Perrin Aybara. It is evil.”

 

…

 

“Why is it evil?” Perrin said.

 

“To enter into the world of dreams in the flesh costs you part of what makes you human. What’s more, if you die while in that place—and you are in the flesh—it can make you die forever. No more rebirth, Perrin Aybara. Your thread in the Pattern could end forever, you yourself destroyed. This is not a thing you should contemplate.”

 

“The servants of the Shadow do this, Edarra,” Perrin said. “They take these risks to dominate. We need to take the same risks in order to stop them.”

 

Edarra hissed softly, shaking her head. “Do not cut off your foot for fear that a snake will bite it, Perrin Aybara. Do not make a terrible mistake because you fear something that seems worse. This is all I will say on the topic.”

Here, Edarra states that a person who enters in the flesh will not only lose a part of themselves, but they will also "die forever."  We've heard that wolves who die in the wolf dream die permanently (another misconception?), but I believe this is the first time it's brought up in regards to humans.  Dying in Tel'aran'rhiod does mean dying in real life, but not to the point where that person's thread ends.  Only being there physically has that risk.

But why?  How would it be possible for the person's thread to be erased completely just by dying in Tel'aran'rhiod?  Not even balefire destroys a person's thread indefinitely. 

Using speculation, I can think of one logical reason the Wise Ones would come to this conclusion.  The World of Dreams—we know from Verin's lecture (The Dragon Reborn, Chapter 21, "A World of Dreams")—is one of three constants in ALL worlds.  So, if a soul is lost in Tel'aran'rhiod, it is lost in all worlds, and may not be able to be reborn in its original world.

However, I still believe this is one thing the Wise Ones don't understand.  Through the whole series, I haven't seen any evidence to make me believe that the ability to enter Tel'aran'rhiod in the flesh leads to evil. 

Another interesting fan misconception was the idea of Perrin finding the Tinker's Song. This, of course, derived from a viewing Min had of Perrin:

The Eye of the World

Chapter 15, "Strangers and Friends"

 

"A wolf, and a broken crown, and trees flowering all around him."

We know the Tinker's Song was actually one of the songs used for Seed Singing in the Age of Legends.  Robert Jordan said in an interview:

Robert Jordan: The Song the Tinkers are seeking is the song Rand heard in Rhuidean—or, to be exact, the memories of that song and others like it have become merged, over the years, into the concept of one mystical Song.

Since we know the Song can be used to make things grow, and we see a vision of Perrin with trees flowering, I think it's logical that we made that assumption.  But, in the end, it's another misconception.  Brandon said:

Brandon Sanderson : Robert Jordan's notes on this are very clear: the Tinkers will never find their song. They've lost it for too long, that even if someone stood in front of them singing The Song, they would just nod their head, say 'that's a nice song' and go on their way.

Or put a better way:

Brandon Sanderson: Directly in Robert Jordan's notes, is this quote, verbatim: "The Tinkers never find their damn song!"

Since it isn't Perrin who leads the Tinker's to their blessed song, what is up with the trees flowering around him?  The one scene in A Memory of Light when we see trees actually flower is when Rand and Mat are in the Tarasin Palace in Ebou Dar (Chapter 17, "Older, More Weathered").  Perrin is present when Rand makes the trees grow in Merrilor, but that's not the same as "flowering." 

One idea I have is that it could come from Perrin and Faile making their home in Saldaea.  When Rand reseals the Dark One, the Blight blooms.  Since Saldaea is close to the Blight, it might send all of their land into a blooming paradise.  

And what of the idea that Roedran of Murandy was Demandred in disguise?  Even Rand thought that.  I think we were led astray on this one because of how Graendal manipulated Sammael in Lord of Chaos (Chapter 6, "Threads Woven in Shadow).  Graendal used the Sharans as a method to distract Sammael from her real plans, but it was Demandred, Mesaana, and Semirhage who were working together, and had plans for Shara.  Did those three strike at Shara because Graendal sent their society into chaos by taking their rulers?  Or was it always Demandred's plans to usurp the Sharan people and use them in the Last Battle?

I think some of that could be answered by the short story "River of Souls," released in the Unfettered anthology earlier this year.  I haven't read it yet, but when I do, we can delve into that subject a bit more.  (And I'll give adequate spoiler warnings before we talk about it.)

That's all for this edition.  There's an even greater source of misconception, and that's the many prophecies we see throughout the series.  It's a bit too much for one blog, so we'll address those at a later time.  Next week, we'll look at Rand's decision to reseal the Dark One instead of killing him.  Was it the best answer?  We'll find out.  Thanks for reading!

Welcome back to "WoT If?", Dragonmount's weekly theory blog.  This week, we'll expand just a bit on the last topic: the ghosts and their connection to the Pattern.  Before we begin:

SPOILER WARNING.  This will include content from A Memory of Light.  Please DO NOT read this if you have not completed the book.

I think I argued pretty well that the ghosts are part of the Pattern, not the work of the Dark One.  Most would agree that is the logical outcome.  However, there were a few other questions left unanswered.  Like, why do the dead arrive?  Is it only to fulfill the prophecies—to be an outward sign of the Last Battle?  Are they just reflections or are they actual dead?

Or even more peculiar, why didn't Tuon see the ghosts outside Jurador?

Crossroads of Twilight

Chapter 29, "Something Flickers"

 

It was a short walk away from the rising sun to the town, along a hard-packed road through hills that were treeless here, but people dotted the road the way windmills and salt pans dotted the hills. Staring straight ahead, they moved so purposefully they seemed not to see anyone in front of them. Mat dodged a round-faced man who nearly walked right into him, which made him have to jump away from a white-haired old fellow making a good speed on spindly legs. That put him in front of a plump girl who would have run up the front of him if he had not jumped again.

 

“Are you practicing a dance, Toy?” Tuon said, peering up at him over a slim shoulder. Her breath made a faint white mist in front of her cowl. “It isn’t very graceful.”

 

He opened his mouth, just to point out how crowded the road was, and suddenly he realized he could no longer see anyone beyond her and Selucia. The people who had been there were just gone, the road empty as far as he could see before it made a bend. Slowly, he turned his head. There was no one between him and the show, either, just the folk waiting in line, and that looked no longer than before. Beyond the show, the road wound into the hills toward a distant forest, empty. Not a soul in sight.

The road seems to be filled with people.  Mat can see them in front of him.  With Tuon and Selucia in front as well, they should have been able to see what Mat saw.  But they didn't.  This could all be chalked up to Mat's ta'veren nature, but it seems like more than that.  Of course, we know Tuon is skilled at ignoring things she doesn't want to see, so it could be as simple as that.

Last time, we talked about the ghosts not actually causing any harm.  They seem to be unaware of the living.  Egwene mentions this to a novice while in the White Tower:

Knife of Dreams

Chapter 24, "Honey in the Tea"

 

There was one more thing she could do for them: comfort them. Impossible as it seemed at first, the interior of the Tower sometimes changed. People got lost trying to find rooms they had been to dozens of times. Women were seen walking out of walls, or into them, often in dresses of old-fashioned cut, sometimes in bizarre garb, dresses that seemed simply lengths of brightly colored cloth folded around the body, embroidered ankle-length tabards worn over wide trousers, stranger things still. Light, when could any woman have wanted to wear a dress that left her bosom completely exposed?

 

Egwene was able to discuss it with Siuan in Tel’aran’rhiod, so she knew that these things were signs of the approach of Tarmon Gai’don. An unpleasant thought, yet there was nothing to be done about it. What was, was, and it was not as if Rand himself was not a herald of the Last Battle. Some of the sisters in the Tower must have known what it all meant, too, but wrapped up in their own affairs they made no effort to comfort novices who were weeping with fright. Egwene did.

 

“The world is full of strange wonders,” she told Coride, a pale-haired girl who was sobbing facedown on her bed. Only a year younger than herself, Coride was most definitely still a girl despite a year and a half in the Tower. “Why be surprised if some of those wonders appear in the White Tower? What better place?” She never mentioned the Last Battle to these girls. That was hardly likely to be any comfort.

 

“But she walked into a wall!” Coride wailed, raising her head. Her face was red and blotchy, and her cheeks glistened damply. “A wall! And then none of us could find the classroom, and Pedra couldn’t either, and she got cross with us. Pedra never gets cross. She was frightened, too!”

 

“I’ll wager Pedra didn’t start crying, though.” Egwene sat down on the edge of the girl’s bed, and was pleased that she did not wince. Novice mattresses were not noted for softness. “The dead can’t harm the living, Coride. They can’t touch us. They don’t even seem to see us. Besides, they were initiates of the Tower or else servants here. This was their home as much as it is ours. And as for rooms or hallways not being where they’re supposed to be, just remember that the Tower is a place of wonders. Remember that, and they won’t frighten you.”

 

It seemed feeble to her, but Coride wiped her eyes and swore she would never be frightened again. Unfortunately, there were a hundred and two like her, not all so easily comforted. It was enough to make Egwene angrier at the sisters in the Tower than she already had been.

There's a few pieces I want to pull from that chunk of text.  First is that the ghosts are in different clothes, older fashions.  This shows that they are from a different time, not those recently deceased.  Or, perhaps they are even from the future.  If the Pattern is weakening, and they are more reflections than ghosts, they could easily be people from an Age yet to come.

Even though most of the character think they are ghosts—"Yet [Egwene] had seen ghosts in the halls of the White Tower, and the corridors seemed to rearrange on a daily basis (The Gathering Storm, Chapter 12, "Unexpected Encounters")—that doesn't mean they are correct in doing so.

In fact, if we stretch that even further, they might even be images from mirror/portal stone worlds.  Egwene sees the dreams of people who live in the parallel worlds, so it's possible they could become overlapped as the Pattern dissolves.

I would say that all the "ghosts" observed are really just overlapped images from mirror worlds, if some of them hadn't been recognized.  In Crossroads of Twilight, Elsie, the servant, recognizes the ghost of Lady Nelein (Chapter 10, "A Blazing Beacon").

Okay, back to Egwene's speech.  The next bit of information is that the dead returning is a sign of Tarmon Gai'don.  We've heard that in several places, but it's still pretty interesting.  That would imply that the dead are a necessity for the Last Battle.  As if their only purpose is to be an outward sign.  It's sort of like the idea that the thing itself is not important—the dead walking have no bearing on the mortal humans—but their appearance is seen as something more.  It could have just as easily been the sun turning red, or the sky turning green.  It had to be something visible to all, to let them know the end was coming.  

For that reason, I would go back to the idea of the ghosts just being images—something used by the Pattern.  Perhaps consciously used by the Pattern.  There are such things as Pattern Level Events—like Rand fighting Ishamael in the sky over Falme.  These events are broadcasted for all to see.  The ghosts, likewise, could be a Pattern Level Event, with the Pattern using itself—and its somewhat broken state—to show the world what it needed to see.

Also, Egwene speaks about the women walking into walls.  Except the current changes in the Tower—caused by the weakening Pattern—there shouldn't have been too many modifications to the White Tower's internal structure.  If the ghosts are images, just transplanted and following a set course, why would they walk through walls?  Those walls shouldn't have been there when the ghosts lived, so any "recording" and playback of them wouldn't have them walking through walls.  

That again, leads me to the idea of mirror worlds.  In a mirror world, the Tower could have been built differently, with a hallway leading off that way, instead of a wall.  That way, the ghost would have been following a natural path to them, but would seem to walk through a wall in Randland's White Tower.

And we know that people can exist simultaneously in mirror worlds, so it also answers the question of how some of the dead are recognizable.  It wouldn't be the Lady Nelein that Elsie knew, it would be the mirror world version of her.  

We'll have to wrap it up there.  I think I've made a pretty good case, but I'm still curious to see what you think.  Please post your comments below.  Next time, we'll look at some common misconceptions that persisted throughout the series.  Thanks for reading!

Hello, all!  Welcome back to another edition of "WoT If?", Dragonmount's weekly theory blog.  The topic this time is the walking death—or the ghosts—that pop up in several places in the series.  We have instances where this phenomenon is attributed to the Dark One, and in other places it's attributed to the Pattern.  So, which is it?  But first:

SPOILER WARNING.  This will include content from A Memory of Light.  Please DO NOT read this if you have not completed the book.

I think most of us would think that the ghosts, or spirits, are a result of the Pattern beginning to unravel.  Reality is getting warped.  First off, could it be because of all the balefire?

With the importance of balefire in A Memory of Light—and Egwene giving her life to combat it—balefire might be one of the main causes.  It is what frays the Pattern; it removes threads and threatens the existence of life itself.

Or is it just the Pattern?  An article on the WOTFAQ, "What's Up With the Ghosts?", has this to say about the dead's connection to the Pattern:

The walking dead are a sign that Tarmon Gaidon is near.  Several characters bring this up as evidence that the end is nigh.

 

Tuon: "Do you know nothing Toy? The dead walking are a sign that Tarmon Gai'don is near." [KOD (Knife of Dreams) 10: A Village in Shiota]

 

Verin: "It will come soon. According to everything I've rread on the subject, the signs are quite clear. Half the servants have recognized dead people in the halls, people they knew alive. It's happened often enough that they aren't frightened by it any longer. And a dozen men moving cattle to spring pasture watched a considerable town melt into mist just a few miles to the north." [KOD 18: News for the Dragon]

 

Egwene: "Egwene was able to discuss it with Siuan in Tel'aran'rhiod, so she knew that these things were signs of the approach of Tarmon Gai'don." [KOD 24: Honey in the Tea]

 

The ghost seem related to the same phenomena mentioned repeatedly in the books: the Pattern itself is [unraveling] and the fabric of reality is coming undone. Further evidence is the hallways of the palace in Caemlyn and the White Tower shifting [KOD 14: Wet Things], [KOD 24: Honey in the Tea], [TGS (The Gathering Storm) 6: When Iron Melts], villages appear and disappear [KOD 10: A Village in Shiota], [KOD 18: News for the Dragon] and whatever was going on in Hinderstap [TGS 28: A Night in Hinderstap], as well as other unexplainable events. The characters all seem to agree that this is evidence that the Last Battle is [imminent].

However, the unraveling of the Pattern is also blamed on the weakening seals, and the Dark One.  Look at this quote between Rand and Egwene about breaking the seals:

A Memory of Light

Chapter 5, "To Require a Boon"

 

[Egwene said,] “You won’t break them if I stop you, Rand.”

 

“Why would you want to stop me, Egwene? Give me a single reason why it would be a bad idea.”

 

“A single reason other than that it will let the Dark One loose on the world?”

 

“He was not loose during the War of Power,” Rand said. “He could touch the world, but the Bore being opened will not loose him. Not immediately.”

 

“And what was the cost of letting him touch the world? What are they now? Horrors, terrors, destruction. You know what is happening to the land. The dead walking, the strange twisting of the Pattern. This is what happens with the seals only weakened! What happens if we actually break them? The Light only knows.”

 

“It is a risk that must be taken.”

Here, Egwene is blaming the walking dead, not only on the seals, but on the Dark One.  She's implying his touch is what is causing the Pattern such turmoil.  She also thinks that breaking the seals would make everything worse.

By that logic, we can assume Egwene believes the Dark One is in control of all the dead.  That's a belief that's very debatable.  We know the Dark One is also called Lord of the Grave, but it's also a common belief within Randland that people who walk in the Light are protected from the Dark One after death.

There is a lot of conflicting information about this topic.  A lot of it is based on what characters believe, and it's been pointed out to us time and time again that the characters are not always right—in fact, most of the time they are wrong.

So, how much access does the Dark One have to souls?  The WOTFAQ also talks a bit about this.  They speculate that Ishamael—when impersonating Ba'alzamon in The Eye of the World—really had access to Kari al'Thor's soul.

It has long been argued over whether this Kari was real or an Illusion created by Ishy, but Alan Ellingson points out that in that scene, "Kari never tells/asks Rand to join Ba'alzamon. She only asks him to help her. Ba'alzamon might have limited what she couldn't say but he [evidently] couldn't force her to say anything. Remember in Rand's dreams in TDR (The Dragon Reborn) the people he trusted tried to kill him? Why wasn't Kari like that? Why couldn't Ba'alzamon make her say something more... appealing to Rand? Second, she refers to him as 'Lord of the Grave' and more importantly 'Father of Lies'. Yes, have your chief witness call you a 'Father of Lies' in front of the guy you are trying to convince to join you. Third, her last words are 'The Light. The blessed Light.' Why would Ba'alzamon make her say that if she were an illusion he created?"

However, even if that were true, how would Ishamael have access to the souls?  He is not the Dark One.  In fact, during this scene, none of the seals had been broken yet.  It isn't broken until after Rand's fight with Ishamael.  Therefore, the Dark One wouldn't be able to touch the land at all, let alone bring Kari al'Thor's soul back to talk to Rand.

The proposed idea that it isn't an illusion has some other flaws as well.  We know that the battle with Rand and Ishamael is taking place in Tel'aran'rhiod.  Ishamael is a very skillful manipulator of the World of Dreams; there's no reason Kari al'Thor can't be an illusion made by him.  Naturally, Ishamael would want her to say things that would convince Rand.  Having her say, "Join the Dark One," would key Rand in that it's a fake; Kari would never say that to her son.  So, he needed her to say things that sounded convincing; things that would make Rand believe she was real, giving Ishamael power over Rand.  If Rand believes it's true, in Tel'aran'rhiod, it is.

But her last line—"The Light. The blessed Light."—could be another trick of Tel'aran'rhiod.  If Rand believes it is Kari, Ishamael might lose a bit of control over the illusion.  She could be acting based on Rand's image of her.  We see something similar to this when Nynaeve and Elayne are playing in Tel'aran'rhiod:

The Fires of Heaven

Chapter 49, "To Boannda"

 

They quietly decided to leave animals alone after a peculiar thing — much like a horse with a horn on its nose! — chased them both up a hill before they could make it vanish. That very nearly sparked a new argument, with each of them claiming the other had made it, but by that time Elayne had recovered enough of her old self to start giggling over how they must have looked, racing up the hill with their skirts hauled up, shouting at the thing to go away. Even Elayne's stubborn refusal to admit it had been her fault could not stop Nynaeve's giggles from bubbling up, too.

Here, their made up creation begins to act on its own.  Obviously, they wouldn't want it to chase them, but their belief in it caused it to act the way they thought it would.  

I think that could show that Ishamael didn't really have access to Kari al'Thor's soul.

Another argument against the Dark One having souls is the fact that we see what he can do with them.  Let me try to explain.  The Dark One regenerates the souls he has.  We do not have any example of him holding onto souls and doing nothing with them.  Here's an interview with Robert Jordan that kind of says the same thing:

Question: To go back to what you were saying a few minutes ago, were you implying that you could channel the True Power without being granted immortality?

 

Robert Jordan: Oh yes.

 

Question: Aren't the Forsaken already ...

 

Robert Jordan: No. They're not immortal.

 

Question: Do they know that?

 

Robert Jordan: Yes, they know that.

 

Question: But they believe they are immortal.

 

Robert Jordan: No, they do not believe they are immortal, but they believe they will be. All they need to do is get the Dark One free. And they have been promised this. This is their reward for getting him free. If they manage to get him out of that prison, he will grant them immortality. And they believe this because they have seen him in the past, as he has done now, bring the dead back to life. Give the dead new bodies. Transfer souls from a dying body into a young and healthy body. They've seen him do this. So they know that can be done. So it's not as though they are believing something, somebody just walked up to you and said "I can make you immortal if you go out and do this, kill and do awful deeds". They've seen him, they have seen these incredible things done. So they have reason to believe.

Robert Jordan emphasizes that the Forsaken have seen the Dark One transmigrate souls, that he can bring the dead back to life.  Accessing souls and putting them into constructs—in this case, dead bodies—is nowhere near letting souls wander free all over the world.  

In fact, since the souls cannot touch the world and seem to be doing no harm, I think that shows it's not the Dark One's work right there.  If the dead were roaming on his behest, they woild be causing damage, doing evil, harming people—like the bubbles of evil that originate from him.

I think this also shows that Ishamael is a master manipulator.  He brings up Kari al'Thor, an illusion, to mess with Rand.  In the same way, he told Lews Therin in The Eye of the World prologue that the Dark One could bring back Ilyena.  Again, by that point, the Dark One was already sealed in the Bore.  There was no way he could have brought Ilyena back, even if he could access her soul.  Plus, there is still the debate of the Dark One being able to grab souls of people who walk in the Light.  Personally, I don't think the Dark One could have touched her at all, even if Lews Therin agreed to it.

The conclusion is that the dead have to be a result of the Pattern.  But for what purpose?  Just to fulfill the prophecies?  To be a sign that the Last Battle approaches?  Or is it involuntary?  Does the Pattern, in its weakened state, lose the ability to hold onto the dead?

This is getting a bit long, so we'll take a closer look at a few of those ideas for next week.  That's all for now.  Thanks for reading!

Welcome back to another edition of "WoT If?", Dragonmount's weekly theory blog.  For this week, I want to look at the Aiel and how they might be repurposed after the Last Battle.  And as always:

SPOILER WARNING.  This will include content from A Memory of Light.  Please DO NOT read this if you have not completed the book.

When Rand holds the meeting at Merrilor, the Aiel were intended to be left out from the demands.  Since they followed him from the beginning, he wanted to show them he trusted them not to cause problems after the Last Battle.  Through Aviendha's second trip through the glass-column ter'angreal, we see this decision would have left the Aiel to a terrible fate.

Luckily, after Aviendha demands her boon from Rand—to be included in the Dragon's Peace—Perrin is able to come up with an idea to give the Aiel purpose on this side of the Spine of the World.

A Memory of Light

Chapter 6, "A Knack"

 

[Rand said,] "…the Aiel—all but the Shaido—are to be written into the document as enforcers of the peace and mediators of disputes between nations. Any nation may call upon them if they feel abused, and the Aiel—not enemy armies—will provide redress. They can hunt criminals across national borders. They are to be subject to the laws of the nations in which they reside at the time, but they are not subjects of that nation."

But with the repurposing, what else will change for the Aiel?  Where will their "home base" be?  How will they interact with one another?  How will they continue to grow as a People?

For the question about their home, I bet the Clans will distribute "home turfs" amongst themselves.  With eleven Clans, and fourteen nations (or seventeen, if you count the city-states and the now-blooming Malkier), it shouldn't be too hard to divide up the land.  However, they could also decide to be travelers, like the Tinkers, never in the same place twice.  This choice would let them be a little more free from the influences of the nations.  Perhaps they could even band back together with the Tinkers.  While the battle is raging, Raen, a Seeker of the Tuatha'an, begins to wonder about condemning violence.

A Memory of Light

Chapter 37, "The Last Battle"

 

"I am not going to abandon the Way, Ila. It is my path, and it is right for me. Perhaps … perhaps I will not think quite so poorly of those who follow another path. If we live through these times, we will do so at the bequest of those who died on this battlefield, whether we wish to accept their sacrifice or not."

With this knowledge, the Tinkers and the Aiel could rejoin, become one people again, but with two different branches.  If that happened, the Aiel who gave into the bleakness could come back to the Clans, and join the Tinker section, devoting their life to the Way of the Leaf to meet their toh.

As for how they would treat each other, their constant feuds with one another would need to end.  As the Clan Chiefs have spent so much time with each other since The Shadow Rising, I don't see this being as big a problem as they think.  In fact, Rhuarc actually says he will put blood feuds aside: "I have buried blood feuds for you, Rand al’Thor. I would not take them up again. I have friends now that I would rather not kill" (A Memory of Light, Chapter 6, "A Knack").

I don't think the Chiefs will disappear.  The Aiel need a structured hierarchy to follow.  But Societies might change, or morph, to encompass more attributes.  Maybe Clans become less important, and members can travel more as members of Societies—like they did in Rhuidean.  Maidens can be sent, regardless of Clan, to chase down bandits from Andor.  The Stone Dogs can patrol the Borderlands; the Seia Doon can protect the border with Seanchan.  They would be less likely to attack members of other Clans if they separated like this.

Maybe, they would eventually have Society Chiefs, instead of Clan Chiefs.  And the Maidens could have the first female Chief.

What about growing?  I see plenty of ways this will happen.  First off, is the new visions brought by the glass-column ter'angreal.  It isn't clear if the vision is different the first time, or not.  If it requires a second time, I think the Wise Ones—perhaps even the Clan Chiefs—will insist candidates go through a second time.  This testing is very important to them as a People.

With their firm belief in ji'e'toh, the Aiel need something to keep them humble, to keep them working, to keep them focused.  We saw when Aviendha went through the ter'angreal the first time that it was not a challenge for her.  It was nothing new, so it was not a test.  The Wise Ones and the Chiefs need to be the strongest of the strong.  If anyone who went through could survive—as everyone now knows their ancient past—the Chiefs are nothing special.  They need to wheedle out those who would crack under the pressure.  The second trip nearly shattered Aviendha, which shows it was an adequate test of her character.

Another thing they need to do is conquer the wetlands.  Not in the way of kings and dictators, but in the lands.  Any Aiel above the age of five can survive on their own in the Waste.  How many would be able to survive in the wetlands?  It's a different climate, a different terrain, different flora and fauna, different animal life.  Aviendha thinks about this as she arrives at Merrilor:

A Memory of Light

Chapter 2, "The Choice of an Ajah"

 

She needed to know more; would the spears be danced tonight? Perhaps Elayne would share news with her. Aviendha moved silently out of the Aes Sedai camp. Stepping softly in these wet lands, with their lush plants, presented different challenges than the Three-fold Land did. There, the dry ground was often dusty, which could muffle footsteps. Here, a dry twig could inexplicably be buried beneath wet grass.

The Wetlands are a different challenge.  It's something else for the Aiel to work towards, to master.

I would love to have a story thirty or forty years from the current time, just to see how the Aiel have grown.  They have such an interesting culture, and it would be awesome to see them thrive in a new situation, instead of being beaten and surrendering to their life in the Three-Fold Land.

That's all for today.  Next week, we'll look at the walking dead and possible reasons they were returning.  Thanks for reading!

Welcome back to another edition of "WoT If?", Dragonmount's weekly theory blog.  For this week, I've got some questions about the standing flows in the Age of Legends.

SPOILER WARNING.  This will include content from A Memory of Light.  Please DO NOT read this if you have not completed the book.

The standing flows are only mentioned in passing once, but they are alluded to a few times throughout the series.  They are a product of the Age of Legend, a mixture of One Power and technology that allowed non-channelers to use ter'angreal.  It's not clear how much of their technology ran on the One Power.  Or if it was just for frivolous things, not really worthwhile.  But let's take a look at the actual quote about them from the series.

Crossroads of Twilight

Chapter 21, "A Mark"

 

For a moment, Alviarin only stared at the package. Her most precious possession, a thing from the Age of Legends, but she had never dared use it before. Only in the worst emergency, Mesaana had said, the most desperate need, yet what need could be more dire than this? Mesaana said the thing could take hammer blows without breaking, but she undid the wrappings with the care she would have used with a piece of fine blown glass, revealing a ter’angreal, a brilliant red rod no larger than her forefinger, utterly smooth except for a few fine lines worked into the surface in a sinuous interconnecting pattern. Embracing the Source, she touched that pattern with hair-thin flows of Fire and Earth at two of the interconnections. That would not have been necessary in the Age of Legends, but something called the “standing flows” no longer existed. A world where almost any ter’angreal could be used by people unable to channel seemed odd beyond comprehension. Why had it been allowed?

Not much to go on, but the Wheel of Time Wiki expands on it a bit:

"Standing Flows"

 

It was hinted by Mesaana that most common ter'angreal used in the Age of Legends, even those that required channeling, could be used by non-channelers. When describing the function of a slender red call rod, she mentioned that powering it required simulating what she called the Standing Flows, described as an "always on" power source energizing any number of objects. This was done by weaving "hair-thin" flows of Fire and Earth at two of the "interconnections". No specification is given regarding the total number of "interconnections", but the wording implies multiple. No additional hints were given regarding the range and limitations.

It's interesting that Alviarin thinks of the standing flows only in context of the ter'angreal—as if only ter'angreal can access the standing flows.  However, current knowledge of the Age of Legends is very scant, and mostly wrong.  Alviarin's understanding would most likely be incorrect, no matter how much Mesaana told her.  That means the One Power—through the standing flows—could be used for other things.

Or, it could mean that all the technology used was developed through ter'angreal.  Making angreal, sa'angreal, and ter'angreal was common in the Age of Legends.  Many people had the Talent.  It would make sense for them to develop new ter'angreal, ones that could use the standing flows, to better the lives of the common citizens.

Either way, I think a vast majority of items were One Power based.  Even sho-wings and jo-cars.  The One Power is an endless energy supply.  The Aes Sedai would be stupid to not harvest its power and put it to practical use.

But how would the standing flows be harnessed?  I can see two ways.  First is that the Aes Sedai make pools of saidar and saidin for the ter'angreal to feed off of.  If there are vast pools all over the world, the weaves could be tied off—connecting the ter'angreal and the pools—making all the items work without someone actively channeling into it.

It's implied that men and women working together could form these pools without difficulty (The Eye of the World, Chapter 50, "Meetings at the Eye").  The only reason the ones who made the Eye of the World died was to make saidin pure and clean.  If creating pools of pure Power could be done, Aes Sedai could regularly refill the "reservoirs," allowing all the items linked to it to draw on the Power stored within.  

Or, taking on a more sci-fi perspective, the standing flows could be pure Power left to run wild.  It's all around, and all the devices programs to feed off the flows would work.  Maybe a good analogy would be a wind generator.  The wind is all around, and the device—the windmill—can access that power as long as the wind is there.

This might seem a bit confusing, but let me elaborate.  When we see scenes from the Age of Legends during Rand's trip into the glass-column ter'angreal, we see a group of Aiel, Ogier, and a Nym seed singing.  During this scene, it's speculated that the Nym uses weaves of the Power (The Shadow Rising, Chapter 26, "The Dedicated").  The phrase is that the Nym, "took those threads and wove them into his dance," which sounds a lot like channeling.  So, where is the Nym getting the flows?  From the standing flows, the Power that is surrounding them.  It's like wind all around them, and the Nym—a construct, like a ter'angreal—can access them.

Another point I'd like to touch on is whether or not the standing flows will come back.  They disappeared when the Bore was breached.  The Wheel of Time Wiki has something interesting on this that might shed some light on how they disappeared:

Allegedly, immediately after the Breaking began, sho-wings disappeared from existence, and not even tales of them managed to survive to the Third Age.

If sho-wings are running off the standing flows, they stopped working "immediately" after the Breaking.  If the standing flows are pools of the One Power, that makes sense since the Aes Sedai wouldn't go about refilling the reservoirs.  And if the standing flows are wild threads of Power running free, their threads could have been disrupted by the appearance of the Dark One.  He could have broken the weaves.  He could have taken away the wind.

But is it fixable?  Alviarin's comment of why such a thing had been allowed is telling.  I think most Aes Sedai would feel the same way.  The Power is for them, not for others.  The White Tower may claim to serve all, but I don't see them wanting to give up even an ounce of their power.

The Asha'man might be more likely to create standing flows again.  They learned the lesson that they are men, not weapons, so they might want to be more of a help to society.  But it would require the cooperation of women, if the standing flows are pools.  Men and women need to work together to accomplish that task.  

Two of the female Forsaken are still alive, Graendal and Moghedien.  Graendal is under compulsion, and fawning over Aviendha.  A lot of information might come of that.  Moghedien is a collared damane, captured and taken back to Ebou Dar.  Some information might come from that.  Honestly, I don't think the Seanchan would want to use any items that use the Power, so they wouldn't want the standing flows to reform.

But Graendal could be key to setting up a lot of wonders from the Age of Legends.  I wouldn't be surprised if she could help recreate the standing flows as well, if there were willing participation among the current channelers.

The last idea is that—if the Dark One blocked the flows, his resealing could heal the weaves on their own.  The standing flows could instantly be reinstated, without any help from another source.  That would lead to a lot of confusion, but probably some advances in civilization pretty quickly.

That's all for this week's edition.  Next time, I want to look at the Aiel and their new role in society.  Thanks for reading!

Hello, everyone, and welcome back to "WoT If?".  This week, I want to look at the state of channelers, and speculate about what's in store for their future.  But before we begin:

SPOILER WARNING.  This will include content from A Memory of Light.  Please DO NOT read this if you have not completed the book.

Since time is a Wheel, and all things come and go, we know the ability to channel must eventually be lost.  Or else, we'd have channelers in our own time—and as far I know, we don't.  One of the panels at JordanCon, "After the Last Battle," touched on this topic a bit, but I'd like to expand it further.

It's been stated several times in the series that most Aes Sedai are under the impression that the Power is being culled out of the population.  Since they've been gentling male channelers for nearly 3,000 years, it seems logical that this would be the outcome.  However, I'd like to counter that argument by pointing out they are only gentling men with the spark, the ability to channel no matter what.  We know that fewer channelers have the spark; most have the ability within and need to be tested for it to mature.  So most of the male channelers are not being gentled, and are living their lives, passing on their genes, without knowing they can learn to touch the True Source.  

I think this is evident by how many Asha'man there are by the end of the series.  In almost no time at all, the Black Tower accepted and trained so many channelers.  And now that male channelers aren't going to be hunted down, it stands to reason that the number of channelers overall would increase.

So what other reasons are there for the Power to be lost eventually?  I've got a few theories that might work.

1. Disease

It's quite possible that disease could be the cause.  If a strain of bacteria or a virus erupted that only attacked the channeling population, there would be almost no hope for them.  Since channelers tend to group together—in the Black Tower and the White Tower, at least—it could spread through them quickly.  

There might be some hope if the Yellows, and those Asha'man dedicated to Healing, could think of a way to combat the strain.  But if it only attacks channelers, maybe it would be immune to flows of the Power.  

If a vast majority of the channelers were wiped out—like the Towers, or the kenneled damane—and only random patches of channelers still existed—like the Kin, the Wise Ones, or the Sea Folk—the smaller patches would likely die off over time.  The ability, if not widely spread and having a larger breeding pool, would definitely be culled.

2. Channeling outlawed

There may come a time, far down the road, where channeling could be seen as a bad thing.  We all know of historical examples of "witchcraft" being outlawed and punishable by death.  If somewhere along the way, the channelers lose sight of being focused on service, they could become a group of selfish, or evil, people.  It's typical that people in powerful stations eventually become corrupted.  I could see this happening quite easily.

If the channelers began to become enemies of the people, no doubt the people would rise up and demand a change.  The channelers would become hunted and killed.  The only difficult part would be catching them.  Since forkroot tea is common knowledge now, it might still be well known at some point in the future.

If the people are able to kill a majority of channelers, the same effects from the disease scenario would hold true.  The smaller groups, who must go into hiding, would eventually stop channeling all together, or lose the ability over time.

3. The world becomes a Stedding

This idea has been around a long time.  I've seen dozens of theories on this over the years.  Because of this, I won't spend a lot of time on it, but I also didn't want to leave it out.  

What happens in this scenario is that the Steddings begin to grow—perhaps the Ogier are able to make it grow at some point, before they open the Book of Translation and leave this world.  With a Stedding covering the whole world, the ability would be lost completely.  The channelers would probably go mad from losing the Source—it would be the same as stilling and gentling: they would sense it but could not touch it.

Or, in other forms of this theory, ter'angreal, like the ones in Far Madding, could be invented to make channeling impossible.  The same would be true, channelers would die off from losing the Source.

4. Evolution

Credit for this thought goes to Matt Hatch from Theoryland.  He proposed that the human body could lose the ability to channel.  When Nynaeve heals gentling and stilling, she is able to sense the connection inside the body.  There is something physically there for the person to be able to touch the Source.

If humanity evolves over time, that connection could be lost.  The Source still exists.  It's still driving the Wheel of Time, but we've lost the ability to sense it, let alone touch it.  Then, when the Wheel turns once again, the body evolves to encompass the ability.  The Power could become lost and found several times as the seven Ages come and go.

Of the four, I like the evolution one best.  It keeps with what we know of human anatomy.  Science will show us how we have evolved over the past 3,000 years—about the length of an Age.  It's easy to see that in another 3,000 years, when our Age ends and another begins, we could be completely different physically.

That's all for this week.  Let me know if you have other theories about losing the One Power.  I look forward to hearing more.  Next time, we'll examine the standing flows in the Age of Legends and see if it's something that can be duplicated in the world after the Last Battle.  Thanks for reading!

Welcome back to "WoT If?", Dragonmount's weekly theory blog.  Continuing from last week, we'll explore other possibilities of who/what Nakomi might be.  But first:

SPOILER WARNING.  This will include content from A Memory of Light.  Please DO NOT read this if you have not completed the book.

A few weeks ago I suggested that Nakomi might be the equivalent of a female Dragon—someone who went through the same thing as Rand and therefore has the same abilities.  Doing my research for this week however, I found a helpful interview with Brandon Sanderson:

Chris Cottingham: Is Nakomi's dealing with the soup for Aviendha the same as Rand and the pipe?

 

Brandon Sanderson: What do you mean?

 

Chris Cottingham: Is it the same power?

 

Brandon Sanderson: (Laughs) No, it is not. I'll go ahead and, wow, you actually managed to get a question out of me about Nakomi. No that is not the same.

There are a few other things Brandon has flat-out denied, like this one:

Loialson: Was the stone Aviendha slept near during Towers of Midnight a portal stone?

 

Brandon Sanderson: No. Nice try! That's eliminating one theory, I'll give you that one.

And this one:

Terez: Have we seen Nakomi in any other guise? Is she somebody we would know?

 

Brandon Sanderson: No, we haven't. Good question.

With those few tidbits, a lot of choices for who Nakomi might be get eliminated.  And I think the only answer we have left is that she is a "magical" force.  Perhaps magical isn't the right word, but let me explain.  There won't be a natural explanation for Nakomi.  In the world of Wheel of Time there are things we accept as being natural, even though there is a magical reason for them begin there.  For instance, we can rationalize that Aviendha might have been in Tel'aran'rhiod and that makes sense to us.  The answer still involves magic—or something we don't have in our normal lives—but we don't question it because we accept Tel'aran'rhiod as being part of their world.  But Nakomi won't have logical explanation.  Her existence won't make sense.

One of the reasons I've come to this conclusion is following Brandon's other endeavors.  If you aren't aware, Brandon—along with Dan Wells, Howard Tayler, and Mary Robinette Kowal—hosts a weekly podcast called "Writing Excuses."  He and the other podcasters talk about the dos and don'ts of writing fiction.  One of the things they talk about regularly is the act of foreshadowing.

In another interview, Brandon has said he wrote the scene with Aviendha and Nakomi:

This Q&A was later clarified by a Twitter conversation in which Brandon said that something he found deep in RJ's notes made him include Nakomi. He refused to confirm that Nakomi actually was in the notes.

This, to me, means that the only appearance of Nakomi would have been at the Bore, when she talks Rand through the body-swap.  From a literary standpoint, that would have seemed odd to most readers.  The foreshadowing wasn't there.  We would have been very confused, wondering why there was a random woman in the Bore.  With the added scene, we see Nakomi actually exists and that she is working for the side of the Light—or at least working for the good of the Aiel.  Sure, we are still confused about her identity, but we don't feel like it was deus ex machina. 

Throughout the series, there are several occasions when coincidence saves the day.  Most of the time we attribute it to ta'veren luck.  But, other times we know it is the Pattern.  I've argued before that, although Moiraine says the Pattern is neutral, it has to be allied with the Light.  If the Shadow wants to unmake the Pattern, it would naturally align with the side that doesn't want to destroy it.  And since so many characters—those who aren't ta'veren—get saved in coincidental ways, it shows that the Pattern is looking out for the Light.

Which leads us back to Nakomi.  What if Nakomi is an avatar—not for the Creator, who takes no action—but for the Wheel and the Pattern?  She could be the embodiment of Balance, the entity who makes sure things stay on track.  The few times we see her are extreme cases, ones that effect the whole world.  With Aviendha, Nakomi's words prompt her into to seeing the second vision, and leading the Aiel away from the ruin the glass-column ter'angreal predicted.  The second time, she allows Rand—who has given so much to the world—to have a real life.  She's setting things into motion that would not have happened without her help.  It's like the Pattern was unable to correct these two events without taking direct action, so someone had to step in.

But there can be other explanations.  One of the major theories is that Nakomi is the Creator's avatar.  This seems quite likely since we see that the Dark One has Shadar Haran.  If the Dark One can have a vessel on the planet, it seems the Creator could have one too.  This has also been foreshadowed throughout the series, so it doesn't feel like deus ex machina either.  

But, we also know that the Creator doesn't take part, so why would he send his avatar to speak with Aviendha, of all people?  There were several others who could have benefited from direct communication with the Creator.  Egwene, for one, with her battle against Taim.  If she knew the details earlier of balefire and the new weave, the Flame of Tar Valon, things wouldn't have ended so badly for her.  Why would the Creator only choose to help Aviendha?

Could it be possible that the Aiel are the Creator's chosen people?  To bring in the Biblical reference, there are a few similarities between the Aiel and the Jewish religion.  Rand, the savior, was born into the Aiel.  Jesus, the Christ, was Jewish.  Rand was accepted by some Aiel, but the Shaido refused to believe he was the Car'a'carn.  In the story of Jesus, he was accepted by some, but rejected by others of the faith.  In this comparison, it's easy to see how the Aiel could be special in the eyes of the Creator, and therefore Nakomi would be willing to offer guidance to them only.  

But does the Creator have those tendencies?  We all know he doesn't take part in the affairs of the world.  Robert Jordan said:

Robert Jordan: A perfect Creator should create a perfect creation. To act, miraculously or no, on this world, would be tantamount to acknowledging imperfection in Himself. So, when humanity screwed things up, they've been left on their own to "patch" things up. :-)

Would Nakomi, being a part of the Creator, suggest the same thing?  If he needed to come to earth, in any form, and "fix" things, he wouldn't be perfect.  Which leads me back to the Wheel or the Pattern.  If any of these entities wants the world fixed, it's the Pattern.

There's been some speculation that Nakomi might be answered in the Encyclopedia.  But it's not confirmed, that I've seen.  With what we have, and if no new information is given, I'm going to say Nakomi is the avatar of the Pattern/Wheel, not the Creator.  Even with the Biblical connection, it doesn't make sense for the Creator to take part in only two events.  The Pattern, however, would see these events as significant for its own existence.  It would want to set things right.  And it has also acted on the world, making Pattern Level Events, like the fight between Rand and Ishamael over Falme.

That's all for this edition.  Next week we'll talk about the state of Channelers and what might be in store for their future.  Thanks for reading!

Hello, all!  And welcome back to "WoT If?".  This week's theme is something that we will be debating for a long time: Nakomi.  I don't think there's any concrete information on her, and all the interviews with Brandon Sanderson and Team Jordan that I've seen are very vague.  That means it's up to us to put the pieces together and puzzle out who/what she is.  But first:

SPOILER WARNING.  This will include content from A Memory of Light.  Please DO NOT read this if you have not completed the book.

When Nakomi first appeared in Towers of Midnight, I'll admit that my first thought was she might be Verin.  The reasoning for this is that Verin was the one person we saw hopping around from place to place, passing on secret information.  Nakomi's appearance and advice seems to be in the same vein as this.  There's also the fact that in the audio books, Kate Reading reads Nakomi's voice like she reads Verin's.  However, all this evidence—and many fans thought the same—has been debunked.  Here's an interview from the A Memory of Light book signing tour where Brandon actually gives us a straight answer.

Freelance: When Rand is exiting the tunnel into the Pit, if he had gotten a good look at the woman who spoke to him there, would he have recognized her?

 

Brandon Sanderson: He didn't get a good look at her.

 

Freelancer: Understood, but if he had, would he have known her face?

 

Brandon Sanderson: I should RAFO that, but no. She wasn't Verin.

 

Freelancer: Oh, I never believed it could be Verin.

 

Brandon Sanderson: Then who do you think he would recognize?

 

Freelancer: A face from his visions in Rhuidean.

 

Brandon Sanderson: Aha, very subtle, I didn't see that coming. Still no.

 

Freelancer (note): So Nakomi (and we're sure it was Nakomi based on previous answers from Brandon who said Nakomi could be found near the end of A Memory of Light) is not one of the Jenn seen by Rand at the founding of Rhuidean. She could still be another of the Jenn. For others attending an upcoming signing, consider how to follow up on this question and try to get something useful.

So Verin is out.  But the questions asked lead to another idea.  Rand wouldn't have recognized her face, but, as pointed out, he didn't see all of the Jenn Aiel.  It could have been someone else from the past who had the longevity of a channeler. 

Let's explore that a bit.  When Nakomi is first introduced (Towers of Midnight, Chapter 39, "Into the Three-Fold Land"), Aviendha notices the other woman can't channel.  This doesn't necessarily mean the woman can't.  The characters are often wrong in what that think is "truth."  We know it's possible to mask the ability.  Aviendha also thinks the woman is "middle aged" and that she has "furrowed skin."  Again, this implies that the woman can't channel since she has signs of aging.  But, we know from the dealings with the Kin that a woman who can channel—but isn't bound by the Oath Rod—will still age, but slowly. 

With that information, I think we can't say one way or the other if Nakomi is a channeler.  If she is a Jenn from the past, how old would she have to be to be alive today?  Reanne Corly—Eldest of the Kin in Ebou Dar—is 412 years old (A Crown of Swords, Chapter 31, "Mashiara").  Reanne has gray hair and looks middle-aged.  If her life is only half over, that means she could live to about 800 or 900 years old.  (Lews Therin was also around 400 years old when he died, and he is called "a tall man just into his middle years" (The Eye of the World, Prologue, "Dragonmount"); that would mean he would have lived to about 800 or 900 as well.)

So, if Nakomi is a "middle aged" unbound channeler, she would be about 400 years old, or a little older.  The last time we see the Jenn Aiel is in the glass-column ter'angreal in Rhuidean.  In the first vision Rand sees, he is the sept chief, Mandien.  The Jenn are dying off, so they need some other way to pass on the secrets of the past.  But, it's hard to tell how much in the past Mandien's timeline is.  There are a few clues, though.  The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time (the Big White Book) says that the Aiel made peace with the Cairhienin in 509 NE (Chapter 14, "The New Era").   In the glass-columns, the memory before Mandien is Rhodric, and the scene shown is the Aiel receiving water from the Cairhienin.  Because Rhodric is Mandien's greatfather, that must mean that Rhodric's memory is sixty or seventy before Mandien's.  Since Rhuarc said, "It took us long to discover who they [the Cairhienin] were," (The Shadow Rising, Chapter 34, "He Who Comes With the Dawn"), I think it's safe to say that Mandien's memory is before 509 NE. 

With that logic, if Nakomi was of the Jenn, she would have been alive before 509 NE, making her at least 500 years old.  Most likely, Mandien's memories are from much earlier than 509 NE.  It just depends on Rhuarc's definition of "long."  Probably a couple hundred years—making Nakomi 600 or 700 in this scenario.

But the Jenn's reason for brining the chiefs to Rhuidean in the first place still holds.  The Jenn will die off.  And it must have been coming soon, if the chiefs were assembled then.  One of the old Jenn women said, "A day will come when the Jenn are no more, and only you will remain to remember the Aiel. You must remain, or all is for nothing, and lost" (The Shadow Rising, Chapter 25, "The Road to the Spear").  If even one of the Jenn remained alive, the glass-columns would not be necessary.  If Nakomi was Jenn, she could have instructed the Aiel about their past, not relying on the ter'angreal. 

Those two points—how old Nakomi would be and the fact that no Jenn should still be alive—makes me assume Nakomi is not Jenn Aiel.  So what are some of the other possibilities?

Another idea is that Aviendha is taken—somehow—into Tel'aran'rhiod during this scene.  There are several clues that point to the encounter being more than what it seems.  First, Aviendha wonders why she hadn't heard the woman approach.  Second, Aviendha thinks that it's odd for Nakomi to be wandering around by herself.  Third, the coals of the fire appear as if from nowhere.  Fourth, the food gets cooked quicker than it should have and tastes better than it should have.  And finally, Nakomi disappears abruptly. 

These point to Tel'aran'rhiod because of how easily that world is to control with thought.  The coals could appear out of nowhere.  The food could taste delicious.  But Aviendha isn't a dreamwalker.  Is it possible she had been pulled into Tel'aran'rhiod against her will, possibly by another Wise One?  They say it is an evil thing to pull someone into the World of Dreams, but we know the Forsaken make use of it frequently.  Perhaps the Dreams told the dreamwalkers that Aviendha needed to see something in Tel'aran'rhiod.  If it was for the greater good, I think the Wise Ones would have broken the rule.  Especially because this one event was what caused Aviendha to go into the glass-column ter'angreal a second time, resulting in her saving the Aiel from destruction.  

Another explanation could be that, because the layers between the worlds was already becoming thin, Aviendha was caught up in the World of Dreams on her own—without the help of anyone else.  In that case, Nakomi could be a Hero of the Horn.  Someone waiting in Tel'aran'rhiod and, like Birgitte, willing to break the precepts against aiding those who enter.  This would also make sense how she was able to gain access to the Bore and encourage Rand to perform the body-swap.  Since she is not physically in the world, she wouldn't have a problem getting into the area.  She also didn't come out of the Bore, only Rand and Moridin did.  Nakomi, if a Hero, wouldn’t have to.  She would just return to Tel'aran'rhiod when the need for them was finished.

Just when it starts to make sense, though, we need to remember that Brandon said Rand wouldn't have recognized her.  Would Lews Therin—a Hero himself—fail to recognize another?

There's so much more to discuss about Nakomi, so we'll continue this next week.  Of the two options here, I think it's much more likely she's a Hero of the Horn, but even that theory has plenty of doubts.  And there are some other possibilities too.  So, keep thinking about it and we'll discuss more next time.  Thanks for reading!

Hello, and welcome back to "WoT If?", Dragonmount's weekly theory blog.  Today's topic is the state of ta'veren-ness within Rand, Mat, and Perrin at the close of the story.  Please remember:

SPOILER WARNING.  This will include content from A Memory of Light.  Please DO NOT read this if you have not completed the book.

At the end of the series, all our ta'veren have had a transformation of some sort.  Perrin realizes that there is no longer a tug pulling on him.

A Memory of Light

Epilogue, "To See the Answer"

 

What of Rand?

 

No colors swirled in his vision. No image of Rand. Perrin felt no more tugging, pulling him in any direction.

 

…

 

He knelt down, resting a hand on Rand’s shoulder.

 

I couldn’t feel your tugging, or see the visions, Perrin thought. You’re no longer ta’veren. I suspect neither am I.

Perrin thinks he is no longer ta'veren.  And he assumes Rand is not either.  But Rand's powers seem to transcend those of a ta'veren anyway.  He is able to manipulate the Pattern by his will alone.  This seems quite logical to me since, during the battle with the Dark One, Rand learned how to weave Weaves of the Pattern.  I think an apt comparison is from The Matrix film where Neo finally learns how to see the numbers.  Rand is able to see the world as it naturally is, weaves woven by the Wheel.  Therefore, Rand no longer has a need to be ta'veren. 

Perrin, as well, no longer has a need.  He accepted his responsibilities while he had to, and now that the trial has passed, he will be able to move on.  He will be a King, and help lead the world into the new Age. 

So, Rand and Perrin have moved past needing their ta'veren abilities.  But what about Mat?  Brandon Sanderson answered this—kind of—at a recent signing.

Question: Perrin felt his ta'veren-ness melting away. If Mat lost it too, does he lose his luck?

 

Brandon Sanderson: I don't believe that he does. Being a ta'veren has a distinct effect on him, but I think there is an innate luckiness to Mat, partially drawn from the fact that the Heroes [of the Horn] call him Gambler. And so in other lives where he would not have been ta'veren he was still a gambler and still lucky. However, I do think being a ta'veren meant that the luck was greatly magnified, and I think it grew stronger and stronger through the series. That's my read on it from the notes, and I'm pretty sure on that one. I have to give the caveat that there could be something out there that contradicts me.

Notice that Brandon doesn't state that Mat is no longer ta'veren.  He says in past lives, Mat was still a lucky person, so some of his lucky nature is innate.  But what if Mat will keep his luck after the Last Battle because he is still ta'veren?

We never get a scene where Mat thinks about the swirls, or his luck, or anything.  I'm sure the swirls will be gone, since his connection to Rand has been severed.  But I think Mat is still ta'veren.

My reasoning for this might seem a bit thin, but I'll explain my logic.

1. Mat without his luck would be weird.  We've become so use to Mat's luck, that it would just seem strange seeing him without it.  Albeit, Brandon said Mat would keep some of his luck, but I don't think that would satisfy us.  Ever since his gambling spree at the beginning of The Dragon Reborn, one of the only things in the series we could count on 100% has been Mat's luck!  If he lost that, he'd stop being Mat.

2. He resisted when the others gave in.  To me, this could be a sense of irony.  As stated earlier, Perrin hated being ta'veren, but he did what he had to.  He shouldered the heavy burden and fulfilled his part in the responsibility.  Mat did not.  He spent most of his time hiding from his responsibilities and trying to weasel out of what was expected of him.  So it would seem fitting, in a twisted way, that Mat would have to put up with being a ta'veren  longer than the others.  He's paying for his attitude towards his ta'veren abilities and towards Rand—Mat's flippant treatment of Rand even got him scolded by the heroes of the Horn: "Remember him,” Amaresu snapped. “I have seen you murmur that you fear his madness, but all the while you forget that every breath you breathe—every step you take—comes at his forbearance. Your life is a gift from the Dragon Reborn, Gambler. Twice over" (A Memory of Light, Chapter 39, "Those Who Fight").  

3. The outrigger novels were going to be based on Mat's journey to Seanchan.  Since more of the story centered on Mat, I think the Wheel and the Pattern weren't done with him yet.

My conclusion, Mat is still ta'veren.  I don't see any reason why Rand and Perrin can finally step out of the Pattern's influence, but Mat remains.  The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills, after all.  And I think the Wheel likes messing with Mat.

That's all for this edition.  For next week, we'll look at who or what Nakomi might be.  Thanks for reading!

Hello!  Welcome back to "WoT If?", Dragonmount's weekly theory blog.  We'll be continuing our look at the Seanchan today.  So, let's dive right into it:

SPOILER WARNING.  This will include content from A Memory of Light.  Please DO NOT read this if you have not completed the book.

While I agree with most comments for last week's blog, I think we need to put our trust in Brandon.  Perhaps Hawkwing's advice didn't lead to any solution with the damane.  But there are other people close to Tuon who could help with the transition.

The first thing I want to look at is the terms of the agreement between Tuon and Rand.  Rand goes in with the intent of freeing all the damane, but is unable to do so.

A Memory of Light

Chapter 17, "Older, More Weathered"

 

"Our property is our own. You wish a treaty? Then you will get it with this clause: We keep the damane we already have. In exchange, I will allow you to leave in freedom.”

 

Rand grimaced. “You’re as bad as one of the Sea Folk.”

 

“I should hope I’m worse,” Tuon said, no emotion in her voice. “The world is your charge, Dragon, not mine. I care for my empire. I will greatly need those damane. Choose now. As I believe you said, your time is short.”

 

Rand’s expression darkened; then he thrust his hand outward. “Let it be done. Light be merciful, let it be done. I will carry this weight too. You may keep the damane you already have, but you shall not take any from among my allies while we fight the Last Battle. Taking any afterward who are not in your own land will be seen as breaking the treaty and attacking the other nations.”

By the terms of this agreement, the Seanchan get to keep all the damane they currently have.  This is basically what Rand told the group at Merrilor, "As for the women [channelers]… what is done is done. Let us worry about the world itself first, then do what we can for those held captive." (A Memory of Light, Chapter 6, "A Knack"). 

However, Egwene and Tuon try to work out the finer bits of the agreement.  By the end, they have agreed that Tremalking does not belong to Seanchan—which would fulfill the prophecy spoken by Harine din Togara Two Winds: "The Jendai Prophecy says you will bring us to glory, and all the seas of the world will be ours" (A Crown of Swords, Chapter 34, "Ta'veren").  So, we can assume the Sea Folk will be safe after the Last Battle is done.

Besides that, though, not much else is "agreed" upon.  They discuss the terms of releasing damane and allowing the Seanchan to accept willing channelers, but they don't actually make a bargain.  It seems like both Tuon and Egwene accepted the terms of letting the Seanchan "recruit" marath'damane in exchange for letting go the damane who wish to be free:

A Memory of Light

Chapter 26, "Considerations"

 

[Tuon said,] "We will send emissaries to educate your people on the benefits of damane—our teachers will come peacefully, for we will hold to the treaty. I believe you will be surprised. Some will see what is right.”

 

…

 

“And the damane you now hold?” Egwene said. “You’ll let them go, if they wish to be released?”

 

“None who are properly trained would wish that.”

 

“This must be equal on both sides,” Egwene said. “What of a girl whom you discover to be able to channel? If she does not wish to be made damane, will you let her leave your lands and join ours?”

 

“That would be like letting an enraged grolm free in a city square.”

 

“You said that people will see the truth,” Egwene said. “If your way of life is strong, your ideals true, then people will see them for what they are. If they don’t, you shouldn’t force them. Let any who wish to be free go free, and I’ll let your people speak in Tar Valon. Light! I’ll give them room and free board, and I’ll see the same done in every city!”

But, there is no shaking of hands, no signed treaty, not even a, "It is agreed."  So, is this a binding agreement?  There were witnesses on both sides who can vouch for what was said, but without anything written down, how binding can it be?

There's also the fact that Egwene dies.  Was Tuon's contract with Egwene herself, or was it with the Amyrlin?  Will it still last after Egwene's death?  I could see Tuon arguing that it would be void.

If it is still enforced, I think nearly all of the captured Wise Ones will be freed.  Tuon's insistence that a properly trained damane will not want to leave can't apply to the Wise Ones who know how to embrace pain.  There isn't anything the sul'dam could do to them to make them break.

The Aes Sedai, though, are another matter.  We see in Towers of Midnight that Elaida is nearly broken (Chapter 47, "A Teaching Chamber").  How many of the others taken will be unable to hold off the Seanchan's breaking tactics?  Aes Sedai are surprisingly stubborn, so maybe some will still wish for freedom. 

But if Egwene's and Tuon's agreement doesn't hold after the Last Battle, there are two others who can work on the Empress and make her see reason.  First is Mat.  He's growing more accustomed to Seanchan ways, but Mat will always be Mat.  And like it or not, he has a soft spot for Aes Sedai.  When he accidentally captures a marath'damane on the battle field, he thinks of releasing her.

A Memory of Light

Chapter 29, "The Loss of a Hill"

 

Tuon moved her horse nearer to Mat’s. “I am told,” she said softly, “that in the battle moments ago, you not only claimed a marath’damane for yourself, but also raised one of our officers to the low Blood.”

 

“I did?” Mat asked, baffled. “I don’t remember that.”

 

“You dropped your nail at his feet.”

 

“Oh. That … All right, maybe I did that. Accidentally. And the channeler … bloody ashes, Tuon. I didn’t mean for her to … I guess. Well, you can have her.”

 

“No,” Tuon said. “It is well for you to have taken one of your own. You cannot train her, of course, but there are many sul’dam who will be eager for the chance. It is very rare that a man captures a damane personally on the battlefield, very rare indeed. Though I know of your particular advantage, others do not. This will greatly increase your reputation.”

 

Mat shrugged. What else could he do? Maybe, if the damane belonged to him, he could let her free or something.

How many of the damane belong to the Empire?  And if Mat is the Prince of the Ravens, couldn't those damane arguably belong to him?  And if they belonged to him, couldn't he let them free or something?

And if that's not a far enough stretch, there's always Min.  She gets elevated to Tuon's Truthspeaker (A Memory of Light, Chapter 27, "Friendly Fire").  Whatever a Truthspeaker says, Tuon has to acknowledge. 

A Memory of Light

Chapter 32, "A Yellow-Flower Spider"

 

“You are my Truthspeaker,” she said to Min, almost reluctantly. “You may correct me in public. Do you see error in my decisions?”

 

“Yes, I do,” Min said, not missing a beat. “You do not use my skills as you should.”

 

“And how should I?” Tuon asked. The soldier who had been given a death sentence continued lying prostrate. She didn’t object—she was not of a rank that could address the Empress. She was lowly enough that speaking to someone else in Tuon’s presence would be a breach of honor.

 

“What someone may do is not grounds to kill them,” Min said. “I intend no disrespect, but if you are going to kill people because of what I tell you, I will not speak.”

 

“You can be made to speak.”

 

“Try it,” Min said softly. Mat started. Bloody ashes, she looked as cold as Tuon had a moment ago. “Let us see how the Pattern treats you, Empress, if you torture the bearer of omens.”

 

Instead, Tuon smiled. “You take to this well. Explain to me what you desire, bringer of omens.”

 

“I will tell you my viewings,” Min said, “but from now on, the interpretations—whether my own, or those you read into the images—are to be kept quiet. Between the two of us would be best. You are allowed to watch someone because of what I’ve said, but not to punish them—not unless you catch them doing something. Set this woman free.”

In this discussion, Min gets the upper hand, showing Tuon there are other ways of handling things.  In fact, Min's argument about "what someone may do" is not too far off from Tuon's thoughts on sul'dam being able to learn to channel.  And from there, the next step is seeing that Aes Sedai should be viewed the same way.  Aes Sedai can be manipulative and untrustworthy, but not all of them are.  Surely, they all don't deserve the punishment of the a'dam based on the logic Min just used and Tuon agrees with.

And to make it super easy, Min could just say to let them all go.  As the bearer of omens, she would have to be obeyed, I think.

With all of these factors working against the Seanchan, the captured Aes Sedai--those who wish freedom--should be released. 

That's all for this edition.  I'm pleased that things looked good for the collared Aes Sedai.  For next week, we'll look at what will happen if/when Rand, Mat, and Perrin lose their ta'veren abilities.  Thanks for reading!

Hello, everyone.  Welcome back to "WoT If?", Dragonmount's weekly theory blog.  This will be part one of a two-part discussion of the Seanchan.  For today, we'll look at the supposed discussion between Artur Hawkwing and Tuon.  But first:

SPOILER WARNING.  This will include content from A Memory of Light.  Please DO NOT read this if you have not completed the book.

This subject is very interesting to me because it was the center of the outrigger novels Robert Jordan had planned for Mat and Tuon.  Robert Jordan had talked about writing the continuation of the story with Mat and Tuon's return to Seanchan after the Last Battle.  Naturally, Mat's place as Prince of the Ravens would bring about a change in some of the politics.  But when we see Mat tell Artur Hawkwing to speak with Tuon, it made me wonder what other changes are in store for the Empire.  Here's the quote from A Memory of Light:

Chapter 43, "A Field of Glass"

"Hawkwing, would you do me a favor?”

 

“Ask it, Hornblower.”

 

“Do you know the Seanchan?”

 

“I am … familiar with them.”

 

“I think their Empress would like very much to make your acquaintance,” Mat said, galloping away. “If you could go to speak with her, I’d appreciate it. And if you do, kindly tell her I sent you.”

The conversation between the High King and the Empress takes place off-stage, so to speak, so we are left with only a few tidbits from interviews with Brandon Sanderson about what actually happened.  Here's one:

Cherry Raven: Was wondering why the ending there was no conversation between Hawking and Tuon.

 

Brandon Sanderson: You're assuming because it wasn't shown on screen, it didn't happen...

 

Brent Holmes: What happened in the conversation between Tuon and Arthur Hawkwing?!?!

 

Brandon Sanderson: It was interesting, I'll tell you that much.

 

Melissa Houghton: Did Hawkwing talk with Tuon?

 

Brandon Sanderson: Yes.

 

Nick: How do you think Fortuona reacted to speaking with Hawking?

 

Brandon Sanderson: With great consternation.

Brandon's comment about "great consternation" led me to the assumption that Hawkwing had some not-nice comments about the way the Seanchan Empire had evolved.  Since Hawkwing spends most of his time in Tel'aran'rhiod, it seems likely that he would understand the Shadow had played a hand in his dislike of Aes Sedai, and come to realize the error of his ways.  He would then be able to pass on advice to Tuon about Aes Sedai not being all that bad.  However, my idea was struck down.

This past weekend was the Phoenix ComiCon, and I was lucky enough to actually be on a Wheel of Time panel with Brandon Sanderson. Since this topic was in my head for the blog, I asked him about the interaction between Hawkwing and Tuon, implying that Hawkwing had learned from his past mistakes.

(I recorded the audio of our discussion, so this is verbatim what Brandon said to me, minus the few ums.)

Me:

One of questions I have is, you had alluded that Artur Hawkwing goes to talk to Tuon, but it does happen off-screen.  So is there anything you can tell us about that, and also a little about what happens in Tel'aran'rhiod, when the heroes know their past mistakes, so Artur Hawkwing realizes he made a mistake with the Aes Sedai?

 

Brandon:

Okay, there's a couple questions here. First one, on what happens between Artur Hawkwing and Tuon.  Keep in mind that, yes, Artur Hawkwing was under some dark influence during his career, but he also, even without that, would not have been very fond of Aes Sedai.  He's not the type that would have been very fond.  And, I think he and Tuon would get along swimmingly.  Despite him probably having some tough advice for her and things like that, I think that he would be very proud of the Seanchan as a nation.  Maybe not completely proud of everything they've done, but the fact that somebody kept his legacy and was that strong with it, I think he would think they are completely awesome for what they've done. And maybe they would have had some words about other things.

 

…

 

I think they would get along, but there would be words.  I specifically didn't write that because I knew that that would have been something that would have been for the outriggers.  That whole conflict, Tuon versus what is right with the damane and things like this was something Robert Jordan was specifically planning to deal with in that trilogy and I just felt it was best not to try it, to wrap it up here. 

 

And the second question was how much do the heroes know of the world at large while they're in there. From the things you can infer from the books, they do know some.  They don't know everything, but they do know some things. 

I really thought that Artur Hawkwing would have been a driving force in the Seanchan's release of the damane.  But Brandon dashed all my hopes of that.  Which leads me to believe Hawkwing disapproved of other things the Empire is doing.  Brandon implied that Hawkwing wouldn't have minded collared Aes Sedai, but there were other things to have "words" about.  Most likely da'covale and slavery.

Another interview I found says this:

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

I also asked if we would ever get to hear the conversation between Hawkwing and Tuon, and he said that it did happen and would have had a great impact on future novels were they to be written.

Since this "great impact" doesn't come from releasing Aes Sedai, it must be an upheaval of the Seanchan's hierarchy system.  However, even if Hawkwing's advice doesn't change Tuon's mind about leashed Aes Sedai, there are several other people who could intercede on their behalf.  We'll save that part of the discussion for next week.

That's all I've got on this subject, since once again my initial theory was wrong.  Next time I want to speculate about the treaty between the White Tower and the Seanchan.  Share your own thoughts about the conversation between Hawkwing and Tuon in the comments below.  Thanks for reading!

Hello, and welcome back to "WoT If?".  For this week's discussion, I want to look at the idea of immortality and how it might pertain to dark prophecy we've seen.  Please remember:

SPOILER WARNING.  This will include content from A Memory of Light.  Please DO NOT read this if you have not completed the book.

This topic came up in the "After the Last Battle" panel at JordanCon.  I'm not sure who posed this question, but I want to give credit where credit is due—it wasn't me.  The person speculated that Rand might be immortal after his battle with the Dark One, and this hypothesis comes from the dark prophecy in the dungeons of Fal Dara.

Before we jump into the prophecy, though, I want to show that dark prophecy is just as true as light prophecy.  It's been asked of Brandon Sanderson in an interview posted on Theoryland's Interview Database.

 

Ty Margheim:  Are the prophecies competing a la The Belgariad (by David Eddings), or are they complementary?

 

Brandon Sanderson:  Not competing like The Belgariad, and certainly not intelligent like in The Belgariad. … Some may be interpreted wrong, others may be recorded wrong, but there is not a this/that nature to them.

 

Footnote

The questioner is probably referring to the dark/light prophecies, as this makes the best comparison for Eddings. Brandon is saying that they will all be fulfilled, whether dark or light. (The Seanchan prophecies are another matter altogether, and Brandon was hinting at this in his last tweet; there is good reason to believe that the Seanchan prophecies have been corrupted.)

Though it's in the footnotes, I'll agree that all prophecies will be fulfilled is what Brandon is actually saying.  That means all the dark prophecies are just as relevant for finding clues about what will happen during and after the Last Battle.

Now, onto the prophecy:

 

The Great Hunt

Chapter 7, "Blood Calls Blood"

 

The man who channels stands alone.
He gives his friends for sacrifice.
Two roads before him, one to death beyond dying, one to life eternal.
Which will he choose? Which will he choose?

What hand shelters? What hand slays?

This is such an easy thing to overlook.  Notice that Rand (the man who channels) has two roads.  One to death, one to life.  At the end of the series, Rand lives.  He avoided the path that lead to death beyond dying (which would have happened if he had given in to the Shadow); does that mean Rand has life eternal now?

There are a few directions this can go.  If we say yes, Rand is now immortal, it raises the possibility of other people being immortal.  I think this would be a great way to explain what and who Nakomi is.  Robert Jordan didn't want to go into the possibility of there being a female Dragon—a soul that is equal yet opposite to Rand.  But if it did happen, and a female Dragon in Ages past was able to seal the Dark One in the same manner, she could still be alive today, helping nudge the Pattern and the current Dragon to do what must be done.  And she could coach Rand through the body-swap that she completed before (if time is a circle and all things come again).

There's also the fact that after the Last Battle, Rand's will is law.  He is able to light the pipe by thought.  Therefore, it seems logical to conclude that he could will himself to live as long as he wanted.

However, the body-swap also throws a wrench into the gears because Rand's body does die.  And perhaps Moridin, in Rand's body, does complete the "death beyond dying" part.  Since Moridin is connected to the Dark One, would the Dark One still be able to collect Moridin's soul even though he is resealed?  If the Dark One had Moridin's soul sealed in with him (as well as all the other Forsaken once they die), I'm sure he would make them suffer horribly.  The phrase "death beyond dying" would surely fit.

Each of the Forsaken has a link—perhaps even a bond—to the Dark One.  A Tor Q&A says, "In exchange for their oaths in Shayol Ghul, the Forsaken receive a mark from the Dark One.  This mark is visible only to certain Shadowspawn and it gives the Forsaken some measure of control over them."  Because of this strong bond, one that might surpass the seals, I think it's quite possible the Dark One will collect the souls of the Forsaken, and maybe others—like the Black Ajah, since even Verin says, "The process of making those oaths to the Great Lord was... distinctive" (The Gathering Storm, Chapter 39, "A Visit from Verin Sedai").

So, does Moridin's death in Rand's body count as death beyond dying, or is Rand destined to be immortal?  Of the two options, I think the former would be more in line with the world and its limits.  I think it much more likely the Dark One can access his bonded souls rather than having a person—or even a deity in human form—that's immortal.  But this would be an interesting question for Team Jordan.

That's all for this week.  Let me know what you think.  For next time, we'll speculate what exactly Artur Hawkwing said to Tuon at the end of A Memory of Light.  Thanks for reading!

Hello, and welcome back to "WoT If?", Dragonmount's weekly theory blog.  Today's topic is the Talent of Singing.  There's an interesting phrase used by Lews Therin in The Eye of the World prologue about "the Voice," and I wonder what its connection is to Rand and some of his abilities in A Memory of Light.  But before we start:

SPOILER WARNING.  This will include content from A Memory of Light.  Please DO NOT read this if you have not completed the book.

In The Eye of the World, after Lews Therin has killed his whole family, Elan Morin arrives to try and bargain with the Dragon.  Driven insane by the Dark One's backlash, Lews Therin doesn't recognize Elan Morin and instead treats him as a causal visitor.  Here's where it gets interesting.  Lews Therin says, "Ah, a guest.  Have you the Voice, stranger? It will soon be time for the Singing, and here all are welcome to take part."

At JordanCon earlier this month, I got to talk with Maria and a few other fans—including Matt Hatch of Theoryland—and one of the things we discussed was Rand's ability to make plants grow.  Rand demonstrates this skill several times throughout A Memory of Light.  In Chapter 7, he makes a dozen trees grow that are "towering, healthy, huge-limbed, beautiful trees, hundreds of feet tall with massive trunks" ("Into the Thick of It").  And Rand did this within a couple of minutes.  But when he meets with Empress Fortuona, we actually see him singing.

 

Chapter 17, "Older, More Weathered"

 

Green grass spread around Rand’s feet. The guards nearby jumped back, hands to swords, as a swath of life extended from Rand. The brown and yellow blades colored, as if paint had been poured on them, then came upright—stretching as if after long slumber.

 

The greenness filled the entire garden clearing. “He’s still shielded!” the sul’dam cried. “Honored One, he is still shielded!”

 

Mat shivered, and then noticed something. Very soft, so easy to miss.

 

“Are you singing?” Mat whispered to Rand.

 

Yes … it was unmistakable. Rand was singing, under his breath, very softly. Mat tapped his foot. “I swear I’ve heard that tune somewhere, once … Is it ‘Two Maids at the Water’s Edge’?”

 

“You’re not helping,” Rand whispered. “Quiet.”

 

Rand continued his song. The green spread to the trees, the firs strengthening their limbs. The other trees began to shoot out leaves—they were indeed peach trees—growing at great speed, life flooding into them.

Here, we see that the growth is associated with singing, that Rand has to sing in order for the plants to grow.  Our discussion at JordanCon brought up the idea that Rand may have been singing to make things grow since his epiphany on Dragonmount (The Gathering Storm, Chapter 50, "Veins of Gold").  For example, when Rand makes the apple trees bloom in Towers of Midnight, he could have been using his singing abilities even then (Chapter 1, "Apples First").  Or when he made the grain the Sea Folk brought to Arad Doman become unspoiled (Chapter 14, "Return to Bandar Eban").

This brings me back to Lews Therin and his talk of "the Voice."  We know seed singing was used in the Age of Legends to help the crops grow faster, larger, and to be inherently insect free.  This is done only by Aiel, Ogier, and the Nym, according to The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time, Chapter 3, "The Age of Legends." 

 And Ogier, in the current Age, have Treesinging.  Loial is a Treesinger, and is able to fashion items from tree trunks by singing to them—we see this happen in The Great Hunt, Chapter 15, "Kinslayer."  During that event, Rand even thinks, "It seemed so familiar, that song, as if he should know it."

Loial also talks of the Tinkers' desire to learn the Treesongs, and says, "I taught the Tuatha'an what they could learn, but the trees never listen to humans" (The Eye of the World, Chapter 42, "Remembrance of Dreams").  Yet, in direct contradiction to that, Rand seems to be able to sing to the trees.  They do listen to him. The question is do the trees listen because he knows the right songs, or do they listen because he is the Dragon Reborn?

In the Age of Legends, Lews Therin speaks of the Singing, and in his house, "all are welcome to take part."  This implies that in other places, not everyone is welcome.  Which would suggest that Singing is something similar to a Talent, that only certain people are gifted with the ability.  And is this Singing different from seed singing?  It must be.  Albeit, Lews Therin is so insane at this point in The Eye of the World's prologue, but he must have some grasp on the way the world works.  And what would be the purpose of seed singing at his estate?  Only Aiel, Ogier, and Nym do that.

That must mean that Singing would be for some other purpose.  Could it be used on any living thing, or only plants?  What about non-living things?  Could Singing be used on sacks of grain to make them become unspoiled?  Could Singing be what gave life to the Nym during the Age of Legends?  Could Singing change more of the world, like lighting a pipe?

Our discussion at JordanCon didn't provide any answers, only more questions.  Robert Jordan's world is so large and encompassing that no one can say for certain how all of these abilities work.  Either way, I think all of these Talents are so similar they are probably just different names for the same things.  Loial's use of Treesinging in the Blight had seed singing effects—he said, "The Blight will not have Treebrother" (The Eye of the World, Chapter 53, "The Wheel Turns"), showing the tree that marked the Green Man's grave will be strengthened and not give in to the poison of the Blight.  And Ogier, in an uncharacteristic display of pride, assumed they were the only ones who could do Treesinging, though humans can too—Rand is proof of that—they just forgot how.

And I think it is this forgotten Talent that let Rand manipulate the world around him.  There is the idea that "the Dragon is one with the land," which could have aided Rand in certain situations—but he had to have the ability born inside him to use it whenever he wanted for the ultimate effect on the world.  He needed this Talent to convince Tuon to side with him.  He needed it several times throughout the last few books.  It might even be something that is free of the One Power, something that lets his will become one with the land—because even though the Last Battle is done, Rand is still the Dragon, tied to the land.

That's all for this week.  Next time we'll discuss the possibility of Rand being immortal.  Thanks for reading!

Welcome back to another exciting edition of "WoT If?".  This week's topic is Lanfear/Cyndane, but before we jump into the theory:

SPOILER WARNING.  This will include content from A Memory of Light. Please DO NOT read this if you have not completed the book.

As I said last week, the idea for this theory came from the Looney Theories panel at JordanCon.  It was proposed by Jenson, a member of the audience, and immediately struck down as too plausible.  

He said that Lanfear is still alive.  We know that Perrin overcame her Compulsion and killed her before she could attack Rand, Nynaeve, and Moiraine.  However, Jenson pointed out that her cour'souvra is still intact.  That means her soul is still in the world. 

We've talked before about the nature of the soul; rebirth is a major theme throughout the series.  But we don't know exactly what happens to a soul after a person dies.  We see the Heroes of the Horn go to Tel'aran'rhiod to wait, but what of normal souls?  We also know there is only a short time that the Dark One has access to a soul.  But if the soul is still in the world, the Dark One wouldn't be able to touch it or reclaim it—plus, he's cut off from the world now, so he couldn't even if it were possible.  Perhaps the Creator could take the soul from the cour'souvra and place it with the other waiting souls.

Most likely, I think Lanfear's soul would be stuck in the cour'souvra until someone comes along and releases it.  She wouldn't be able to be reborn at all until she was released.  There's no way her soul could be woven back into the Pattern if it's still alive in one form or another.

That opens up a lot of possibilities.  First, how long can a cour'souvra survive?  Perhaps Lanfear's soul inside would die eventually, after her normal lifespan was used up—another 600 years or so?  Or, would it be stuck in a state of limbo for the rest of existence?  Or, if we want to take this into the crazy theory category, maybe Lanfear's soul could be used in a construct—like the Nym.  

At JordanCon, I asked Maria about the Nym's souls.  We talked about it in a blog last year, and I was wondering if she knew where the souls came from and how the ancient Aes Sedai got them into the construct.  She didn't have an answer.  Maybe this is where Aes Sedai got the souls.  Perhaps Aes Sedai who went to the Shadow could use this as a last resort to come back to the Light?  If they had their cour'souvra they could give it to the Light Aes Sedai and have it transplanted into a Nym's body.

Even I'll admit that's a bit of a stretch.  Regardless, I think it's quite possible for Lanfear to still be "alive" through her cour'souvra.  And there's even more of a twist when you think of where Lanfear's soul might be.  The last time we saw it…

A Memory of Light

Prologue

 

Moghedien had not failed to notice that Moridin still wore Cyndane’s mindtrap.

So, if it was still around Moridin's neck, that means Moridin likely had it with him in Shayol Ghul.  Which means it was there when Rand and Moridin switched bodies.  Which means it was around Rand's neck when he woke up and rode off.  Which means Rand has access to Lanfear's soul!

The irony of this makes me grin.  What would Rand do with it?  I think he forgave her—or at least let go of his anger—so that he would be willing to release the soul, either into a construct, or out of the cour'souvra and let it die.  Rand might see releasing it as a mercy, instead of allowing it to be stuck for eternity in the mindtrap.

That's all for this week.  Don't forget to post your comments below about your thoughts on Lanfear's fate.  Next time we'll talk about something along the same lines—or at least with a connection to the Nym: seed singing and the Voice.  Thanks for reading!

Welcome back to "WoT If?", Dragonmount's weekly theory blog.  I've come back with renewed vigor, thanks to a wonderful weekend at JordanCon.  It was an incredible experience, talking with Brandon, Harriet, Maria, and Alan, as well as other fans who love the series as much as I do.  I also sat through several of the theories/spoiler panels, letting ideas grow in my mind of topics to explore.  For this edition, I want to look at the comical side of The Wheel of Time fandom and talk about "The Grave is No Bar to My Looney Theories" panel at JordanCon.  But first:

SPOILER WARNING.  This will include content from A Memory of Light.  Please DO NOT read this if you have not completed the book.

The Looney Theories discussion included Kristy Lussier, Sarah Nakamura, Billy Todd, Matt Hatch, and Alan Romanczuk on the panel.  This discussion wasn't meant to be taken seriously, so any idea someone presented that could likely be true was marked with a "Too Plausible" stamp and pushed away.  We'll talk about one of those for next week, but I'm jumping ahead of myself.  I just want to give fair warning that these theories will be a bit on the crazy side.

My favorite of the bunch involved Berelain and Rhuarc.  Here's the theory:  In A Memory of Light, romantic couples seemed to live or die together: Siuan and Bryne, Gawyn and Egwene, etc.  But the only couple that didn't fit this criteria was Amys and Rhuarc.  The theorist claims that this proves that Rhuarc was not really in love with Amys, and that he was gay.  This is further collaborated by his relationship with Berelain, that she is one of those young women who liked to hang out with gay men.  It may be a stretch, but I could see it happening.

The next one comes from the idea that peach pits are poisonous in Randland.  The theory says that peach pits are actually saidin, and they are poisonous because of the taint.  So, with the cleansing of the source, peaches won't be poisonous anymore.  It's plausible.

Another suggested that Rand is really Charlie Sheen.  I think some part of this theory derives from Charlie Sheen's sudden descent into madness, but mostly it was because it would mean Tam is Martin Sheen—which seemed to make many of the women attendees sigh.  Charlie Sheen as the Dragon Reborn is hard to swallow, though.

This may be the looniest, in my opinion.  Rand didn't die during his fight with the Dark One because Rand didn't have a soul.  The theorist pointed out that Rand is a ginger—someone who has red hair—and everyone knows gingers don't have souls. (I must point out, once again, that this is all in jest.  There is no offense meant to anyone with red hair.)

And our own ed2funy submitted one for the panel's consideration.  He said that Rand wasn't the Dragon Reborn from the start.  His powers only came to him the night they were fleeing the Two Rivers.  On that night, Bela was in danger, and so she—who was really the Creator—searched for a way to save herself.  She released the Power into Rand, allowing him to become the Dragon and channel to save herself.  Also, at the end of A Memory of Light, Bela did not die.  Rather, she allowed her Power to go into the Horn of Valere and caused Olver to sound it.  She lost her body, but the Creator doesn't need it.  Everyone knew from the start that Bela was either the Dark One or the Creator, so this makes sense to me.

Ed came up with another one, though not in time for the Looney Theories panel.  He said that the Ogier will use Seed Singing on people before they use the Book of Translation to flee the land.  When they Sing to the people, the humans will grow into giants, creating another one of our modern world's legends.  Harriet was sitting at the table next to us, though, and when Ed asked her if it was possible, she said flat out, "No."  Sorry, Ed!

I think the tradition of looney theories will still continue, even with the conclusion of the series.  There are so many ways to analyze and evaluate all the characters and their interactions with each other.  Plus, it's a lot of fun thinking outside of the box, and just enjoying the silliness that can come from friends talking together.

That's all for this week.  Next week we'll examine another "looney theory" that sounds really plausible to me: Lanfear is still alive.  So, join us then, and don't forget to post your own looney theories in the comments.  Thanks for reading!

Welcome back to "WoT If?", Dragonmount's weekly theory blog. Once again, I set out with the intention of examining the body-swap at the end of A Memory of Light.  Again, I got distracted by other things.  Sorry to get your hopes up, but I'm pushing body-swap back for the next edition.  Rather, I want to look at something else that deals with Moridin and his ties to the Shadow.  Before we start, though:

SPOILER WARNING.  This will include content from A Memory of Light.  Please DO NOT read this if you have not completed the book.

In Chapter 2, "A Dangerous Place," Pevara and Androl are preparing to con the Asha'man Dobser to get information on Logain's whereabouts.  As they are doing so, Pevara says, "The accounts seem to agree. The more dedicated a person was to the Light before being taken, the more dedicated they'll be to the Shadow after falling."

Several questions popped into my head when I read this the first time. 

1) How would they be able to gauge this? Is there some way to give a person's dedication to the Light a value? 

2) What accounts are there of this transition?  Would they have to follow around Black Sisters and witness their evil deeds to see how far they'd gone to the dark side? 

3) If they have this information, and know the Forsaken are loose (thirteen channelers), why wasn't there some Tower alert system warning of the possible danger?  Especially since three separate parties went to the Black Tower where there were channelers galore. 

So, let's look at each of these questions and see what we can learn.  First off, how to gauge this.  It seems to me like most people in Randland are indifferent to the Creator.  They claim to "walk in the Light," which means they try their hardest not to do bad things.  But the definition of "bad" isn't very well defined in Randland terms.  In the Two Rivers, they have a pretty strict upbringing where everything from boys who "did not keep out of their elders’ way," to polygamist relationships that would cause "the Women’s Circle [to swallow] their tongues" are considered "bad" (Path of Daggers, Chapter 22, "Gathering Clouds" and Winter's Heart, Chapter 12, "A Lily in Winter", respectively).  But do these constitute as the Shadow?  Most would agree they don't.

Then how would one gauge a person's devotion to the Light or to the Shadow?  There aren't any concrete definitions of what is of the Light and what of the Shadow.  We see several instances where characters do what they feel is right, despite the cost to them or others.  Galad does this regularly, as do Mat, Perrin, and Rand.  They feel they do the Light's work by sacrificing themselves for a greater good.  By Wheel of Time standards, I think they all are dedicated to the Light.  On the flip side, we see the Forsaken act out of greed and malice, hurting anyone and everyone they can get their hands on.  Naturally, they would be devoted to the Shadow. 

But if this trick of thirteen channelers and thirteen Myrddraal is so well known there are records of it in the White Tower, maybe it was common in the Age of Legends as well.  I'm getting ahead of myself, though.  On to point number two.

The records themselves baffle me.  As I said earlier, how would the Light side know all that the Shadow does in order to track how dedicated a person would be to the Shadow?  And since the definition of Light and Shadow vary by town, how could the White Tower specify which acts are which?  Was Toveine's part in the "vileness" after the Aiel War an act of the Light or the Shadow?  What we see of her as a Turned Aes Sedai seems pretty bad, so she must have been dedicated to the Light.  Yet her actions of gentling men before reaching the Tower were condemned and got her exiled, despite her belief that they had "been necessary and right" (Path of Daggers, Chapter 26, "The Extra Bit").  Because of this, there seems to be no way to accurately judge a person's intent.  These records probably couldn't prove anything one way or the other.

For number three, why wasn't the Tower put on high alert when they realized the Forsaken were free?  And doubly so when they found out Rand had started a school for male channelers.  Since most Aes Sedai foolishly doubt the existence of the Black Ajah, when other channelers come into the world, they should have had the sense to be afraid, yet they weren't.  Toveine leads fifty Aes Sedai to the Black Tower, knowing that thirteen of them could turn someone to the Shadow.  I can't believe there wasn't more caution in this endeavor.

Of course, there is the argument that this information is in the Thirteenth Depository, only known to Sitters, Heads of the Ajahs, the Keeper, and the Amyrlin.  But Pevara is a Sitter and apparently has access to the "accounts."  On top of that, they were ordered to bond Asha'man by Tsutama, the Head of the Red Ajah, who would also know of these records.  And Toveine was also a Sitter before her exile, so she would know this information too.  And Reds would be the first to think that male channelers were Shadowspawn—or at least Shadow sworn.  Yet no precaution was taken in either case.

All of this speculation leads me to two conclusions: Taim was not Turned; Moridin/Ishamael might have been.

Before, I always maintained that Taim had been turned by the 13x13 combo.  It seemed most likely because of Bashere's inability to recognize him right away in Lord of Chaos (Chapter 2, "A New Arrival").  However, Brandon Sanderson was asked this very question:

Question: Was Taim turned by a circle of thirteen?

 

Brandon Sanderson: RAFO. I will say that he was never a very nice guy.

If Taim was not very nice before, that means he lacked a dedication to the Light, which means his dedication to the Shadow would have been just as weak, if Turned.  We see by his elevation to one of the Chosen that Taim's dedication to the Shadow is strong.  From this logic, I don't think Taim was Turned.  I'm going to change my official stance on that.

But what about the other Forsaken?  We see time and time again that they are evil to their bones...except Moridin.  The other Forsaken have their own reasons for going to the Shadow, and they seem to do it willingly.  Yet we never get a convincing reason with Moridin, other than the fact that he wants the whole world to die.  In the comments for other blogs, we talked about Moridin having an epiphany similar to Rand's in "Veins of Gold" (The Gathering Storm, Chapter 50).  But, since Moridin didn't have the love Rand did, he was unable to find that last sliver of hope to keep fighting.  But I'll offer another reason.  What if Ishamael—or Elan Morin—was just as dedicated to the Light as Lews Therin, but was caught by servants of the Shadow and Turned?  I think this would explain better how Elan Morin could have flipped sides so easily and quickly.  He was so dedicated to the Light that he became just as dedicated to the Shadow.  That could be the reason he was trusted above all the others, because his own ambitions were eradicated by the Shadow's will.

That will be all for today's edition.  I'm going to have a break next week (for school work) and the week after (for JordanCon).  But we'll return on the 30th, and hopefully, I'll have time to talk with Brandon Sanderson and ask a few questions.  If anyone is going to JordanCon, make sure to say hi to me.  And, as always, thanks for reading!

I said last week that we were going to look at the body-swap occurrence, but I got sidetracked in my research.  For this edition of "WoT If?",  I want to look at something that's very easy to miss.  Something Pevara said in A Memory of Light. But before we start:

SPOILER WARNING.  This will include content from A Memory of Light.  Please DO NOT read this if you have not completed the book.

We all know Pevara is not Black Ajah.  She would have been outed by Androl—who can read her mind—or by Taim and his lackies—who attempted to turn her towards the Shadow.  Both of these, I think, are ample proof she is not of the Black.  But there is one line in A Memory of Light where Pevara appears to lie.  Let's take a look at the passage:

A Memory of Light

Chapter 4, "Advantages to a Bond"

 

Emarin said… "Pevara Sedai, if you would be so kind as to remove the weaves blocking his ears so that he can start to hear—but only remove them in the most minor way, as if the weave has been tied off and is failing.  I want him to overhear what I'm about to say."

…

Emarin… turned to their captive.  "He cannot hear what we say?"

 

"No," Pevara said.

There are only a few paragraphs of text separating Emarin's request and Pevara's refusal; this happens very quickly.  In the first exchange, Emarin clearly states that he wants the prisoner to hear, and Pevara agrees.  She knows she has released the weaves a bit; she knows he can hear.  How can she—by the Three Oaths—answer "No" to Emarin's question?

The first time I read this, I went into a near panic.  It has the sound of a lie to me, and I thought Pevara might really be Black Ajah.  However, there are other likely reasons why/how she was able to answer the way she did.

One explanation might be Aes Sedai trickery.  The phrase—the way Emarin words it—uses a negative question: cannot.  Pevara's answer is also a negative: no.  These two negatives, by the laws of the English language, cancel each other out, winding up with a positive: he can hear.  However, that's not the way most people speak.  If asked the same question, many would reply with, "No, he cannot hear," answering Emarin's intended question (if their captor was capable of listening) rather than the actual phrase of the question.

Wow, that got way too technical.  Regardless, it could be a trick of the language Pevara was using to make their captive think she answered differently than she did.  It would be an example of the saying, "The truth an Aes Sedai says isn't the truth you think it is."

But there may be another explanation as well.  We know Pevara and Seaine took turns releasing themselves from the Oath Rod (shown in The Path of Daggers, Chapter 26, "The Extra Bit").  Every account we see of them releasing themselves, we also see them reswearing.  Notice those few key words: every account we see.  How many times did they take the Oath Rod?  How many times did they have the opportunity to release themselves?  What if Pevara was tempted to not reswear?

Egwene, when she reclaimed the Tower, made every sister go through the reswearing process and prove they were not Black Ajah (The Gathering Storm, Epilogue, "Bathed in Light").  However, Pevara and her group heading to the Black Tower left in Knife of Dreams (Epilogue, "Remember the Old Saying").  So, Pevara missed this forced reswearing.  For all we know, she may have removed the Oaths at some point and kept them off.

This might seem unlikely, but she was planning on going to the Black Tower to bond Asha'man.  Perhaps she felt she needed more protection than what the Oaths offered.  The Asha'man could tear an Aes Sedai apart, and the Aes Sedai wouldn't be able to do anything until the Asha'man struck first.  They would be in a ton of danger if they still kept to the Oaths.

Plus, people say that if you do something once, it's easier to do the next time.  We have three instances in the books where Pevara and Seaine release themselves and reswear.  With that way of looking at the situation, what harm could come from a fourth time, or a fifth?  Especially if you may need to use the One Power as a weapon against people who aren't Darkfriends.

Again, it's unlikely.  Pevara probably used a language trick.  We know Aes Sedai aren't forbidden to lead people astray.  But still, I think it's curious.  The phrase just jumps out at me and I can't help but doubt her.  And I'm extra surprised none of the Asha'man called her on it.  I think she lied.  But I want to know what everyone else thinks.  Is it possible that Pevara actually lied or not?

I'll keep it short and sweet this week since some of that consisted of heavy reading.  I promise, next week we'll look at the body-swap occurrence and the significance it played.  Thanks for reading!

Hello all, and welcome back to "WoT If?", Dragonmount's weekly theory blog.  This week's topic is the Horn of Valere and the mysteries, and misinformation, behind it.  Before we start, though:

SPOILER WARNING.  This will include content from A Memory of Light.  Please DO NOT read this if you have not completed the book.

This last book really blew off a lot of preconceived notions about the Horn, even for Brandon Sanderson.  In an interview, Brandon says he was surprised that the Horn couldn't be used by a Darkfriend, and added that Harriet had to edit his work to fix it: "She explained that this was one of Jim's ruses, that the characters in [the] book were wrong and repeating bad information, and that Jim had been very clear with her that it was not the case."  This is only one example of how the truth an Aes Sedai says isn't what you think it is.  There were several others throughout the series.

Another issue that shocked me was the severed link between Mat and the Horn.  When Birgitte calls him Hornsounder in A Crown of Swords (Chapter 21, "Swovan Night"), I thought the link had to be intact.  Birgitte's ripping from Tel'aran'rhiod happened after Mat's balefire "death," so she should have known the link was lost.  In A Memory of Light, Hawkwing is aware that the link was broken when Mat was balefired (Chapter 39, "Those Who Fight"), so Birgitte should have known as well.  But, for argument's sake, perhaps Birgitte was calling him that out of respect.  Hawkwing himself called Mat "Hornblower" (Chapter 43, "Field of Glass").  In the United States, even former presidents are still called Mr. President—it stands to reason that a former Hornsounder could still be called Hornsounder.

Another exciting revelation: the Horn summons dead wolves!  There's plenty to talk about from this scene in A Memory of Light.  First, it seems the wolves only appear after Olver blows the Horn at Shayol Ghul.  Why weren't they summoned when the Horn was first sounded?  Is the location of the Horn important?  Olver first blows it in Merrilor, when he's trapped by Trollocs (Chapter 39, "Those Who Fight").  But the heroes all appear around the battlefield, not Olver—Noal rushes off to Olver right after the Horn is sounded.  And even further away, Birgitte appears standing over her dead body.  Why did Birgitte appear separate?  And if she could, why couldn't the wolves?

It isn't until Chapter 46 ("To Awaken"), that the wolves' spirits are called into the battle.  And it's only after Olver blows the Horn at Shayol Ghul.  Perrin notes that the wolves' spirits are all gathered, and it's only after the Horn calls that they ask Perrin to lead them.  Then Perrin thinks, "Why must the heroes all be human?"

We know the wolves have some sort of knowledge about the Last Hunt, and they must realize they have some role to play.  But Perrin's thought about wolf heroes doesn't seem right, unless every wolf is a hero.  The Horn called every wolf that was there, every spirit of a dead wolf—not only a select few that have proved themselves brave enough.  Perhaps the Horn just summons all the denizens of Tel'aran'rhiod.  If the souls of deer or any other wild beast had been near Shayol Ghul, would they have been summoned for the Last Hunt as well?  Or did the wolves only choose to be there because they have a connection to men and knew they could help?

And if the wolves are bound to—or at least called by—the Horn, how come they didn't appear in Falme?  It seems quite possible that some wolves would have been in the area and got caught up in the pull of the Horn.  But there were none.  Perrin was there, and could have led them.  Does this mean that the wolves could only participate once, in the Last Hunt only?

I looked through all the posted interviews at Theoryland to find any recent (Post-A Memory of Light) interviews about the Horn.  There aren't too many yet, so maybe that's something we'll have to ask Brandon Sanderson about.  Based on the way the Last Battle played out, I'm assuming location does matter.  The Horn summoned the heroes—who are naturally bound to the Horn.  They would have been called from anywhere they roamed in Tel'aran'rhiod.  But the wolves, who are creatures of the World of Dreams, yet not bound to the Horn—as far as we know—had to be in the location for the Horn to call them.  This still doesn't explain why they didn't help in Falme, but it does explain why they had to be called separately. 

One other thing I found, not necessarily about the Horn, but more about Tel'aran'rhiod, is a theory by FarShainMael on the A Memory of Light Spoiler Board.   FarShainMael suggests a link between Rand post-Tarmon Gai'don and the Horn's power to summon aspects of Tel'aran'rhiod to the real world.  He says:
 

This suggests to me that there is a special relationship between Rand and T'A'R.  Perhaps it's the reason for the Dragon being one with the land. Perhaps it's why the DO wants to turn Rand, to break the deadlock in favour of destruction. Perhaps it's why Perrin, master of the Land of Dreams, had to be there in T'A'R at VoG ["Veins of Gold," Chapter 50 of The Gathering Storm], to help Rand break his own deadlock. Perhaps it's the source of the Light in Rand's brain, detected by Nynaeve. And it may indicate how the Bore is to be sealed - from T'A'R.

I think this raises an interesting concept.  We see that Rand has complete control over his surroundings.  He only has to impose his will in order to light his pipe.  This is very close to the way things work in Tel'aran'rhiod.  Rand is one who is bound to the Horn—after he dies, he will be summoned if the Horn were sounded—so it's possible he could use some benefits from the Horn while alive.  Maybe the same would have happened for Birgitte if she hadn't died.  Maybe an aspect of this will pass into the young Gaidal Cain.  We really have no way to know for certain what the Horn does to the heroes who are already born.  But I like FarShainMael's idea.

That's all I've got on the Horn.  I'm really hoping more interviews with Brandon Sanderson will show up and he'll have a bit more to say on the subject.  Next week, I'd like to look at the body-swap theory more closely and examine what exactly happened at the end there.  Thanks for reading!

Welcome back to "WoT If?".  As we look deeper into A Memory of Light, there are several foreshadowed events that need further examination.  The topic of this week's scrutiny is Moiraine and how "important" she was during the final showdown. 

SPOILER WARNING.  This will include content from A Memory of Light.  Please DO NOT read this if you have not completed the book.

Moiraine.  Everyone was so happy for her return.  She was the embodiment of Aes Sedai for most readers, and her influence over Rand was what helped him become the Dragon Reborn in strength.  Early on, we had some hints that she was coming back, that she really wasn't dead.  Min thinks:

 

A Crown of Swords
Chapter 35, "Into the Woods"

What good to tell him he would almost certainly fail without a woman who was dead and gone?
…
Moiraine was the only viewing of hers that had ever failed.

This lets us know, pretty early on, that Moiraine might be coming back.  We know Min's viewings are never wrong, so even though she doubts, we can read between the lines.  But this also brings up the point that Moiraine will do something that will help Rand win.  We see more of this when Mat actually rescues the Aes Sedai.

 

Towers of Midnight
Chapter 54, "The Light of the World"

"I'd have to give up half the light of the world to save the world. Bloody snakes."

"To save the world?" Thom asked, looking down at Moiraine's peaceful face, her body wrapped in the patchwork cloak.  He had left his pack on the floor.

"She has something yet to do," Mat said.  The pain was receding somewhat.  "We need her, Thom. Burn me, but it's probably something to do with Rand. Anyway, this had to happen."

This is quite obvious.  Moiraine will "save the world."  Or is that what's really being said?  Moiraine's return would save the world, not necessarily Moiraine herself.  Let's look at what Moiraine does which might constitute as saving the world.

1.  Make Rand remember laughing and crying (The Gathering Storm, Chapter 50, "Veins of Gold").
I thought for sure that Moiraine's return would be what caused Rand to come back from the edge of madness and destruction.  Since Cadsuane did it, Moiraine's sudden appearance didn't add anything to Rand's state of mind.  He was surprised to see her, but it did nothing for his well-being. 

2.  Tells Egwene she must break the seals (Chapter 6, "A Knack").
This was an important part of the Last Battle.  If the seals weren't broken, Rand couldn't re-seal the Dark One.  However, it wasn't Egwene who broke them.  Logain did.  And he would have done so even without Moiraine's insistence.  As far as we know, the Asha'man knew of Rand's plan to have the seals broken.  Moiraine's words wouldn't have swayed Logain in the least.

3.  Help Rand by linking with him, Nynaeve, and Callandor (Chapter 23, "At the Edge of Time").
This was supposed to be one of the key moments during the Last Battle.  Rand thought long and hard about who could be trusted enough to link with him at this fight.  Moiraine's aid might have been considered saving the world, except that she didn't do anything of any real use.  Aviendha—Rand's original pick—could have easily substituted in with no outward change in the event.  And if Moiraine was given the prophecy of saving the world, Nynaeve would need a similar prophecy because she helped just as much—if not more—than Moiraine.

Since Moiraine didn't really add much to Tarmon Gai'don, let's see who was a better fit for "savior of the world."

Perrin: He killed Lanfear, who had him under compulsion, and kept her from killing Nynaeve, Moiraine, and Rand right before the deed was done (Chapter 48, "Light and Shadow").

Moridin: He used Callandor and unwillingly gave Rand the True Power to use as a buffer (Chapter 47, "Watching the Flow Writhe").

Nynaeve: She gave Alanna andilay, which kept her lucid enough to release Rand's bond.  The same argument could be made for Alanna, too, that she saved the world by releasing Rand's bond (Chapter 46, "To Awaken").

Egwene: She forced Rand to let go of all the guilt and all the names on his list of dead women (Chapter 38, "The Place That Was Not").

Tam: He reminded Rand that he could use one-handed sword techniques, which kept him alive as he dueled Moridin (Chapter 15, "Your Neck in a Cord").

And finally, the only way it could be Moiraine who saved the world: Thom.

Since Moiraine was rescued and bonded/married Thom, he was there to protect the entrance to Shayol Ghul: "Someone will need to guard the entry into the cave, my wife" (Chapter 23, "At the Edge of Time").  If Moiraine had not survived, Thom would not have been present to dispatch all the Darkfriends who tried to enter under different disguises.  If Aviendha had been the other woman, there wouldn't have been a Warder to guard their backs.  So, with that logic, Moiraine might have been the savior, but only because she fell in love with Thom Merrilin.

That's all I've got to say on this particular issue.  Let me know what you think.  For next week, I'd like to look at the Horn of Valere and who else—besides the Heroes—might be bound to it.  Thanks for reading.
 

 
Hello, all.  Welcome back to "WoT If?", Dragonmount's weekly theory blog.  This time, we'll continue our look at the Warder bond.  As always:

SPOILER WARNING.  This will include content from A Memory of Light.  Please DO NOT read this if you have not completed the book.

Last week, I suggested that the bond connects the two participants' souls.  For this discussion, I want to look closer at the double bond formed by Pevara bonding Androl and Androl bonding her in return.  Before we look at that, though, I'd like to examine both bonds a bit more.

The Aes Sedai/Warder bond is formed by the Aes Sedai with saidar.  The Aes Sedai is the leader of the pair—in vows as well as in the physical manifestation of the bond.  Sisters can force their Warders to do things through the bond; we see that when Myrelle receives Lan's bond:

 

Lord of Chaos
Chapter 52, "Weaves of the Power"
 
"Be quiet," Myrelle hissed. In a louder voice, she called, "Come to me." The horse did not move. A wolfhound mourning his dead mistress did not come to a new mistress willingly. Delicately she wove Spirit and touched the part of him that contained her bond; it had to be delicate, or he would be aware of it, and only the Creator knew what sort of explosion might result. "Come to me."
     
This time the horse came forward, and the man swung down to stride the last paces, a tall man, moon-shadows making his angular face seemed carved of stone. Then he was standing in front of her, standing over her, and as she stared up into Lan Mandragoran's cold blue eyes, she saw death. The Light help her. How was she ever to keep him alive long enough?

However, this practice of using a form of compulsion on their Warders to do their bidding doesn't seem to hold true for men who can channel.  When Alanna bonds Rand, he is not subjected to her compulsion.  The conversation between Alanna and Verin shows it:

 

Lord of Chaos
Chapter 11, "Lessons and Teachers"

"Well. Now that you have him, what are you going to do with him? Considering the lessons he taught us. I am minded of a fireside tale when I was a girl, about a woman who put saddle and bridle on a lion. She found it a fine and wonderful ride, but then discovered she could never dismount and never sleep."
     
Shivering, Alanna rubbed her arms. "I still cannot believe he is so strong. If only we had linked sooner. And I tried... I failed... He is so strong!"

Her "trying" had to be using the bond to make him heed her words.  Obviously she would have tried it.  But she failed, and it's because he is too "strong."  So, that leaves the question of which strength is it?  Is it because Rand is ta'veren or is it because he is a channeler?  We don't see any other instances of an Aes Sedai compelling her Asha'man Warder in such a way, so I'm assuming it's the channeling that gives them immunity to this device.

On the other side, though, the Asha'man bond is quite different from the Warder bond.  The Asha'man bond was discovered by Canler, and it's "something like the bond between Warders and Aes Sedai" (A Crown of Swords, Chapter 27, "To Be Alone").  How similar, and how different, are they?

When Logain bonds Gabrelle and Tovaine, we see he has absolute control over them.  Gabrelle thinks:

 

Crossroads of Twilight
Prologue

She had never had a Warder—they were needless flamboyance for Browns; a hired servant could do all she needed— and it felt peculiar to be not only part of a bond, but at the wrong end of it, so to speak. Worse than simply the wrong end; this bond required her to obey, and she was hedged about with prohibitions. So it was not the same as a Warder bond, really. Sisters did not force their Warders to obedience. Well, not very often. And sisters had not bonded men against their will for centuries. Still, it did provide a fascinating study. She had worked at interpreting what she sensed. At times, she could almost read his mind. Other times, it was like fumbling through a mineshaft with no lamp. She supposed she would try to study if her neck were stretched on the headsman's block. Which, in a very real way, it was. He could sense her as well as she could him.

So, what happens when the two bonds are mixed?

After a horrifying linking experience, Pevara bonds Androl without his permission.  Then, in retaliation, Androl uses the Asha'man bond on Pevara.  This results in their emotions circling back on them—her feelings get reflected to Androl, which get reflected back to herself.  Overall, it's a very crazy concept.

As time progresses, Androl and Pevara begin to consciously develop the bond, forming a sort of telepathic connection.  They can essentially read each other's minds—and with greater ease than Gabrelle could read Logain's mind.

So, here's my conclusion: the Asha'man/Aes Sedai double bonded combo will serve as the catalyst for binding the two Towers together.

Once the events of the Last Battle settle down, it seems likely that others will follow Pevara's and Androl's example.  There are many advantages to their enhanced bond.  It was very useful as they ran around looking for the seals.  If every Asha'man/Aes Sedai combo had that sort of telepathic connection, they would be very powerful. 

But the main reason is that the connection gives equal status to both participants.  The Aes Sedai is the weaker one in the Asha'man bond, and the Asha'man weaker in the Warder bond.  The double bond gives them equal status, which would be advantageous to both the White and Black Tower.  I think every channeler bonded to another channeler will agree to add on the extra bond.

There are other things to speculate about the single bond.  First, would the Asha'man suffer the pain of losing the Aes Sedai?  In the prologue of Winter's Heart, Gabrelle says, "Or it could be that this bond is like the Warder bond in more ways than we know. Maybe he just did not want to experience the two of us executed."  Here, she's implying that if Logain's bonded Aes Sedai were killed, Logain would suffer the unbearable pain of the broken bond.

And if the Asha'man dies, does the Aes Sedai go into the "death rage?"  Rand wonders about this in Knife of Dreams.  He thinks, "The Asha'man bond differed from the Warder bond in some respects, but in others it was identical, and no one yet knew the effects of an Asha'man's death on the woman he had bonded" (Chapter 27, "A Plain Wooden Box").  It seems likely that the death of the Asha'man—the bonder—would cause the Aes Sedai—the bonded—to die as well.  Or at least suffer from the "death rage," and want to kill themselves.

The double bond would either cancel out both negative factors, or make them a hundred times worse.  I could see that if Androl died, Pevara would feel the cutting of the Warder bond more keenly than the other, since that was the bond she initiated.  If Pevara died, Androl would feel the cutting of his initiated bond, feeling the pain of it, but not suffering from the "death rage."  It seems logical that each would feel the bond they created the most, and the loss of the other would be a lesser reaction; they would feel the pain, but not experience the "death rage."

On the other hand, with their near telepathic connection, perhaps feeling Androl die would be so emotionally shattering that it would kill Pevara instantly.  If their minds are linked, as well as their emotions, they probably wouldn't be able to separate their own feelings in time to survive the loss.

This is a tough one, and I'm not sure we have enough information to go on.  Personally, I'd like to think the former situation would work—since it's very sad to think both would die.  If they did, I'm not sure the price of the double bond would be worth it.

So, what are everyone else's thoughts on the subject?  Please let me know!  That's all for this edition.  Next week, I want to look at the "importance" of Moiraine.  Thanks for reading!

Hello, everyone!  Welcome back to "WoT If?", Dragonmount's weekly theory blog.  Just because the series is finished doesn't mean there's nothing to speculate about.  In fact, I think A Memory of Light left us with more questions than answers.  So, let's get into the topic for the next two weeks: the bond.

SPOILER WARNING.  This will include content from A Memory of Light.  Please DO NOT read this if you have not completed the book.

The bond between a Warder and Aes Sedai is something even the Forsaken don't understand.  Semirhage thinks about it in Lord of Chaos, Chapter 6, "Threads Woven of Shadow."  The bond connects the emotions and a bit of the physical state of the two people who are joined.  We know that the bond gives Warders extra strength and energy.  The Aes Sedai receive a sense of comfort, knowing they have someone they can trust to aid them when necessary; a sword hand to watch their back.

So the exchange between them is give and take—each receives some benefits, but they also give up a little as well.  The Aes Sedai feel the terrible pain if they lose a Warder, and the Warders have a sort of "death rage" when their Aes Sedai dies.  To some, it might look like Warders have the worse end of the bargain, but Aes Sedai rarely die under normal circumstances.

But what exactly is the bond?  What does it connect and how? 

In all the accounts of bonding in the series—from POV characters—we see Elayne bond Birgitte and Rand, and Egwene bond Gawyn and Egeanin. Only Elayne's experiences give us any details of the actual event.  Spirit is the only weave used, connecting something in one person to something in another.  But what is it that's connected? 

Some argue that it's the ability to channel.  The most convincing proof for this is the example of Siuan's bond to Alric.  After Siuan is Healed, her bond to Alric is still inside her (Lord of Chaos, Chapter 30, "To Heal Again").  Her stilling severed it, but once she reclaimed saidar, the pain came back.  This would definitely suggest that the ability to use the Power was what connected their bond.

The counterargument: Min and Rand.  If the ability to channel was needed, Min couldn't have been bonded to Rand.  Some might say that Rand would be the channeler in that pair, yet Rand's weaves were never used in the ceremony.  More on this in a second.

So, the only logical reasoning I see is that the bond connects two people's souls.  The evidence for this is abundant in A Memory of Light.  Rand, when he completes the body-swap, moves into Moridin's body.  However, his three women still feel the bond—now connected to Moridin's body!  The only thing that transferred over was Rand's soul.  If the connection had been to anything physical—the brain, the heart, his ability to channel—the women would have felt Rand's body die.  It has to be a connection to the soul.  Going back to the argument of Rand being the channeler in his bond with Min, we see that Rand cannot channel at the end of the story (A Memory of Light, Epilogue).  So, if the ability to channel was necessary, his bond with Min wouldn't have survived his body-swap, only Aviendha's and Elayne's.

Taking that piece of evidence, here's my theory for this week: what if Birgitte's new body is bonded to Elayne from birth?

I know, I know.  Birgitte was killed, and the bond broken.  Elayne says that when she sees Birgitte in Hero form: 
 

A Memory of Light
Chapter 40, "Wolfbrother"

Elayne's insides told her she's still lost her Warder, and the pain of the bond breaking was not a rational thing.  It didn't matter that Birgitte stood before her.  "Perhaps I should bond you again?"

"It would not work," Birgitte said, waving her hand with a dismissive gesture.

Why wouldn't it work?  Probably because Birgitte is in spirit form at the moment.  Or perhaps it's because they still have a remnant of the bond intact within both their souls already.

I think the time it took for Birgitte's soul to pass from her Heroes' body to her new body was no more than a few hours.  It might be possible that Birgitte's new body would still have the bond connected to her soul.  I'm sure there's never been any case of a person who has been bonded being reborn so soon after death.  There's no way to say for certain that the soul doesn't still hold the bond.

At the very least, Brigitte's new body would feel the loss of the bond, the pain that's almost unbearable.  It's possible for the Warder to be the survivor of the pair, so baby Birgitte could still live, only with that sense of something missing inside her.

Honestly, I think it would be awesome if when baby Birgitte is born, Elayne automatically feels her, and that their bond remains intact.  In fact, people in our own time often say that they feel like they are missing a part of them.  Since our world is just another Age, perhaps it's the remnants of a past bond.

That's all for this week.  Next time we'll continue the discussion on bonds, focusing more on Androl and Pevara.  Thanks for reading!

Welcome back to this special edition of "WoT If?".  Why is it special?  Because we're allowed to include A Memory of Light spoilers!  So, I'd like to take a look at all my past theories and cry over how far off they were from what actually happened.

SPOILER WARNING.  THIS WILL INCLUDE CONTENT FROM A MEMORY OF LIGHT.  PLEASE DON'T READ THIS POST IF YOU HAVEN'T COMPLETED THE BOOK.

Let's start backwards and work our way to the beginning.  I'll try to organize my thoughts as best I can.

1. The Aiel

The Aiel didn't submit to the Seanchan; I was totally wrong on that one.  They did give up their hatred, though.  They did agree that they would have to let the collared Wise Ones go.  In that, I was semi-right.  Of course, with the deal Egwene made with Tuon, all the Wise Ones will be released, so the Aiel won't have to suffer the a'dam for much longer.

2. Moridin

Moridin didn't turn out to be a double agent.  None of the Forsaken returned to the Light.  I thought for a moment it would be Lanfear, since Rand opened himself up to her, showing her his true feelings and intentions (A Memory of Light, Chapter 12, "A Shard of a Moment").  Instead, that made her even more bitter.  Perhaps it could be argued that Moghedien or Graendal could come back to the Light.  The a'dam might reform Moghedien, and Graendal's Compulsion could lead her back if Aviendha wishes it of her.

3. Gawyn and Egwene

A few of the deaths I predicted were right: Gawyn, Birgitte, Rhuarc, Tenobia, and Bashere.  In all honesty, I never, ever expected Egwene to die.  It was the most shocking part of the book for me, possibly even in the whole series.  But, looking back, there are some hints that this will come to pass.  There are dreams she has where she sees the possibility of her own death:

A Crown of Swords

Chapter 10, "Unseen Eyes"

 

Straps at waist and shoulder held her tightly to the block, and the headsman’s axe descended, but she knew that somewhere someone was running, and if they ran fast enough, the axe would stop. If not...In that corner of her mind, she felt a chill.

Lord of Chaos

Chapter 15, "A Pile of Sand"

 

In another he [Gawyn] began swinging a door closed on her, and she knew if that narrowing gap of light vanished, she was dead.

The first might be her trying to get to Gawyn.  She ran to him and he ran to her, but neither made it in time.  Because of that, the "axe" descends on her.  With the loss of Gawyn, Egwene fought harder than she should have, bringing her own downfall. 

The same could be said about the second dream.  With Gawyn closing the door (dying), Egwene also dies.

4. Fain

I was wrong about Rand killing Fain.  I think every theory I've seen on Fain has been wrong.  I made five different predictions that were likely to happen.  None of them were fulfilled in A Memory of Light.  There was such a build-up for Fain, but he turned out to be a red herring of sorts.  His presence—and his death—at the Last Battle were completely pointless.  They added nothing, one way or the other, that I saw.

I'm on my second read-through of the book, and it's a bit more obvious to pick out the literary logic of Fain.  Rand is occupied at Shayol Ghul, and there are two entities trying to kill him: Slayer and Fain.  Naturally, Slayer is dealt with by Perrin, so logically Mat should handle the other.  Makes sense.  I'll admit, my heart lurched when Mashadar touched Mat.  I had a moment of panic before I remembered Mat couldn't possibly die (because of the possibility of the outrigger novel).  Though this scene felt a bit rushed and anti-climactic, I really enjoyed the irony of it.

5. Cadsuane

I was wrong about Cadsuane dying as well.  I guess I overanalyzed the foreshadowing on that one.  I also enjoyed the irony of that scene.  Cadsuane left the White Tower to avoid being raised Amyrlin (according to Robert Jordan's notes), so it's funny that they catch her off guard right after the Last Battle is finished.  I believe since the words were spoken, she has no choice but to answer the summons of the Hall.

6. Alivia

Alivia: not evil.  Wow.  This was a complete shock to me.  I really thought all the signs were there for her to turn out to be a Darkfriend, at the very least, or some high-up Shadow Official.  Not so.  She turned out to be what she said she was—as far as we know.  And she did "help" Rand die.  Of course, there are still some ways we can speculate about Alivia.  Someone did theorize that she could be part of the royal family of Seanchan.  I'm sure we can continue the discussion of her as the theory blog continues in March.

7. Galad

What of Elaida's "The Royal line of Andor would be the key to defeating the Dark One in the Last Battle" (The Shadow Rising, Chapter 1, "Seeds of Shadow")?  You could say it was Rand all along, but what about the efforts of Galad?  He was given the copied foxhead medallion and went to fight Demandred.  He didn't win, but he was responsible for the ter'angreal finding its way into the hands of Lan, who did defeat Demandred, causing the battle at Merrilor to be won.  It's arguable.

8. Mat

Mat's role in the Last Battle was probably expected of most people, but not me.  I really expected him to do no more than sound the Horn.  That whole plotline smacked me right in the face!  Mat almost single-handedly won the battle at Merrilor.  And it was an incredible battle!  It was right for Mat to be in charge.  Having the Great Captains lead, like I assumed they would, lead to near defeat.  I guess the Shadow thinks like I do.

Also in regards to Mat, I never expected that he wasn't still bound to the Horn (and I gave some proof as to why).  Still, I loved the way it played out, especially Olver's sweetly sad reunion with Jain:

A Memory of Light

Chapter 39, "Those Who Fight"

 

"Noal, they said you died!" Olver cried.

 

"I did," Noal said, then laughed.  "The Pattern was not finished with me, son.  Sound that Horn!  Sound it proudly, Hornsounder!"

 

Olver did so, blowing the Horn as Noal fought the Trollocs back in a small circle around Olver. Noal. Noal was one of the heroes of the Horn!  The hooves of galloping horses announced others, come to rescue Olver from the Shadowspawn.

 

Suddenly, Olver felt a deep warmth. He had lost so many people, but one of them…one…had come back for him.

This scene is what The Wheel of Time is all about.  Touching and emotional and just perfect.  One of my favorites in the whole book.

9. Rand

So, what did we learn about the voice at the end of The Eye of the World?  I guess the answer was it belonged to the Creator.  Looking at the return of that voice, Rand seems to think that's who it was.

A Memory of Light

Chapter 23, "At the Edge of Time"

 

He did want to do this right.  He had to do this right.  Was it the right time?  Had he planned well enough?

 

IT IS TIME. LET THE TASK BE UNDERTAKEN.

 

The voice spoke with the inevitability of an earthquake, the words vibrating through him.  More than sound in the air, far more, the words spoke as if from one soul to another.  Moiraine gasped, eyes opening wide.

 

Rand was not surprised.  He had heard this voice once before, and he realized that he had been expecting it.  Hoping for it, at least.

 

"Thank you," Rand whispered, then stepped forward into the Dark One's realm, leaving footprints of blood behind.

Rand, because of his thanks and his hope, assumes it is the Creator, that the Creator is giving him permission to continue.  It makes sense.  I don't know if the Dark One would really welcome the Dragon Reborn into his lair.  He knows Rand must come, but he probably wouldn't give consent to the timing. 

However, here, the capital voice isn't italicized too, like it is in The Eye of the World.  That's a bit curious.

Besides that answer about Rand's encounters at the Eye, no more is revealed.  We are still left wondering about the true power of the Eye and what effect it did have on Rand.

For the blog I wrote about Nicola's "The Dragon Reborn will do nine impossible things" (Crossroads of Twilight, Chapter 17, "Secrets"), only one prediction was correct!  He survived the Last Battle, which most of us knew he would do anyway.  I wonder if there are other impossible things he did that would count, rather than the ones I came up with.

10. Logain

I will admit to total failure in my prediction about everything related to Logain and the Black Tower.  The Asha'man never came to Caemlyn's aid, nor did Logain go off on a secret recruiting mission.  I'm so glad that the resolution in the Black Tower was able to be squeezed into this book, and I love Logian's character development and flaws, despite that nothing happened the way I thought it would.  

11. Nynaeve

And one of my biggest predictions, the one I thought had to be right, Nynaeve Healing death: WRONG.  While I really liked the idea of Nynaeve accomplishing this feat, I understand it wouldn't work in the context of this world.  If she did it once, she could do it again, and would do it again.  A world full of immortals isn't a good thing. 

Am I embarrassed that I got so much wrong?  A bit.  But at the same time, I'm glad I tried to think outside the box (and outside of theories that had already been circulating).  I think this just shows that Robert Jordan was a genius.  Look how much he kept us guessing.  Look how much we still got wrong!  There's no denying he was a master storyteller and a very skilled writer.  A Memory of Light is a fitting end to his legacy.

That's all for this special edition.  Join us in March for new theories.  I kept a notebook beside me and jotted down tons of notes.  There are still many topics we can discuss as the Wheel keeps turning.  Thanks for reading!

Welcome back to "WoT If?", Dragonmount's weekly theory blog. As you all know, A Memory of Light is just one week away. In preparation for its release, this blog will contain a few of my predictions. But, before we begin:

Spoiler warning! This will include content from many books in the series, including Towers of Midnight, and speculation about A Memory of Light. Please read at your own risk.

Also, this WILL NOT contain spoilers from A Memory of Light's Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 11, or Tor's daily previews. Please refrain from posting any spoilers from A Memory of Light in the comments section. The A Memory of Light pre-release spoiler discussion board can be found here. The A Memory of Light full spoiler discussion board is here.

I just finished my Towers of Midnight re-read, and I spent a lot of time thinking about many events that happened in that book; namely, Aviendha's second trip through the glass-column ter'angreal, and Moiraine's rescue from the Finns. We already know Moiraine has important information—after all, Mat gave up his eye "to save the world" (The Shadow Rising, Chapter 15, "Into the Doorway"; Towers of Midnight, Chapter 54, "The Light of the World"). But what of Aviendha's visions of the future—or possible future? Will the knowledge she has arm the Aiel for what is to come?

We've talked about the actual visions before and most everyone agreed they showed a possible future, not the future. Honestly, I'm still torn. I could see it going both ways. Obviously, I hope it's only a possibility. I respect the Aiel culture and would hate to see their honor lost so drastically. But the important fact is that Aviendha saw each step that took them down that path. She saw three key events that can be fixed, if she can convince the Aiel to bend a bit of their pride.

The Aiel have been left out of the Dragon's Peace, meaning they were not sworn to peace, a reward for their service to Rand. However, this lack of being included leads the Aiel down a very dark road. This is the first part of them going to war against the Seanchan. This part may be easily fixed, if Aviendha convinces Rand to include the Aiel.

The next major dispute between the Aiel and the Seanchan is the leashed Wise Ones. This hatred for the Seanchan festers inside the Aiel, growing into something so consuming they are unable to break away from it. Ladalin thinks that, "Her hatred of the invaders ran deep…Perhaps that hatred had destroyed the Aiel" (Towers of Midnight, Chapter 49, "Court of the Sun"). In that same chapter, Aviendha reflects:

The woman [Ladalin] had thought of war and associated it with honor, but hadn’t understood what honor was. No gai’shain? Retreat? There had been no mention of toh. This was battle stripped completely of point or reason.

 

Why fight? For Ladalin, it had been about hatred of the Seanchan.

 

There was war because there had always been war.

This may be a bit harder to fix. The Aiel are a proud people. They have so much honor and feel such shame when it is insulted. The Seanchan have insulted them by not letting the Wise Ones go after their year and a day of gai'shain service is up. So, to make peace with the Seanchan, the Aiel will need to let the collared Wise Ones go. They will need to let the insult go, let their hatred go. That won't be very easy for Aviendha to convince the Aiel to do.

On top of that, the Aiel still consider battle to bring honor.

Her mother had gained great ji in battle. Padra had had few chances to prove herself. A war with the Seanchan…the prospect invigorated her. But it would also mean much death.

…

 

The Aiel would go to war again. And there would be much honor in it.

Padra wants to start a war out of her desire to be like Aviendha. That's terribly ironic.

One last thing that Aviendha might try to prevent is Rand bowing to the Seanchan Empress. Oncala's vision shows this exchange between Hehyal, chief of the Taardad, and Talana, Queen of Andor:

“We have been patient with you,” Hehyal said. “We have come to you and explained what will happen if we cannot hold off the Seanchan.”

 

“The Dragon’s Peace—”

 

“What care do they have for the Dragon?” Hehyal asked. “They are invaders who forced him to bow to their Empress. She is considered above him. They will not keep promises they made to an inferior.”

From this Aviendha knows that if Rand bows before the Empress, the Aiel—and perhaps the other citizens of Randland as well—see him as weaker than the Empress. I think Rand's in a state of mind where he will willingly bow to Tuon, for the greater good, but look at how much harm comes from it later. But how will Rand make an alliance with them without bowing?

Here's my crazy theory on this one: Aviendha and the Aiel will bow before the Empress in Rand's place. She knows that so much harm comes from their hatred, their war, their unwillingness to surrender to the Seanchan. She will see that they need to submit. It will be the only way for the Aiel to survive as a people, avoiding the awful visions she saw.

And if that's unlikely to happen, here's another possible way to avoid that future: Aviendha will not have Rand's children. Now, before you start getting angry and saying "Min's viewings are always right," remember that Robert Jordan said, "The viewings and prophecies that occurred before the loosening of the Pattern are very valid. But those that occurred at, or after, the loosening have a higher chance of not coming true." Since he said this, I think we will have at least one instance when Min's viewing is wrong. Perhaps more than one. I think it would be very interesting if Elayne winds up with twin girls, instead of a boy and a girl—which would prove Min to be wrong—and Aviendha would then make sure she didn't get pregnant. I think she is strong enough to make that sacrifice for her people, since it is her line that leads to so much trouble.

That, mixed with the Aiel surrendering to the Seanchan, can make lasting peace.

Moving on…

Moiraine had three requests to make of the Eelfinn. She says that one of the requests was to keep the angreal that she and Lanfear brought into their world. What were the other two? She knew she wouldn't be allowed to escape since the doorway melted, so it's unlikely that she asked for that. Could she have asked for her Bond with Lan to be broken? It was necessary for everyone to think she died. If Lan's Bond with her still existed, he would have gone into the other doorway ter'angreal or into the Tower to get her out. That would have resulted in his and her death. She couldn't let that happen, so she needed the Bond annulled. Or did the Bond break because the doorway was destroyed? There were still other connections to the Finns' worlds, so I don't think that could have broken their Bond. I think it's much more likely Moiraine asked for it to be broken as one of her requests.

No doubt her last request was for specific knowledge. She has to come out of there with the key to victory because she will somehow save the world. I thought it would be her return that made Rand turn away from the Shadow inside him. But since he had his epiphany without her, her information must be something different. Perhaps she learned how to Heal the Bore? Perhaps she learned what the Dark One's real purpose is—since Verin says Rand's understanding isn't correct? Questions/requests related to the Shadow can have harsh consequences, but she's clever enough to phrase it the right way, I'm sure.

Okay, here's a few final predictions.

Deaths:

While I understand some of our main characters might die, I can't predict a single one. There is too much foreshadowing of events that take place past the Last Battle. The most popular character to die, I think, will be Birgitte. After that, I can see Gawyn dying, but I still think it unlikely.

I think the Aiel will suffer very heavy casualties. They have a prophecy that says, "He shall spill out the blood of those who call themselves Aiel as water on sand, and he shall break them as dried twigs, yet the remnant of a remnant shall he save, and they shall live" (The Shadow Rising, Chapter 34, "He Who Comes With the Dawn"). Remember one of Min's first visions of Rand? She says she sees, "you [Rand] pouring water on sand" (The Eye of the World, Chapter 15, "Strangers and Friends"). Notice the similar wording? Perhaps that's a metaphor for the Aiel and their sacrifice in the Last Battle. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if every major Aiel character (Amys, Rhuarc, Sorilea, Bair, etc.) all die. Melaine will have her babies—unless that vision fails as well—so she might be safe until after the battle.

All the Forsaken will die. Even if one does wind up returning to the Light, it will be done in a sacrificial way, giving up their life for the Light to win. Out of all those who can turn, I think it likely to be Moridin.

Slayer and Fain will die. Slayer by Perrin. Fain by Rand. There's too much buildup between those pairs, too much narrative debt.

I think Cadsuane will die. She thinks in The Gathering Storm, that, "Over two centuries ago, she'd sworn to herself that she'd live to attend the Last Battle, no matter how long that took" (Chapter 5, "A Tale of Blood"). Notice how she never swears to live after the battle. I think that could be an ironic way of handling the situation. She lives to attend the Last Battle, but dies during it.

Other resolutions:

Perrin and Faile will take over the throne of Saldaea.

Mat and Tuon will settle the Seanchan around Altara; after the Dragon's Peace, they will not seek to conquer any more land this side of the ocean. Perhaps Setalle Anan can help with this; if she is Healed and is Aes Sedai again, Tuon will see that Aes Sedai are not evil creatures. Tuon will keep the damane they currently have, but not capture any more.

Nynaeve will become Elayne's Aes Sedai advisor ("If she had her way, Nynaeve al’Meara was going to be the Aes Sedai advisor to the next Queen of Andor" (Winter's Heart, Prologue)). Malkier is beyond saving, so she and Lan will live in Andor instead.

Egwene will continue as Amyrlin.

Galad will merge the Whitecloaks into Mayene's forces, becoming an independent group, but still tied to the Winged Guards. Galad and Berelain will get married and become good friends with Faile and Perrin. Galad's blood relationship to Rand won't play any part during or after the battle.

As mentioned above, the Aiel will bow their pride, accept the collared Wise Ones as lost, refrain from devotion to battle—not necessarily take up the Way of the Leaf, but become more peaceful—and live in the Wetlands. With their toh met, they can mold their culture into something better than what they were before. They won't be Aiel anymore, or even Jenn Aiel. As the prophecy said, only a "remnant of a remnant" would be saved (The Shadow Rising, Chapter 34, "He Who Comes With the Dawn"); only a few will stick to their warrior ways, most likely the Shaido hiding in the Waste. Though their losses during the Last Battle will be great, those who live will adapt to their new life. There's also several mentions in the prophecies of the Dragon's blood saving men from the Shadow. Though the word "blood" is never capitalized, it could still be used metaphorically. Could it also be a reference to the Aiel? In Aviendha's trip through the glass columns, one of the visions talks of "Dragon Blooded" Aiel (Towers of Midnight, Chapter 49, "Court of the Sun") which seem to be male channelers, from the context.

Though I'm not a huge fan of it, I think the body-swap theory will most likely be the reason why Rand will survive. He and Moridin will flip bodies—perhaps Moridin doing so willingly, giving up his life for the Light to win. Rand's body will die; his soul living on in Moridin. That is the reason Aviendha's children can have dark hair "after their wetlander side" (Towers of Midnight, Chapter 49, "Court of the Sun"). Rand is Andoran royal blood and Aiel blood—both of which have red-gold hair. Moridin, however, has "hair black as night" (A Crown of Swords, Chapter 41, "A Crown of Swords"). With Rand's physical body dead, and his literal blood falling on the ground, he can complete whatever task he needs to seal up the Dark One for good. Everyone will think him dead—that way he can live on in peace with his three women. He will settle in Caemlyn; Aviendha and Min will live there too. But maybe Moridin's body is too tainted by the True Power by this point, so his life won't last that much longer.

I really hope all our main characters have lives that are somewhat happy after the Last Battle. As much as they've given to the world, I'd like to see them receive something back. Rand has sacrificed so much for others—the Wheel and the Pattern need to acknowledge how much he's done and give him some happiness.

One more week, and we'll know.

Thanks for reading, everyone. We won't have any new theory blogs until March of 2013. But when we come back, we'll have full A Memory of Light spoilers! Hope to see you then!

Hello, everyone. Welcome back to "WoT If?". This week's topic will be the former damane, Alivia.

Spoiler warning! This will include content from many books in the series, including Towers of Midnight, and speculation about A Memory of Light. Please read at your own risk.

Also, this WILL NOT contain spoilers from A Memory of Light's Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 11, or Tor's daily previews. Please refrain from posting any spoilers from A Memory of Light in the comments section. The A Memory of Light spoiler discussion board can be found here.

To me, Alivia has been one of the biggest mysteries in the series. There aren't too many theories about her, at least that I could find. I think that is so intriguing. It seems that everyone just accepts her—readers and characters alike. Ever since she was first introduced, I've had a hard time understanding the characters' acceptance of her. She's always stood out to me as being out of place with Rand's inner circle. So, let's look a bit closer at her and see if we can find out what she's hiding.

Alivia is first introduced—though not mentioned by name—in The Path of Daggers, Chapter 23, "Fog of War, Storm of Battle." She is one of five damane captured by Rand during his fight against the Seanchan. It's in Winter's Heart when we first hear anything about her, though. And the things we learn are that she was collared at age thirteen or fourteen, has been a damane for more than four hundred years, and she hates sul'dam (Chapter 8, "Sea Folk and Kin"). A leashed woman for over 400 years and she hates sul'dam? How unlikely is that? Damane are broken. It would take so much effort for one to want to be free of the collar.

In fact, the other two Seanchan damane don't want to be let off their leashes. Why would Alivia? The Randland damane want to be free, but they are still very beaten down; Reanna says, "I doubt either one could stand up to a sul’dam. I think if a sul’dam ordered either to help her escape, she would, and I fear she might not fight too hard if the sul’dam tried to collar her again." Yet Reanna says Alivia, "hates all the sul’dam, and she certainly makes a good show of it, snarling at them and cursing them, but…". How is it possible for women used to freedom to be cowed by the sul'dam but not a woman—a Seanchan woman—who has been leashed for 400 years? This should be a huge red flag to readers because of the impossibility of it.

So, after Alivia is let out of the a'dam, she is supposed to have a Kinswoman with her at all times, but rarely does. No one appears to do anything about it. Nynaeve tells her, "You aren’t supposed to go anywhere without an escort!" and then later, "You won’t let me see you without two or three Kinswomen again, if you know what’s good for you" (Winter's Heart, Chapter 11, "Ideas of Importance"). But, that very same day, Nynaeve takes Alivia with her when she leaves with Rand. Why?

This is just outrageous, the way she is instantly trusted and taken into the group. I can see a bit of reasoning on Nynaeve's part, though. She has been struggling with keeping to the Aes Sedai hierarchy—which is based on strength. She has used her own strength as a tool to get what she wants from others, so she would need to follow the rule as well. Alivia is stronger than Nynaeve, so it would be only Aes Sedai politics, maybe even subconsciously on Nynaeve's part.

Even so, how did Alivia even discover Nynaeve was leaving? Or did Nynaeve go and seek out the ex-damane? That seems even more unlikely since Nynaeve is obviously uncomfortable around the woman.

After leaving the Palace in Caemlyn, the party goes to Far Madding. It's here that Min has a viewing of Alivia:

Winter's Heart

 

Chapter 25, "Bonds"

 

“Rand, I like Alivia. I do, even if she does make Nynaeve have kittens left and right.” One fist planted on her hip, Min leaned forward and pointed a finger at his nose. “But she is going to kill you.” She bit off every word.

 

“You said she was going to help me die,” he said quietly. “Those were your words.”

Finally, we have someone who is suspicious of Alivia, though it makes Rand trust her more, for some reason. But the woman continues to be in their group. Why don't they interrogate her? Why don't they do something to find out her reasoning for hating sul'dam and wanting to help Rand? The fact that this is accepted without any explanation is mind boggling, to me.

Because of Min's viewing, even Nynaeve won't trust Alivia—though why she trusted her in the first place is a mystery. Nynaeve and Lan discuss it briefly:

Knife of Dreams

 

Chapter 20, "The Golden Crane"

 

“I don’t want to leave Rand alone with Alivia that long.”

 

“He trusts her, Nynaeve. I don’t understand it, but there it is, and that’s all that matters.” She sniffed. As if any man knew what was good for him.

This exchange can go both ways. A popular theme in the series is women knowing what's best, and another is women not understanding when they think they do. So, this could be foreshadowing either way, but I thought I'd point it out.

So, Alivia wanders free, not being taught by the Aes Sedai, but paying attention to their weaves. She is able to learn something just by seeing it done once (Knife of Dreams, Chapter 20, "The Golden Crane"). That means any channeling she sees, she can duplicate. This includes all the secret weaves that Sisters don't even pay attention to. Perhaps even secret weaves used to keep a wooden box—with the Domination Band inside—safe?

This leads me to my ultimate conclusion. Though there's very little evidence, I'm going to speculate anyway. I think Alivia was ordered by a sul'dam to gather information about their captors. They were captured by Rand, the Dragon Reborn, so the sul'dam could have told her to spy on him by any means possible. I think that's one of the only explanations for why Alivia was so eager to get the collar off: she was ordered to. Surely a damane would only be willing to be uncollared if she was ordered to. I think this is proved by the other Seanchan damane's insistence that they need to remain collared.

Either that, or there's another explanation: she is a Darkfriend. There is a certain sense of foreboding around Alivia, in the things I pointed out and other places. Perhaps she used Compulsion on Nynaeve to get to go along with the group? I did hint that she might have been the one who helped Elza get the Domination Band out of Cadsuane's room. Let's look at that a bit closer.

Cadsuane has the Domination Band in a document box in her quarters (The Gathering Storm, Chapter 14, "A Box Opens"). She disarms the box (which has inverted weaves on it that capture a person with Air, makes sounds like trumpets blasting, and has flashing lights) and shows the contents to Sorilea and Bair. Later, when the box had been opened, the wards didn't go off (Chapter 23, "A Warp in the Air"). Rand says servants searched Cadsuane's room; they would have mentioned if anyone was stuck floating with weaves of Air.

Sorilea saw the box disarmed, and likely armed, though it's not mentioned. But Cadsuane showed Sorilea the weaves she used on Semirhage, so it seems likely. Now, there have been a few theories that Bair might be a Darkfriend, but she can't channel, so she couldn't disarm the box. Sorilea as a Darkfriend is unlikely. But, what if Sorilea practices the weaves and Alivia happens to see? The next time we see Alivia, Rand thinks: "To the side, Alivia watched her [Min] go with curiosity. The former damane had stayed aloof recently, as if biding her time, waiting until she could fulfill her destiny in helping Rand die" (The Gathering Storm, Chapter 29, "Into Bandar Eban"). No other time has the damane been "aloof" in personality. If anything, she's overbearing. Why would Alivia suddenly be aloof? Because she's afraid of drawing the eye since her involvement with the Forsaken.

I think Alivia is working on one of those two sides. And her "helping Rand die" will not be for his own good, like he believes.

That's all for this edition. We have a break next week for the holidays, but the week after will be my last minute predictions for A Memory of Light. Thanks for reading!