Calichniye, my cunning companions of Dragonmount! Welcome to another weekly installment of "It Works in Theory," Dragonmount's wild ride of a theory blog! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving last week, for those who celebrate it. For those who don't, I hope you found some other reason to stuff your belly (it's never hard for me to find a reason to do so). I'm sure everyone is anxious for me to continue with the second part of last week's blog...(crickets chirping), but I have one quick announcement: This week, I'll be venturing forth on a cruise with my newlywed wife, and as such, there's a good chance you might not see a blog from me for the following week. Fear not, though, for I will bounce back again completely relaxed and rejuvenated and should have oodles of new theories for you to masticate upon. And now, for our weekly disclaimer (does anyone actually read these?):

This blog is based on theories that will include facts and material from the latest books in the series, so if you have not read through Towers of Midnight, continue reading at your own risk! "It Works in Theory" is a high velocity, roller coaster-type ride that includes sudden brief stops in hyperbole and sharp turns away from reason. Please secure all loose belongings and keep all attached and unattached limbs and body parts inside the blog at all times during the ride. Don't sway the cabin or rock the boat, that's my job. Due to the nature of the ride, guests with back and/or neck problems, expectant mothers, any who have recently had experimental non-FDA approved surgery, or anyone without an open mind or a sense of humor should not ride this blog.

As this is the second part of a two-part entry, I'll go ahead and review what we covered in last week's blog: The Gray Tower. It seems obvious to me that the White Tower and the Black Tower will not exist in the same way after both of their impending altercations. Many signs point to a joint organization being formed, a "Gray Tower," which would combine both of their forces and allow men and women to work together again using the One Power to help their world flourish after Tarmon Gai'don. This week, I'm going to cover exactly how that might occur. It seems like it might be a tall order after all, since the current leader of the Black Tower is an evil maniac, and the leader of the White Tower is somewhat biased regarding the sanity of male channelers. So, who would help these two groups come together to resolve their differences and work together?

Why, who else but the Dragon Reborn himself, Rand al'Thor?

Back in A Crown of Swords, Elaida a'Roihan had a Foretelling that seemed to assure her of her own control of the White Tower. She ended up drastically misinterpreting the Foretelling, but let's take another look at that vision of the future and see if we can glean more of what it really meant.

A Crown of Swords

"Prologue"

 

The White Tower will be whole again, except for remnants cast out and scorned, whole and stronger than ever. Rand al'Thor will face the Amyrlin Seat and know her anger. The Black Tower will be rent in blood and fire, and sisters will walk its grounds. This I Foretell.

The White Tower ended up becoming whole again, only it was under Egwene as Amyrlin, not Elaida. The Black Tower section is part of why I think some kind of calamity will ensue there, which will cause the Asha'man to have to find a new home. The part in the middle, about Rand facing the Amyrlin Seat and knowing her anger, is what really interests me. Some suggest that this in fact has already happened, when Rand visited the White Tower in Towers of Midnight. After all, Egwene wasn't exactly happy to hear about Rand's plan to break the seals on the Dark One's prison. However, I don't think this to be the case, as she wasn't nearly as angry as she was awestruck by Rand; she sensed the profound change inside him. There's also another reason I don't think Rand has "known her anger"...yet.

The Fires of Heaven

Chapter 15, "What Can Be Learned in Dreams"

 

Rand sitting down in a chair, and somehow she knew that the chair's owner would be murderously angry at having her chair taken; that the owner was a woman was as much as she could pick out of that, and not a thing more.

So, in one of Egwene's Dreams, she sees Rand taking a woman's seat, and that woman being very upset with him. Could this mysterious woman in fact be the same woman whose anger Rand would be "gettin schooled" in from Elaida's Foretelling? In the Wheel of Time FAQ, they bring up the possibility that this has occured already as well. It's possible that this happened when Rand briefly sat on the Lion Throne after securing the rule of Andor later in the same book as the Dream. Morgase would be considered the rightful owner at the time, and she did become pretty upset with the thought of Rand taking her throne. Another possibility mentioned is that the chair is the Crystal Throne, but at this point I find this to be highly unlikely; I just don't think there's enough time in the series for Rand to visit the continent of Seanchan and rob it from Tuon. So, this dream of Egwene's could be a possible foreshadowing of Rand sitting in the Amyrlin Seat's seat itself, which would cause her to be extremely upset, of course.

There's one more piece of evidence that I wanted to cover, and it's a little less solid, but together with the other pieces, it does make the picture slightly clearer.

The Shadow Rising

Chapter 19, "The Wavedancer"

 

The White Tower shall be broken by his name, and Aes Sedai shall kneel to wash his feet and dry them with their hair.

This quote is taken from the Jendai Prophecies. Many might look at the footwashing part mainly as flavor text that would mainly indicate Aes Sedai serving him, but keep in mind the odd ritual carried out during the ceremony of raising someone to the Amyrlin Seat:

Lord of Chaos

Chapter 35, "In the Hall of the Sitters"

 

The ceremony for choosing a new Amyrlin is very old and very strict. The woman is chosen and brought in front of the sitters for each Ajah. The first part of the ceremony is to make sure that only women are present. The oldest Aes Sedai stands and inspects each woman, who is naked to the waist, in order to make sure only women are present. Ages ago this portion would have been conducted with every woman completely naked. Once it is determined that every person present is a woman the ceremony continues until the woman who has been brought in front of the sitters is asked, "How would you serve the tower?" The woman responds, "by serving as Amyrlin." The sisters present then stand if they feel the woman should be raised. Generally, most take their time as to show they will not be easily controlled by the new Amyrlin. All sisters must be standing in order to raise a new Amyrlin, as the tower must remain whole. If some are not standing, the woman must go through and wash every sister's feet individually and ask, "Please allow me to serve." Once the washing is done, the vote is taken again and a third time if it is necessary. If by that time not every sister stands, the woman who had hoped to be raised will most likely be exiled along with the women that voted for her, because they would always be a reminder of division within the tower. Once raised, the woman is given the stole with the colors of each Ajah on it.

First of all, let me state that the undressing portion of the ritual is extremely odd and is probably an example of why some have been heard to complain about a possible sexist feel to the series. Moving past that, though, you'll see the part of the ritual I was referring to before. If an Amyrlin is being raised and every Sitter doesn't stand for her, the would-be Amyrlin must go to every one of the Sitters and wash their feet, asking them to let her serve. This seems a little different than the scenario described in prophecy, but let's not forget that several rituals and traditions have changed greatly over the years. The Oath Rod itself, which is used to swear Aes Sedai in after achieving the Shawl, was used as a way of punishing criminals back in the Age of Legends. So, it could be that the ritual became skewed over time and ended up having the Amyrlin doing the footwashing, when originally they were the ones getting their feet washed.

A funny little footnote to this theory is the fact that Rand, being Lews Therin reborn, might even have an odd sort of claim to the Amyrlin Seat. After all, Lews Therin was the Amyrlin himself before he committed the most extreme version of hari-kari ever, and for all we know the laws of that time might not have made the Seat automatically pass to someone else upon the Amyrlin's death. In that case, Rand would simply state that he already was the Amyrlin, and proceed to start barking out orders like General George S. Patton, foregoing the whole footwashing business altogether.

So, what would cause Rand to do such a thing? Is it the Two Rivers young prankster side of him coming back out for a moment, stealing Egwene's chair for a second just to upset her? I doubt it, but I'm sure plenty of fans of the series wouldn't mind Egwene being brought down a peg or two (judging from the forums, Egwene appears to be an extremely polarizing figure). More than likely, the disaster that will befall the White Tower will end up being placed at Egwene's feet, since she has taken a large percentage of the defensive forces of the White Tower with her to the Fields of Merrilor in an attempt to convince Rand not to break the seals. It goes without saying (which is why I'm typing it) that the fall of Tar Valon would be a huge loss for the forces of Light, not to mention that several important items are being safeguarded there. Should the attack be comprised solely of Seanchan troops, then Tuon would have a powerful edge in negotiations between the two (Rand would likely end up buying the Horn off her with another trinket that would be immensely valuable to her, but that's a story for a future blog). Should the Horn end up being stolen by the forces of the Dark, it would be a very bleak day for Rand and friends indeed.

Rand obviously would be very upset at Egwene for committing such a grievous transgression, and combined with the fact that Egwene would more than likely oppose the idea of Asha'man joining the ranks of the White Tower, it might be enough to make him so upset that he temporarily commandeers the Seat in order to help force the Aes Sedai to accept their new peers. Don't forget about the Dream that I quoted in part 1 of this entry, in which Egwene saw the window across from the Amyrlin Seat that had the ancient symbol of Aes Sedai (The Dragon's Fang mixed with the Flame of Tar Valon, making a yin-yang like symbol); this symbol is said to be the symbol under which the Dragon Reborn conquers. Egwene has been dreaming of an important confronation with Rand for some time, and instead of it being over the breaking of the Seals like most of us believe, it could in fact be a confrontation over the leadership of the new "Gray Tower" itself.

I have two more things to mention before I go. First, I'll ask you to please be nice when adding comments for this week's blog. As I mentioned before, Egwene can be a particularly polarizing figure, and if you have certain strong feelings about her, just try your best to keep it respectful. Second, I want to remind you that the JordanCon fundraiser is ending on December 1st. Go here if you would like to participate. With that, I bid you adieu for a couple weeks, and I'll send everyone warm, happy thoughts from the Bahamas!

Vandui', my vigorous visitors of Dragonmount! Welcome to yet another weekly installment of "It Works in Theory," the world-famous Wheel of Time focused theory blog that resides on Dragonmount. I only say world-famous, by the way, because some friends of mine recently doubted the popularity of my blog, and I figured that if I start hyping it more, then eventually it might actually become world-famous. So, get out and start spreading the word! But first, go ahead and read my disclaimer (and the rest of my blog, I suppose):

This blog is based on theories that will include facts and material from the latest books in the series, so if you have not read through Towers of Midnight, continue reading at your own risk! As always, take whatever I say with a grain of salt. After all, even though some of my ideas might seem completely spot on, other ideas used to be very popular as well and turned out to be completely false. The earth used to be thought of as flat, then it was the center of the universe and brontosauruses had two brains, and then there was intelligent life in the universe (obviously, we know that last one is completely ridiculous). Anything you see written down in black and white can't be taken for complete truth, and the world is all shades of gray anyway. However, if you read something in other colors, you can take that straight to the bank.

Okay, where shall we begin? Well, let me first say that some parts of what I speculate about today will more than likely not be any huge revelations, but some of the stuff that takes me there is somewhat interesting. I'm going to be partially discussing the fates of the two Towers today (no, not those two, Tolkien fans), the Black and the White. I'll be frank at this point: I think it's fairly evident that both Towers will not exist in the same environment or fashion that they did before. The Seanchan will be invading the White Tower soon in force and with the aid of Traveling, and the Black Tower has already been Foretold to be "rent in blood and fire" by Elaida in A Crown of Swords.

So, what does this mean for the fate of Randland as a whole, with the Last Battle looming and in the wake of Tarmon Gai'don? Well, let's first take a look at a couple of quotes:

The Dragon Reborn

"Epilogue"

 

And it was written that no hand but his should wield the Sword held in the Stone, but he did draw it out, like fire in his hand, and his glory did burn the world. Thus did it begin. Thus do we sing his Rebirth. Thus do we sing the beginning.

— from Do’in Toldara te, Songs of the Last Age, Quarto Nine: The Legend of the Dragon. Composed by Boanne, Songmistress at Taralan, the Fourth Age

Lord of Chaos

"Prologue"

 

The lions sing and the hills take flight.

The moon by day and the sun by night.

Blind woman, deaf man, jackdaw fool.

Let the Lord of Chaos rule.

—chant from a children's game

heard in Great Arvalon,

the Fourth Age

In this case, you can actually just ignore all the text, and instead pay close attention to the parts I bolded. Those are meant to be the cities in the Fourth Age that the quotes are taken from. Incidentally, you can find a great essay that covers all of the Fourth Age "prophecies" on our WOTFAQ by visiting this link. Does anything about their names look a little peculiar to you? Try breaking them down a bit. Taralan. Great Arvalon. Seems like both cities borrow part of their name from Tar Valon, the city in which the White Tower sits. This could be just a coincidence, but does it really seem like Robert Jordan would have had that much trouble coming up with names that sound a little more different than that? I think this could be a subtle hint as to what might end up happening with the White Tower.

The theme of sociological roles of gender has played a heavy part in the series, showing what might happen in a society where the power has shifted so greatly in favor of women. I'm not trying to make this a sexist grouping of thoughts by any means, by the way, but it's fairly obvious that things were better in the Age of Legends when men and women worked together to create absolute marvels. The Choedan Kal is just one of the incredible items they were able to create, and overall, society seemed to be flourishing during that time. Once the Breaking of the World occurred, however, the power shifted greatly in favor of women because of the general distrust of many towards men who could channel.

Unfortunately, the Aes Sedai over the past few thousand years have only succeeded in making this division and imbalance worse. Not only have they heightened the sexist attitudes throughout their society, but by creating separate Ajahs within themselves, they have prevented themselves from being more efficient in aiding the people of Randland. All this has helped create the perception many have when reading the books that the Aes Sedai are all a group of bickering old politicians, or worse. Personally, I find them to be a charming bunch of little old ladies who just so happen to have a few more tricks up their sleeves than most.

On the other hand, besides the fact that it is being controlled by a maniac in Mazrim Taim, the Black Tower is suffering because of its lack of checks and balances. It could benefit from the stricter bureaucratic nature of the White Tower. Unfortunately, I'm not really sure if it will have the chance to gain more stability since there will most likely be some kind of climactic confrontation in the last book. Knowing how well the Asha'man are trained in destructive weaves, I don't expect to see much of the Tower standing in the aftermath.

In fact, I see kind of a funny comparison that can be made between the White and Black Towers and the Republican and Democratic parties in the United States. The White Tower members are the elephantic Republicans, with their conservative policies and traditions. The Black Tower members are the burro-like Democrats, being a little more idealistic in nature, but lacking the organization to hold themselves together well enough.

So, what does this have to do with Taralan and Great Arvalon? Well, both the Aes Sedai and the Asha'man will need a new home once both of theirs are damaged. Doesn't it make sense for them to learn to coexist once again, build a new tower that they can share together, and work together once again in helping to aid the people of their land? Not a White Tower or a Black Tower, but instead a "Gray" Tower. If you say the name of one of the Fourth Age cities, it even seems to be some subtle foreshadowing of this society. Great Arvalon, Great Arvalon...Gray Tar Valon?

I imagine the new Tower will be built on the site the White Tower sits right now. The two cities I mentioned seem derived from Tar Valon, so it might be that the island of Tar Valon gets split in two in some kind of catastrophe, which would explain why two cities become founded with such a similar name. It could even be that they aren't both cities, but one has sprouted off the other. Perhaps the Gray Tower even gets its name because of the fact that the walls of the White Tower themselves might become stained with said catastrophe, be it an attack from Seanchan or Shadowspawn, or even an eruption of Dragonmount. Either way, the new Gray Tower would hopefully represent more of a university and learning center instead of the political entity that the White Tower represents. It would strive for advancement of society as a whole, instead of seeking to manipulate the nations of Randland to achieve its own ulterior goals. There is already a hint of Asha'man and Aes Sedai working together, which we see when Egwene visits Tel'aran'rhiod to meet with several allies:

Towers of Midnight

Chapter 14, "A Vow"

 

She folded her arms to wait. Perhaps Nynaeve would still come. If not, this wouldn't be the first time she had disappointed Egwene. A massive rose window dominated the far wall beyond the Amyrlin Seat itself. The Flame at the center sparkled, as if there were sunlight beyond, though Egwene knew those boiling black clouds covered all the sky of the World of Dreams.

 

She turned from the window, then froze.

 

There, set into the glass below the Flame of Tar Valon, was a large segment in the shape of the Dragon's Fang. That wasn't part of the original window. Egwene stepped forward, inspecting the glass.

 

There is a third constant besides the Creator and the Dark One, Verin's meticulous voice said, a memory from another time. There is a world that lies within each of these others, inside all of them at the same time. Or perhaps surrounding them. Writers in the Age of Legends called it Tel'aran'rhiod.

 

Did this window represent one of those, another world where Dragon and Amyrlin ruled Tar Valon side by side?

The window Egwene is referring to is the one that was constructed to hide the eyesore of a huge hole that was blown into the wall during the Seanchan attack. When it was built, however, it contained only the Flame of Tar Valon and didn't include the Dragon's Fang symbol like it did in her dream. At the Thirteenth Depository, there is a page that examines and discusses all of Egwene's Dreams, and it suggests that this is a symbol for how the world will eventually respect Asha'man on the same level as Aes Sedai. What if this vision should be taken more literally, however? Perhaps the ancient symbol of the Aes Sedai will be brought back once again and restored as the proper symbol that will unite both men and women once again. They will be united again, not just in channeling the One Power, but in wielding power and influence in general so as to help recreate the proper balance that existed in the Age of Legends. Now, if only we can get some true gender equality in our own world, then we'd really be on the right track to utopia!

Like I said, this might have not been some huge eye-opening revelation for some of you. Luckily, however, I decided to play some of my cards close to the chest this week and make this topic a two-parter. I can hear some of you groaning already! Don't worry, I'll make sure to make it worth the wait. Until next week, my fellow fans of fantasy, when we will cover "The Amyrlin's Anger".

Dia dhóibh, my deft disciples of Dragonmount! Welcome to another week of "It Works in Theory," Dragonmount's fun little theory blog in which I get to mess around. In case you hadn't noticed, we've changed things up a bit and you'll now be able to find me on Tuesday instead of Monday. I hope the alteration doesn't throw any of you off too much; personally, I'm kind of excited to get to change things up a bit. Hopefully, I'll be able to use this new-found energy to stand and deliver another entertaining entry for you today. And now, for this week's disclaimer:

This blog is based on theories that will include facts and material from the latest books in the series, so if you have not read through Towers of Midnight, continue reading at your own risk! All information contained in this blog is correct at time of publishing. Immediately following that moment, however, all bets are off. In fact, by the time you actually read anything here, it is most assuredly incorrect and completely false. There might be a brief window where the information can suddenly become correct again after being processed inside your cranium; unfortunately, this window usually passes without you realizing or even getting the chance to acknowledge it.

Alright, so the topic I thought we should cover this week is actually coming in from a personal request, and it's a topic I was happy to cover anyway, so we should be able to have some fun with it. We are going to be discussing the nature of the flaw that Cadsuane revealed to us in The Path of Daggers, when she told Rand that to wield Callandor safely, he would need to link with two women and relinquish control of the flows.

The Path of Daggers

Chapter 27, "The Bargain"

 

"What do you mean about Callandor?"

 

"It is flawed," she replied curtly, "lacking the buffer that makes other sa'angreal safe to use. And it apparently magnifies the taint, inducing wildness of the mind. So long as a man is using it, anyway. The only safe way for you to use The Sword That Is Not a Sword, the only way to use it without risk of killing yourself, or trying to do the Light alone knows what insanity, is linked with two women, and one of them guiding the flows."

So, the big question is, which two women? The thing is, so much can happen between now and then in the last book, that this is actually a tough issue to narrow down to two candidates alone. You know what that means: we get to do another list this week! I know, I know, that seems to be my thing lately, but honestly, even though I think I have a fairly good idea about who it may end up being, I don't want to miss the opportunity to write about some of the other candidates. To make things a little easier this time, I'll try to group the candidates together according to their likelihood that they'll end up being in the circle with Callandor. Some of the main attributes I'm looking at with these candidates are strength with the One Power, impact on the storyline so far, relevance to prophecy/foreshadowing, level of trust earned with Rand, and possible dexterity in being able to manipulate saidin through Callandor.

On the point of strength in the One Power, there is an extremely comprehensive and well-deduced ranking of female channelers within the series on The Thirteenth Depository, and you will probably see me reference this list when comparing strength in saidar. You can find a link to that article here: Saidar Strength Ranking.

Group A: The Really Dark Horse Candidates

Sharina Melloy

Just to refresh your memory, Sharina is the imposing old member of the Kin who joins the Salidar Aes Sedai in The Path of Daggers and quickly becomes an important member of the group when it comes to organizing novices and generally keeping the camp in order. The main reason I'm bringing her up is that the main front-runner candidates are often brought up because of their strength in the One Power, and yet Sharina is one of the strongest female channelers in the entire series. She at least has more potential than Nynaeve, who herself is already on par with the weaker female Forsaken. However, it doesn't seem likely that she'll take part in this circle, mainly because as powerful as she is, she'll more than likely be both organizing and Healing during the Last Battle, as this is where her true strengths lie.

Incidentally, there are only three female channelers that we know of who are stronger than or as strong as Nynaeve besides any of the Forsaken. Sharina is one, and I'll cover another later in this blog, but the third, Talaan din Gelyn, could possibly have a major role to play in the last book. She is a Windfinder for the Sea Folk and is said to come "very close" to Nyneave's strength, but based on the last we saw of her in Crossroads of Twilight, it appears she was kidnapped. It could be possible that she already was a Darkfriend, or she perhaps has been turned to the Shadow since then.

Egwene al'Vere

Egwene is certainly strong enough in the Power, and she's definitely had a major impact on the series so far. However, I don't find it likely that she'll be in the circle with Callandor. She'll probably be busy with a lot of other things in the last book, considering she IS the Amyrlin Seat after all. I wouldn't completely dismiss her, though, because she showed how capable she can be leading a circle when she defended the White Tower against the Seanchan attack, so she could bring something else to the table with her iron will and dexterity. That was with saidar, not saidin, but still.

Cadsuane Melaidhrin

This ancient battle-axe of an Aes Sedai wouldn't hesitate to get her hands dirty helping Rand whoop up on some Forsaken butt, and she definitely has a lot of advantages that others on this list lack. She has considerable strength in the One Power, being only one level below Egwene, but has FAR more experience with actual weaves and how to apply them than pretty much any other non-Forsaken channeler in the series. More importantly, she seems to have intimate knowledge of Callandor, since she was the one who uncovered the flaw in the first place. I actually feel somewhat hesitant putting her in this group, but I just don't see her as an obvious choice for the linking. Rand trusts her now, but there's still a weird vibe between the two of them, and she did mess up pretty badly letting the male a'dam slip into enemy hands. She seems to enjoy more of the advisor role now anyway, and I find it more likely that she'll be helping watch Rand's back during the encounter.

Group B: The Middle of the Pack

Towers of Midnight

Chapter 15, "Use a Pebble"

 

"Go to Egwene," Rand said, releasing her shoulder. "But when you can, I would like it very much if you returned to me. I will need your counsel again. At the very least, I would like you by my side as I go to Shayol Ghul. I cannot defeat him with saidin alone, and if we are going to use Callandor, I will need two women I trust in the circle with me. I have not decided upon the other. Aviendha or Elayne, perhaps. But you for certain."

Aviendha/Elayne Trakand

From the quote above, we see that Rand has decided that Nynaeve will definitely be one of the women in the circle (more on that later), but he also throws out Aviendha and Elayne as possible candidates for the second women in the circle. They both definitely have a ton of things that help make them good choices as potential candidates. They're both very powerful at channeling, basically equal to Egwene's strength. They both have unique talents regarding angreal that could possibly help in the situation. Elayne is able to create ter'angreal, and could probably craft an angreal as well if she tried hard enough. She seems to be particularly adept at studying the inner workings of ter'angreal, which allows her to replicate them; this could come in handy if she was allowed to study Callandor before the event. Aviendha has a Talent for being able to surmise the true purpose of a ter'angreal, so she too might be able to have slightly more understanding of the sa'angreal were she to be chosen. Obviously, Rand trusts them both completely. They could even be connected to the circle because of their relationship to the prophecies, which vaguely could be referring to a linking with Rand that turns out catastrophically.

And yet, they don't really seem to be front-runners. First of all, both of them could be busy with their own plotlines. Elayne is Queen to her people and might choose their safety over linking with Rand, and Aviendha could be seeing to the future of the entire nation of the Aiel. Second, Elayne is pregnant, and Aviendha could be pregnant by then as well. The last thing Rand would want during the fateful encounter against the Dark One is for Elayne or Aviendha to not be able to properly channel because of the difficulties that come with being pregnant and trying to hold onto the Source. Not just that, but because of their love for Rand, they might compromise the situation at an important moment, and Rand will probably realize this. Still, either one of them could very well be one of the women who link with Rand; it wouldn't surprise me too much since he already suggested it himself.

Tuon Athaem Kore Paendrag

Some of you might be thinking, "Huh?" Others might be sputtering in outrage, yelling, "You stole that from Terez!" Don't worry, calm down everyone, and I will explain. Terez did give me permission (as if that was necessary haHA!); in fact, I have proof: Terez acknowledges one of my posts. That's from a thread on our forums where other Dragonmount members are also discussing who the women who help to wield Callandor could be. Please feel free to join in on that discussion as well. Okay, now there's probably still a group of you who are confused, being that Tuon herself has never directly channeled in the series. It's already been revealed to the readers that any sul'dam also has the potential to learn how to channel, a secret that will eventually send great reverberations throughout the Seanchan Empire once it becomes more well-known. Tuon is described as a particularly skilled sul'dam who has worked her entire life refining her ability to control damane. In fact, she is the only sul'dam we've seen who is able to direct the weaves herself through the damane instead of commanding them to do it themselves. We know this because of the scene in Knife of Dreams in which Tuon controls Joline and Teslyn Sedai through a'dam that are placed on them before they can react, then attempts to send flows towards Mat. All of the channeling that is performed during this scene was done without any verbal commands.

So, we know that Tuon has the potential to channel, and possibly might even have a dormant spark in her. She more than likely wouldn't have a lot of strength once she did begin channeling, but strength might not be as big an issue as many think. After all, there would be PLENTY of raw strength in the One Power coming from Rand and Callandor itself. Tuon also has an interesting connection to the prophecies as well; it could be said that having her link with him could be a form of Rand "binding the Nine Moons to serve him" since Tuon is the Daughter of the Nine Moons. She also believes herself to have an extremely important role to play in the Last Battle, according to her interpretation of the Seanchan prophecies. She also might have a particular skill in leading a circle because of her skill as a sul'dam.

All that being said, I decided to put her in this group instead of the front-runners because it does seem to me that Tuon has some big marks against her. She still has to be forced to confront the fact that she can channel, and then would probably have to train somewhat to be able to get comfortable with channeling directly. Then there's the fact that after her impending second attack on the White Tower, it will be hard to believe that Rand will find it easy to trust her as much as he would need to in order to link with her. Also, she might be busy leading Seanchan troops into battle. She would be a nice surprise as one of the Callandor wielders, though.

Group C: The Front-Runners

Nynaeve al'Meara

We know from that quote I referenced that Rand has already asked Nynaeve to be one of the women in the circle with him; in fact, he's certain that he wants her to be one of them. We know he trusts her completely as well, and has already used her help before in similar circumstances during the cleansing of saidin. So, if her position is essentially guaranteed, why are we even questioning whether or not she'll be in the link? Well, as I said already, a lot can happen before that epic confrontation for which Rand will need Callandor. First of all, she could die, and should Lan end up dying himself, Nynaeve very well may want to die. She might just end up being preoccupied; perhaps she goes off to save Lan when Rand needs her, so he has to blow his whistle and sub in one of his replacements off the bench. Either way, there is enough reasonable doubt to speculate about others who might end up filling her place.

Alivia

Alivia is immensely powerful in the One Power; in fact, she is only second to Cyndane/Lanfear and might even be Cyndane's equal. Rand trusts her and she's been part of his inner circle for quite some time. The main reason that so many have her in mind as being one of the Callandor wielders is the vision Min had about her that told her Alivia would "help Rand die." If Alivia were to be in the link with Rand, there's a good many potential situations in which she could end up helping Rand die, be it to end his link with Moridin, or to stop Dark Rand 2.0 from terrorizing the countryside (it's not an official Despothera blog without a reference to Dark Rand 2.0). I also particularly like her in this role because of her ability to detach her emotions from the situation. She was a damane for 400 years and yet was still able to keep her individuality and free will intact, which is an incredible feat considering how sul'dam usually handle their charges. This ability to remain detached from the situation and still do what needs to be done could be what ends up saving the day at the right moment.

Lanfear(aka Cyndane, Mierin)

This is another addition to the list that might have some of you scratching your heads. After all, if you buy the epilogue scene at the end of Towers of Midnight completely at face value, I've got a section of bridge I'd like to sell you. In that scene, Mierin had somehow broken through to Rand's dreams and was pleading for his help, and seemed to be in immediate danger. Rand Therin Telamon feels somewhat compelled to rescue her, but you can't help but be skeptical. Ever since Lanfear was resurrected as Cyndane, she has voiced nothing but complete hatred for Rand and his cadre of women. They always say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and whoever first said that probably never read Lanfear's point of views in the Wheel of Time (the famous line is paraphrased from William Congreve's The Mourning Bride).

I covered the likelihood of Lanfear redeeming her soul and returning to the Light in a past blog, "No man can stand in the Shadow so long he cannot find the Light again". While it's definitely a possibility, I highly doubt that Rand will trust her enough for this task, or that Lanfear would be okay with linking with Rand and another woman. However, she does have some very strong things working in her favor. First of all, she is more than likely still the strongest female channeler in the world, and also has far more experience than pretty much anyone else when it comes to difficult weaves. More importantly, she is the ONLY one on this list who more than likely has actual experience guiding flows of saidin because during the Age of Legends, men and women were linked quite regularly. The biggest piece of evidence in my eyes, though, is the fact that right after hearing about Callandor's flaw from Cadsuane, the first woman he thinks of is Lanfear:

The Path of Daggers

Chapter 27, "The Bargain"

 

"...linked with two women, and one of them guiding the flows."

 

Trying not to hunch his shoulders, he strode away from her. So it had not just been the wildness of saidin around Ebou Dar that had killed Adley. He had murdered the man the moment he sent Narishma for the thing.

 

Cadsuane's voice pursued him. "Remember, boy. You must ask very nicely, and apologize. I might even agree, if your apology sounds truly sincere."

 

Rand barely heard her. He had hoped to use Callandor again, hoped it would be strong enough. Now only one chance remained, and it terrified him. He seemed to hear another woman's voice, a dead woman's voice. You could challenge the Creator.

That last part of the quote is referring to the comment Lanfear made to Rand about using the Choedan Kal's immense power to challenge the Creator himself (or herself) in The Shadow Rising.

Moiraine Damodred

In case Lanfear does end up being one of the women who link with Rand, it would truly be kismet if the other woman ended up being Moiraine. Both women have had a strong hand in influencing Rand throughout the series, one trying to guide Rand towards the Light, the other towards the Shadow. Plus, after their last confrontation which resulted in both of them being imprisoned in the Tower of Ghenji for a time, there could be some chances for truly epic moments of terse hostility between the two. Perhaps Moiraine could be some kind of balancing force against Lanfear, and she definitely has Rand's trust, so it could possibly work. It would work on a grand artistic level for sure, and likely satisfy many fans. There is also an absolutely brilliant caveat to the possibility of Moiraine linking with Callandor as well, and I shall preclude it with a memorable quote from the first book:

The Eye of the World

Chapter 13, "Choices"

 

"Is that the way you all feel? You are all eager to run off to Illian and forget about Trollocs, and Halfmen, and Draghkar?" She ran her eyes over them--that stony glint playing against the everyday tone of voice made Rand uneasy--but she gave no one a chance to speak. "The Dark One is after you three, one or all, and if I let you go running off wherever you want to go, he will take you. Whatever the Dark One wants, I oppose, so hear this and know it true. Before I let the Dark One have you, I will destroy you myself."

 

It was her voice, so matter-of-fact, that convinced Rand. The Aes Sedai would do exactly what she said, if she thought it was necessary. He had a hard time sleeping that night, and he was not the only one. Even the gleeman did not begin snoring till long after the last coals died. For once, Moiraine offered no help.

Should the body swap occur, and Dark Rand 2.0 spawn anew to become the Dark One's champion, I would put ALL of my money on a new linking of Callandor constituted of Moiraine, Alivia, and Narishma going out to take him down. Alivia would be an obvious pick to help Rand die, and Narishma would be the young dark man with a glowing object in his hand that Egwene sees in a dream in A Crown of Swords. Before writing this blog, I was fairly certain that the two women who linked with Rand would be Nyneave and Alivia. Now, I'm not so sure. I really get this strong feeling we're going to see some sort of body swap, and it just makes way too much sense for Moiraine to be the one who leads the circle that takes Rand down. So, perhaps she's part of the original circle as well, and is the first one to pick up the pieces after the disastrous encounter comes to fruition. Either way, now I really can't wait for the last book!

What's going on, my gifted guests of Dragonmount? Welcome to another weekly installment of "It Works in Theory," Dragonmount's theory blog, which I am proud to be able to espouse. It almost feels a little strange, getting back to a more regular schedule in terms of my blog. I feel like I should be taking another week off or something! I'm happy to say that I am greatly enjoying married life. Even though it doesn't feel altogether that different, I occasionally still become filled with an odd sort of exhilaration that I was lucky enough to find my better half. Okay, okay, I'll quit gushing and move on to this week's disclaimer:

This blog is based on theories that will include facts and material from the latest books in the series, so if you have not read through Towers of Midnight, continue reading at your own risk! "It Works in Theory" features theories and hypotheses from the The Wheel of Time and is intended for anyone who has enough free time on their hands to read it. Dragonmount does not condone the speculation performed and discourages anyone from either agreeing or disagreeing with the notions featured. Harrumphing and murmuring is allowed, however. Enjoy. (This was partially inspired from the Tosh.0 disclaimer.)

Last week, we covered the topic of marriage, specifically the one between Perrin and Faile. It seemed fitting to segway from such a romantic topic to.....babies! Not Perrin and Faile's offspring, however--no hairy, flying, falcon-wolf puppies or anything like that. Instead, we shall be discussing Aviendha's babies and their unusual traits and abilities. We were first introduced to the possibility of Aviendha's quadruplets in Winter's Heart:

Winter's Heart

Chapter 12, "A Lily in Winter"

 

Aviendha would have Rand's babies too. Four of them at once! Something was odd about that, though. The babies would be healthy, but still something odd.

There was a lot of speculation about this vision from Min. Many theorized that she wouldn't actually be having four babies, but that Min's vision was being thrown off by the Warder bond. We now know this to be false from Aviendha's trip through the glass pillars in Rhuidean in Towers of Midnight. Let's go ahead and examine that vision, but remember the part about something being odd in Min's vision.

Towers of Midnight

Chapter 49, "Court of the Sun"

 

She was Padra, daughter of the Dragon Reborn, proud Maiden of the Spear. She yanked her weapon from the neck of a dying Seanchan, then watched the rest flee through their gateway.

 

Light curse the one who taught the Seanchan Traveling, Padra thought. Even if their weaves aren't very elegant.

 

She was convinced that no living person understood the One Power as she and her siblings did. She'd been able to weave since she'd been a child, and her brothers and sister were the same. To them, it was natural, and all others who channeled seemed awkward by comparison...

 

...She wove a gateway--for her, it happened as fast as she could think. She held the One Power perpetually, even while she slept. She'd never known what it was like not to have that comforting, surging Power in the back of her mind. Others said they feared being consumed by it, but how was that possible? Saidar was a piece of her, like her arm or her leg. How could one be consumed by one's own flesh, bone and blood?...

 

...Padra and her siblings, as children of the Dragon, had become...something to the Aiel.

 

Not lords--that concept made her sick. But she was more than an ordinary algai'd'siswai. The clan chiefs looked to her and her siblings for advice, and the Wise Ones took special interest in them. They allowed her to channel, though she was not one of them. She could no sooner stop channeling than she could stop breathing...

 

...Padra bowed her head at the honor he showed her. She sat between Alarch and Janduin, her brothers. Though the four siblings were quadruplets, they looked very dissimilar. Alarch took more after their wetlander side, and had dark hair. Janduin was blond and tall. Beside him sat Marinna, their sister, small of build with a round face.

It seems fairly evident that the oddness in Min's vision has to do with the fact that all four siblings maintain contact with the One Power at all times. After all, her visions become blurry and hard to read when she's viewing someone holding onto saidar or saidin. The other part of the oddness might have something to do with their appearance; not only are they all described as dissimilar, but some of their features seem a little strange for children of Rand and Aviendha. This definitely doesn't seem to be a negligible detail; it is obviously something to which we should attach special notice.

Normally, I might reference a couple of other theories before establishing my own wacky ideas, but the good news is there are so many wacky and interesting ideas and proposals concerning this topic that I thought it might be a good idea to simply summarize all that I've read or heard about this, in no particular order:

* The Pattern Wills It *

Essentially, this theory states that Aviendha's babies are the way they are because baby, they were born this way. This theory states that the Pattern causes the abnormalities because there is a need for strong Aiel leaders and individuals after the Last Battle. I don't like this theory that much for a few reasons. First, it seems way too convenient, too much of a deus ex machina. Second, it doesn't seem to accomplish much because even with the wonder Dragon kids, the Aiel still suffer immensely in Aviendha's vision. Lastly, this doesn't seem to account for the dissimilarity in their appearances. I suppose it could be because having some of the siblings exhibit more wetlander type of features might help them serve as ambassadors for their people, but once again, if this is the case, it doesn't seem to work out well.

* Rand and Aviendha are Superparents *

I'm going to use this to cover any of the ideas that the unusual abilities simply come from the unique combination of Rand and Aviendha. They're both strong channelers, Rand is ta'veren, Aviendha has a unique Talent, etc. Even though this seems too simplistic, we can't discount it too easily because we really don't know much about what happens when two channelers have children. After all, male channelers have been hunted down and gentled for thousands of years, and Aes Sedai rarely marry anyway. The few glimpses we get of the Age of Legends don't shed any light on this issue.

Some have also speculated that Rand might have developed a kind of permanent link with the True Source, and that he is now in constant contact with the One Power, and this link passes down to the kids he has with Aviendha (he impregnated Elayne before "Veins of Gold"). This is derived from the confidence that Rand displays in both Far Madding when he should be cut off from the Source and in the White Tower when multiple Aes Sedai are holding his shield. I don't personally think this is valid; I think the remarks he makes in Far Madding have to do with his ability to also wield the True Power if needed (the obelisk ter'angreal there does not hamper anyone's ability to touch the True Power), and his confidence seems like a facet of his new post-"Veins of Gold" personality. It mainly seems like there's so much ambiguity with Rand's new Light-based powers that it encourages some to reach more than ever in an attempt to draw a conclusion.

There are some problems with this whole theory, however. It's never really hinted that there's anything particularly unusual about Elayne's babies. This isn't a deal breaker, however, because we know that Min doesn't see everything. In addition, genetics and how traits are passed down are obviously not an exact science. It could just be that Aviendha's kids got lucky in receiving a rare genetic trait. Once again, though, this theory doesn't address their dissimilarities.

* Something Happened to Aviendha During Her Trip Inside the Glass Pillars *

It's kind of self-explanatory. There's a possibility that Aviendha still has the twisted ter'angreal ring that Elayne gave her, and perhaps it interacted with the glass pillar ter'angreal inside Rhuidean. This happened once before when Egwene was first given the ring and subsequently went through the Acceptatrontm ter'angreal in The Dragon Reborn. A resonance occurred between the two ter'angreal, and this had some strange effects on her Acceptance test. While this is kind of an interesting idea, it's very vague in its application of how it would affect Aviendha specifically; not only that, but it smells too much of self-fulfilling prophecy.

* The Body Swap *

I just love when I get to bring the body swap theory back up again. I brought up the body swap idea way back in the second week of my blog, titled "Hand of Onyx". To sum up: Rand and Moridin swap bodies due to both their link and the possible interactions between Callandor and a supposed "Dark Callandor." In this scenario, Rand would continue living on in Moridin's body and then impregnates Aviendha. This is interesting in that it partially explains some of the irregularities in Aviendha's kids' appearances, but it doesn't really explain the peculiarities involving their ability to constantly hold onto the Source.

* Rand "Comforts" Aviendha from Tel'aran'rhiod*

This one is particularly wacky, but I still want to bring it up because I think it's actually getting closer to what might really be the best explanation. In this scenario, Rand dies during the Last Battle, but Aviendha takes a trip to Tel'aran'rhiod, where she sees Rand as he is a Hero of the Horn. Once she sees him they have one last rendezvous to help console Aviendha, and she leaves the dreamworld, but not without taking a "souvenir" from Rand. It's already suggested that although you may not affect the physical world from Tel'aran'rhiod, it is possible to carry over other things from the world, such as minor injuries. If it's possible to get scratched and take that with you when you wake up, who's to say you can't leave with a bun in the oven as well? As I said, I am somewhat fond of this theory, but mostly because of its capacity for humor. I, for one, would LOVE to see this happen, but only if we get to see a scene in which Tel'aran'rhiod Rand helps Aviendha sculpt a vase while "Unchained Melody" plays in the background (rest in peace, Mr. Swayze).

* Rand Gets Pulled from Tel'aran'rhiod, and This Has Unintended Consequences *

One of the ideas for how Rand can die and live again is that he dies at some point in the last book, most likely before any ultimate confrontation, and is then pulled out of Tel'aran'rhiod a la Birgitte in The Fires of Heaven. After being pulled out of the dreamworld, however, his body's physiology is no longer the same. In many instances this isn't relevant, but when it comes to procreating...I'll just say that I originally wanted to call this theory "Rand's Super Secret Love Juice Theory." As insane as this seems, it's obvious that being pulled from Tel'aran'rhiod is not natural, and it doesn't take a great leap to say that the body might act slightly differently when it hasn't been born. I mean, have we ever even seen Birgitte's belly button?

The nice thing about this theory is it can partially explain both peculiarities involving Aviendha's babies. Being that Rand would have a Tel'aran'rhiod-crafted semi-corporeal body, who knows how it might affect how his gametes would interact with Aviendha's? And you can pretty much throw out any Punnett squares in this example as well, since Tel'aran'rhiod Rand wouldn't have the same genetic line in my view. My favorite thing about this idea is something that someone who's been helping me with my blog lately said:

He (Rand) should probably stay away from Birgitte in that case, they would create Gods lol

The not so nice thing about this theory is that it is almost completely ridiculous.

* The Warder Bond *

I'll finish off the list with what I think is the most likely explanation. It springs off the last couple of theories presented here, basically having to do with Rand being pulled out from Tel'aran'rhiod. To save him, his three lovers would have to bond him just like Elayne bonded Birgitte. A complication arises when Aviendha participates in the ceremony, perhaps not realizing that she is already pregnant. We know that having unborn babies nearby during a bonding ceremony is supposed to be a no no from what the Wise Ones tell Elayne and Aviendha during their bonding as first sisters:

Winter's Heart

"Prologue"

 

"Were Melaine here," Monaelle said, her tone brisk but not unfriendly, "the babes she carried would be part of the bond between you and Aviendha, if the weaves brushed them. If they survived, that is; the unborn are not strong enough for this."

Terez wrote a good write-up covering the topic of Aviendha's babies, and she describes this notion very well in this link. Assuming Rand and Aviendha's babies would be strong enough to survive the bonding ritual, it's very easy to see how they would end up having such an intimate connection with the One Power. This theory also possibly explains the differences in the siblings' appearances later in life; since Min and Elayne would also be involved in the bonding ritual, their essence would be transmuted across to the embryos inside Aviendha's belly. After all, Janduin seems to have features that could be related to Elayne with the blond hair, and Alarch and Marinna seem to share traits that could come from Min.

With that, I'll end this week's blog. Thank you again for coming to enjoy it, and please leave comments to let me know what you think. Special thanks to Ithillian for all of her help with my blog the last few weeks!

Why hello, my witty habitué of Dragonmount! Welcome to another biweekly weekly (just kidding) entry of "It Works in Theory," Dragonmount's theory blog, in which this madman mysteriously gets the opportunity to muse on the topic of The Wheel of Time. Once again, I apologize for the absence of last week's blog. I do have a good excuse, though! I am ecstatic to say that I am now a married man! I'll allow some time for the applause and cheers to calm down. And now, for our weekly disclaimer:

This blog is based on theories that will include facts and material from the latest books in the series, so if you have not read through Towers of Midnight, continue reading at your own risk! I, Despothera, take you, my blog, to be my lawfully bonded assignment. Before these witnesses, I vow to put you off and delay writing you until the last possible moment. I take you, with all your strengths and weaknesses, as I offer myself to you, with all of my blog-related strengths and weaknesses. I shall bemoan you when you need to be written, and turn to you when I need an excuse to waste time online. You will take me in sickness and in health, or in whatever other state I might be in at the time, and leave me for better or for worse after you are written, till death do us part (or until my laptop gets thrown across the room).

Given that I did just get married recently, I thought it fitting to cover a theory related to marriage today. In fact, the specific theory we will be discussing today involves my favorite character, Perrin "Goldeneyes" Aybara, and his relationship to the Broken Crown. Alright, alright, zip it with all the abusive wife jokes! Faile and rolling pins aren't coming near each other in today's blog.

Okay, to catch everyone up, the first visions Min ever had about Perrin were described thusly:

The Eye of the World

Chapter 15, "Strangers and Friends"

 

"The strongest things I see about the big, curly-haired fellow are a wolf, a broken crown, and trees flowering all around him."

The first one is obvious; the last one might be hinting at Perrin's possible role in rediscovering the lost Talent of Singing. I covered this in my blog a few weeks ago (click here for the link). The second has to do with Perrin's relationship to Faile, who is second in line in the succession to the Saldaean throne. The royal seat is more commonly known as the Broken Crown, and Queen Tenobia is currently the one on whom the crown is bestowed. Faile's father, Davram Bashere, is also Tenobia's uncle, and because Tenobia does not have any spouse or heirs, he is first in line for the throne should Tenobia abdicate or meet her end.

There is some discussion regarding the alignment of Davram Bashere; some think he might be a Darkfriend. Evidence for this theory includes his attack on Rand during one of Rand's sparring sessions--an incident in which Davram claims not to recognize Mazrim Taim--and this particular quote, another one of Min's visions:

Crossroads of Twilight

Chapter 24, "A Strengthening Storm"

 

“You have to do something,” Min muttered, folding her arms beneath her breasts. “Logain’s aura still speaks of glory, stronger than ever. Maybe he still thinks he’s the real Dragon Reborn. And there’s something...dark...in the images I saw around Lord Davram. If he turns against you, or dies...I heard one of the sol­diers say Lord Dobraine might die. Losing even one of them would be a blow. Lose all three, and it might take you a year to recover.”

The quote about Davram reminds me a lot of Min's vision of Alivia. Her desire to protect Rand from all the dangers around him leads her to be somewhat paranoid of even his closest confidants, but her suspicions seem to be just that: paranoia. However, it still can be said to be a potential clue pointing to Bashere's potential scumminess. Oh boy, that last sentence makes me feel I've been playing too much mafia lately! (For anyone wanting to check out Dragonmount's mafia games, visit this forum.)

Now, for some reason, I see Tenobia going under the radar for everyone. Apparently, not too many people believe her to be a Darkfriend. This is kind of strange, because there is practically an orgy of evidence which might seem to implicate Tenobia as having given her soul to the Dark One. Davram himself is somewhat suspicious of her motives when she leaves the Blight undefended to come down and pursue Rand. Alviarin (Head of the Black Ajah) sends a Red (and most likely Black as well) Sister to control and eventually kidnap Tenobia (it seems like that sister, Memara, failed in her tasks). One of the most damning pieces of evidence is that she left a relative of hers--Vram Torkumen, a verified Darkfriend--in charge at Maradon. Ituralde's entire campaign would have met a much shorter end had the Saldaean captain Yoeli not rebelled against his orders and performed a coup on the Darkfriend leaders. Min also has an ominous vision about Tenobia:

Towers of Midnight

Chapter 51, "A Testing"

 

"Tenobia," Cadsuane said, "is a wildfire. Young, impertinent and reckless. Don't let her draw you into an argument."

 

Rand nodded. "Min?"

 

"Tenobia has a spear hovering over her head," Min said. "Bloody, but shining in the light."

The imagery of the shining light probably leads many to assume she will die a heroic martyr type of death, but the flip side is that it may turn out to be that her death ends up being good for the Light. The fact that the spear is bloody definitely seems to call for someone's death; whether it's hers or someone that she betrays or kills remains to be seen. The big pitfall to the idea that Tenobia might be a Darkfriend is that she looks Rand in the eyes after his "Veins of Gold" epiphany, yet isn't outed by Rand's new Ghostrideresque ability to stare down Darkfriends. This would seem to dispel the possibility of Davram Bashere being a Darkfriend as well, since he passes the Rand al'Thor Darkfriend Seeing Eye Test(TM).

The only thing I would say about this is that I don't know if we really know enough about the new abilities to completely understand all the nuances and subtleties of how they emerge with Rand. It might be that a Darkfriend with a strong enough will can stare Rand down without being outed as easily as another Darkfriend. Another wacky idea I had was that Tenobia might be a Darkfriend going rogue, as in trying to set her own agenda to betray her former masters. The bloody spear shining in sunlight might be her moment of redemption. Either way, it seems fairly clear that there is a strong possibility of both Tenobia and Davram Bashere dying in the last book, leaving the throne to pass down to Faile. Because Saldaea has a form of a joint monarchy in which the spouse of the King or Queen is almost an equal co-ruler, Perrin would essentially end up wearing the Broken Crown.

So, what effect does this have on the outcome of the Last Battle and the events leading up to and after it? Well, first of all, it gives Perrin another possible seat as a ruler in the world that will hopefully survive after the battle. The more lands that are controlled by stable leaders that have potential ties to the Dragon Reborn after the Last Battle, the better the chances of Randland surviving and being able to adapt to a new age. He promised Lieutenant-General Tylee Khirgan that he wouldn't revive the nation of Manetheren, and even though he did enact an alliance with Elayne that made him something of a Lord over the Two Rivers, he's still not the ruler.

I've also got a small, growing theory about the explanation to the cryptic "the north and the east must be as one, the south and the west must be as one" line which would involve Perrin representing the north. As ruler of Saldaea, he would have loose control over all four of the Borderlander nations because of their alliance in face of the coming struggles. Part of the usefulness in having Perrin sit the Saldaean throne might have something to do with how Randland can keep itself from being conquered by the Seanchan should they miraculously survive Tarmon Gai'don. The rest of that particular theory will have to wait for another time, as we have arrived at the end of my blog.

Happy one week anniversary, my love!

As Salaam Alaikum, astute affiliates of Dragonmount! Welcome to another weekly entry of "It Works in Theory," Dragonmount's very own theory blog written by the committee of me, myself, and I. Before we start, I wanted to apologize for the absence of last week's theory blog. I've been as busy as you can imagine with last minute preparations for my impending nuptials, a heightened number of band practices due to a new member joining, and other matters which made it impossible for me to finish in time for my deadline. As much as I wish that the lack of a column last week became a source of anguish and gnashing of teeth for my readers, I'm sure you ended up okay without it. In a weird way, part of me might even be glad there wasn't a column last week; I'm particularly proud of some of the ideas I will be putting forth this week, and I feel the heightened anticipation might actually enhance your enjoyment of today's blog. And now, after rebuilding all that momentum, let's go ahead and pump the brakes and get to this week's disclaimer:

This blog is based on theories that will include facts and material from the latest books in the series, so if you have not read through Towers of Midnight, continue reading at your own risk! Readers of "It Works in Theory" should be advised that their understandings of notions such as time, space, metaphysics, morality, logic, and grammar could be subject to completely different interpretations and definitions from a different relativistic perspective, and that those notions may or may not be stretched, stunted, discombobulated, or otherwise manipulated at any time without advance warning in accordance with the author's whims and desires.

Something occurred to me as I was reading through our forums the other day. For being pretty much the main bad guy in a series, Ishamael has a lot of fans. He appeals not just to fans who delight in how entertaining twisted and maniacal bad guys can be in a series, but to a larger proportion than one might expect in this situation. It's actually not too difficult to see why this may be, however. All one needs to do to consider how Ishamael/Moridin is different from other major antagonists or bad guys is examine the reasoning for why he decided to go to the side of evil, or to the Shadow.

The implication is made throughout the series that Ishamael made his decision not out of selfish impulses or desperation, but instead out of logic and reason. He was known for being a great mind and philosopher during the Age of Legends, and this inquisitive nature led him to question the nature of the world in which he lived. We know that the Wheel of Time describes a model of reality in which a cyclical expression of time is the norm, instead of the linear expression of time that we are used to. This is a direct reference to the source of the name of the series; in Hinduism, the concept of eternal recurrence is expressed with their own Wheel of Time.

The idea of history repeating itself throughout the ages in one giant cosmic joke rankled Ishamael, and soon enough, this annoyance grew to define him until he decided the only course of action that was right was to aid the Dark One so that the Pattern might be destroyed. Of all the Forsaken, he is the only one who carries no delusions as to what will happen should the Dark One win. He doesn't believe that, as one of the Great Lord of the Dark's most loyal servants, he will enjoy some lofty position of leadership in the Dark One's vision of a new world. He knows that, should the Dark One win, all existence will end.

The Gathering Storm

Chapter 15, "A Place To Begin"

 

"Is that what made you turn to his side?" Rand asked. "You were always so full of thoughts, Elan. Your logic destroyed you, didn't it?"

 

"There is no path to victory," Moridin said. "The only path is to follow the Great Lord and rule for a time before all things end."

Interestingly enough, many readers can actually relate to this point of view. For some reason, there exists a general aversion to the notion of eternal recurrence in today's day and age, especially in Western culture. And yet, the Wheel of Time has become one of the most popular fantasy series of its time, and one might say the central theme is the idea of eternal recurrence. The rings the Aes Sedai wear(which you can purchase for yourself and help support this site by visiting Dragonmount's store, depict a snake eating its own tail, which is an allusion to Ouroboros, an ancient symbol for eternal recurrence. There are seven Ages in the Wheel, just as it was theorized by some Kabbalists out of Judaism that there are seven cycles which repeat every few thousand years. Even the Seanchan spear that is displayed in one of the main Wheel of Time symbols might be an allusion to Stephen Hawking's theory of the Arrow of Time. Then, of course, we always have the famous opening paragraph to every book in the series:

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again…

I could go on and on about the parallels in the Wheel of Time to other theological concepts of time and eternity, but Linda over at The Thirteenth Depository has already covered that much further in detail than I could ever hope to do. To see her article on the eschatology of the Wheel of Time, please visit this link.

We should take a little bit more time to go further in depth into more of the ramifications and nuances of cyclical time. There is somewhat of a micro/macro element when you break it down; eternal recurrence can take place in different ways. Ages cycling after one another is one way, the rebirth of the soul is another. Like in many cases, it can be easier to understand the big picture by focusing on the smaller example in front of us. Reincarnation doesn't state that you will be reborn as the same exact person you were in your previous life; while certain traits may be shared, overall, both reincarnations are completely distinct individuals. Because of this difference, there is room for personal growth and development, just as there is room for regression and devolution. A pauper who plays his cards right may awake reborn as a pharaoh, but if he forgets the lessons he learned and distances himself from his cosmic goal, then he may be reborn as something even lower than the pauper.

This ebb and flow can take place on a larger scale as well. Even though time and history may repeat themselves, there is a chance for mankind and life in general to advance and progress or to retreat and regress in various cyclings of time. This still might not be quite enough to satisfy some, as it might appear that even with this capacity for progression, there is still a ceiling or limitation to how far things can go before things get reset. In linear views of time, the perception truly is "Infinity, and beyond"; the perception is that anything is possible and that nothing truly stands in the way of progress but the obstacles we set up ourselves. The funny thing is, while most find the model of time set up in the Wheel of Time to be foreign and not comparable to our own reality, they might be surprised how many ways eternal recurrence can be said to happen in our own world.

First of all, apart from the metaphysical aspect and consideration of the soul, the biological process in which molecules pass from organism to organism can be considered recurrence. Our bodies die, decompose, and break down into organic matter which can feed the soil we are buried in, which in turn feeds the grass, which in turn feeds the grazing antelope, all of which contributes to the great circle of life. I know, I know, first I go Pixar, then I pull out the Disney; I must be getting soft, right? Try living with a 4-year-old, and see if their programming preference doesn't rub off on you a bit!

Another great example occurs on the cosmological scale. I'll assume everyone's heard of the Big Bang Theory, even if you don't agree with the concept. Somewhat less well known, however, is the Big Crunch, which occurs once the universe reaches a "critical density level" and gravity begins to pull it back in on itself, reversing the Big Bang. Once it contracts into the singularity, the Big Bang is free to occur again, which is outlined in the Oscillating Universe Theory. Then there are phenomena such as deja vu, which gives us the feeling of having experienced a certain event or occurence before.

Cyclical time also has its place in literature as well, apart from theological texts, of course. I remember watching Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey for the first time and being mesmerized by the iconic music playing during the opening scenes. Some time later, I finally decided to look up the song and discovered it to be Richard Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathustra, which was inspired by a work from another famous German. And thus, I was introduced to Friedrich Nietzsche. His work, Thus Spoke Zarathustra (Also Sprach Zarathustra in original German pronunciation), is particularly relevant to today's discussion. It features a prophet named Zarathustra who poses philosophical questions and raises arguments against long held notions of morality and ethics. Zarathustra is representative of the Persian prophet Zoroaster, who is credited with founding Zoroastrianism. Incidentally, Zoroastrianism is significant in that it was one of the first religions to predict a cataclysmic confrontation between good and evil in the future; this idea soon spread to other religions like Judaism and indirectly influenced Christianity and Islam.

In Thus Spoke Zarathustra, eternal recurrence is posed as a kind of existential quandary for which a solution might be sought. Nietzsche describes the idea as abhorrent, and the burden of having to live in such a world as incredibly heavy. His solution to how to live with this burden was amor fati, or love of fate. Basically, it involves a certain resignation to fate; the knowledge that you are doomed to eventually repeat the exact same life robs you of the desire to try and alter your role in life, so the best you can do is try and appreciate the irony. Your life may be considered a cosmic joke, but at the very least the Creator gets to use you to put on his cosmological mummer's farce.

Okay, at this point we've ventured fairly far from the Wheel of Time, so for those of you who haven't zonked out or navigated away from the blog, I'll get to the point. You may or may not have thought about this before, but it's hinted at in the series that the world of the Wheel of Time is actually our own. In fact, Robert Jordan has confirmed this to be true in a few different Q&A sessions:

Second AOL Chat October 1994

 

Q: I was wondering if you could comment on some of the clues that Randland (as we call it) seems to be written as a future earth.

 

Robert Jordan: Time is a wheel. If you look in one direction, you are looking at the past. If you just turn around and look in the other direction, you are looking at the future. The books are set in our future and in our past, depending on which way you look.

AOL Chat #1 - 27 June 1996

 

Scotty1489: Is our earth a future or past turn of the Wheel?

 

RJ: Both. The characters in the books are the source of many of our myths and legends and we are the source of many of theirs. You can look two ways along a wheel.

So, Jordan is proposing that the cyclical model which is used for the Wheel of Time is actually the same model in which we exist in reality. Epic fantasy series have an interesting place in theories about eternal recurrence in our world. There are many people who believe that mankind has already risen and fallen, that our technology has shot upwards just to fall back again. I can hear you scoffing from here, but it might not be as crazy as you think. One of the pieces of evidence is the Great Sphinx, the ambiguous statue located right by the Great Pyramids of Giza, and how the head just doesn't fit the body or how the body appears to be much older than the Pyramids themselves.

The pyramids themselves are a miraculous feat in engineering that to this day perplexes modern engineers, as it doesn't seem they should have had the technology back then to construct them as mathematically precise as they did, and as quickly. For that matter, there are several ancient enigmas, such as Stonehenge and others. Embedded in this theory is Atlantis (which would have been destroyed before civilization is believed to have started) and even the Great Flood in the Bible (for more info on that, visit this link). Proponents of this theory even speculate that stories like The Lord of the Rings might not be based completely on fiction but might have some roots in one of the past cycles.

Some of the belief systems that postulate eternal recurrence also postulate that reality is actually an illusion, and that only by departing from this illusion can we achieve "freedom" from the cycle. In Buddhism, this requires meditation and the tuning out of worldly trappings and concerns. In the Wheel of Time, however, people in general do not seek to "escape" from the Wheel. In fact, when they swear, they swear by "hope of salvation and rebirth," which means they want to keep being reborn. The exception to this involves the people of Tremalking, the Amayar, who believe that as the Last Battle approaches, the "Time of Illusion" comes to an end. They actually anticipate this event because they look at the illusion of the reality of rebirth as being a harsh and undesirable fate.

The Path of Daggers

Chapter 2, "To Keep The Bargain"

 

The Amayar ignored the world beyond their scattered islands, for the Water Way taught that this world was only illusion, a mirrored reflection of belief.

So, would it really be that bad to live in a world in which history repeats itself? Are we so much better off, assuming our reality is based on a linear expression of time? It's true, we as a species have progressed to an amazing level, but at what cost? In spite of all our advancements, starvation is still a serious threat for many. We are altogether too efficient at killing one another with our advanced weaponry. The planet's health is failing, and all of our scrambling to help protect it may still not end up being enough. As a species, our reach has always extended our grasp. Perhaps that's one of the inherent problems with linear time, or at least our role in it. We recklessly plow ahead in the name of progress even when it isn't prudent to do so.

Let's assume for argument's sake that the world Jordan created is also our world. How do we cope with the trauma that is cyclical time?! Do we assume the nihilistic view, and not strive to change anything because there is nothing to change and no point in resisting? Should we seek to escape the repetition by trying to empower those who would destroy the system? Should we listen to Nietzsche, and try to adopt amor fati?

I have a different alternative. Maybe there are some downsides to the cyclical model, but life itself seems to be underrated by many. Perhaps we can't see the purpose in wiping the slate clean every so often, and it's easy for us to paint the world of the Wheel of Time as being a cosmic farce doomed to repeat itself for eternity, or until the Dark One wins. That doesn't change the fact that the Pattern's existence makes it possible for everything else to exist. All the creatures, all the foliage, all the good guys, all the bad guys, all the relationships and connections people are able to make, all of the details which many pass over but some appreciate and admire like the fine little pieces of art they are, all of life itself. No, I don't think one needs to have love of fate, but rather love of life. We don't need any other purpose but living life just for the opportunity, for life itself. Amor vita.

Shalom, my perspicacious patrons of Dragonmount! Welcome to another week of your favorite Dragonmount front page blog, "It Works in Theory." I almost feel lazy in choosing the topic for today's entry, since it's a subject that came up in the comments of last week's blog. I'll go ahead and warn you right now--we're going to be getting our hands dirty today. Before we begin, here's our weekly disclaimer:

This blog is based on theories that will include facts and material from the latest books in the series, so if you have not read through Towers of Midnight, continue reading at your own risk! The odds of there being any truly insightful material in "It Works in Theory" are approximately 1 out of 153,294,586. Please read responsibly. Think of the time spent reading and hoping to glean actually useful information from the blog as the cost of your entertainment. Think of actually finding said information as a bonus. Expect not to read anything useful; odds are there won't be anything of note worth reading about. Don't read to win back lost time. The more you try to recoup lost time, the more you will lose.

Today, we'll be discussing the nature and method involved in the cleansing of the Taint and its relationship with Shadar Logoth. There seemed to be somewhat of a divide over this issue. It essentially boiled down to two different perspectives:

1. The only place Rand could have cleansed the Taint was at Shadar Logoth, because of Mashadar's ability to counter the Dark One.

2. Mashadar didn't help contribute to the cleansing. Rand could have done it anywhere but figured by doing it at Shadar Logoth he'd kill two birds with one stone when the aftermath destroyed the surrounding area.

First, let's examine the nature of the relationship between the evil of the Dark One and the evil of Mashadar. There is a great quote right before the cleansing begins that describes the relationship very aptly.

Winter's Heart

Chapter 35, "With the Choedan Kal"

 

The male and female halves of the True Source were alike and unalike, attracting and repelling, fighting against each other even as they worked together to drive the Wheel of Time. The taint on the male half had its opposite twin, too. The wound given him by Ishamael throbbed in time with the taint, while the other, from Fain's blade, beat counterpoint in time with the evil that had killed Aridhol.

Rand has been corrupted or tainted with his own double dose of evil presences, once when Moridin pierced his side in The Great Hunt, and the other when Padan Fain cut him with the ruby dagger in A Crown of Swords. Even before the amazing Ashaman Healer Flinn isolated both wounds together, the two evils seemed to exist in counterbalance, both diametrically opposed to one another.

There's also a strong precedent for Mashadar and the forces of the Shadow having it out for each other: The citizens of Aridhol essentially created Mashadar to somehow counter the evil power of the Dark One, even though they knew its origins were spawned from other questionable sources. Then there's the way Mashadar seems to be attracted to Shadowspawn, and the way that Shadowspawn seem to be attracted to the evil in the ruby dagger that Mat carries for a time. If you visit the WOTFAQ, there's a great article that examines some of the questions involving the cleansing of the Taint and the relationship between Mashadar and the Taint.

So, why don't the Mashadar taint and the Dark One's taint destroy themselves in the wound in Rand's side? And how does it make sense to use Mashadar to filter the taint out of saidin, when this seems analogous to using an oily rag to clean up a stain on the carpet? Well, my theory is that even though the separate corruptions are isolated together, they are still reacting more strongly to Rand and his ta'veren nature than they are to each other. They both hate each other, but they share the same strong aversion to Rand. He also struggles so obstinately against evil, which might actually be keeping the two forces from starting to destroy each other.

As for the oily rag metaphor, the important thing to remember is the mechanics of the filter he set up to cleanse saidin. It was constructed almost purely out of saidar, and its use of Mashadar existed in somewhere to deposit the befouled substance of the Taint. Because of the way Mashadar and the Dark One's influence seem to attract one other, Shadar Logoth acted like a big magnet to help draw the Taint in. It's almost similar to the way you would dispose or neutralize an acid spill. Using something pure and non-acidic, like water, won't do much but dilute the acid somewhat. Introduce a basic (above 7 on Ph scale, whereas acids are below 7 on the scale) to the mixture that is the mathematical antithesis to the acid and the two substances balance each other out. The actual process of how Mashadar and the Taint destroy each other is probably more like the instantaneous annihilation of particles that occurs when matter and anti-matter come in contact with each other, but we have to remember we're talking about a theoretical confrontation between two supernatural sources, so a simple and perfectly fitting real-life analogy won't be easy to find.

For those wanting to see more explanation of the process used in the cleansing of the Taint, there is a site known as "Thus Spake the Creator" in which Robert Jordan answers questions that readers have posed to him over the years. One category in the site encompasses any issues involving the One Power, the True Power, and channeling. If you go about halfway down the page, there is a long paragraph devoted to an explanation Robert Jordan gave someone who was wondering exactly how saidin was cleansed. Jordan describes it as being similar to siphoning off another liquid, so in that analogy, imagine you just pumped a lot of bad gasoline into your car's fuel tank and you need to extract all the bad gasoline out so it doesn't harm the engine. Let's imagine in this hypothetical scenario that bad gas is attracted to filthy old motor oil. If you insert a tube into the fuel tank and start the suction just enough to get the gas to start flowing into a container holding the motor oil, you then have to just sit back and allow the oil to continue drawing in the imperfect gasoline from the fuel tank.

There's still a few loose ends in this issue, at least regarding the relationship between Mashadar and the Dark One's influence. We know that the Taint is gone, yet the Taint itself wasn't a completely abnormal occurrence. In a letter to Paul Ward in March of 2000, Robert Jordan sheds some light on this issue (here's the link to the transcript of the letter):

Letter to Paul Ward, March 2000

 

Q: (paraphrased) Is the DO pure TP? Why does the Creator ignore Randland except to talk to Rand at the end of TEotW?

RJ: No, the Dark One is not pure True Power. Who says the Creator takes little interest in the activities of mankind? And I will neither confirm nor deny that the Creator spoke to Rand.

 

RJ: The taint and the True Power are both manifestations of the Dark One--they are the same substance, but those who access it are not destroyed in the same way.

We also know that Mashadar is gone as well for the most part, except for what escaped into Fain's body, and the part located in Rand's wound. My question is this: what will be the role Mashadar, and Fain specifically, will play in the Last Battle? I've always felt Fain as a character reminded me a lot of Gollum from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. His gaunt, ghastly appearance, the way he's always slinking around following the main characters, the way he clutches his dagger like his very own precious...what if he ends up playing a similar role in Rand's final confrontation with the Dark One as Gollum did at the end of that series? He shows up, determined to use his last attempt to take down either Rand or the Dark One, and inadvertently ends up helping to save the day.

Another situation when I can see the relationship between Mashadar and the Dark One having some significance is in the prophesied letting out of Rand's blood on the rocks of Shayol Ghul. This has to do with my theory concerning the importance of Rand's blood, which is still being fleshed out somewhat, so I'll leave that for another day. For now, I shall have to bid you adieu, and leave you with one of my favorite quotes in the series, at the very end of Winter's Heart:

Winter's Heart

Chapter 35, "With the Choedan Kal"

 

Night fell. On the hilltop, the wind blew dust across the fragments of what had once been a ter'angreal. Below lay the tomb of Shadar Logoth, open to give the world hope. And on distant Tremalking, the word began to spread that the Time of Illusions was at an end.

Cheers, tenacious transients of Dragonmount! Welcome to another weekly installment of "It Works in Theory," Dragonmount's theory blog headed by none other than myself. I've been looking forward to covering the topic of this week's blog for quite some time, so without further ado...actually, let's have a little more ado with our disclaimer:

This blog is based on theories that will include facts and material from the latest books in the series, so if you have not read through Towers of Midnight, continue reading at your own risk! The contents of "It Works in Theory" have been gathered, formulated, and written under extreme pressure and should be considered extremely volatile, highly flammable, and very likely to incite serious fervor and debate. Never puncture or incinerate the blog, and do not expose it to prolonged sunlight or store it in temperatures exceeding zero Kelvin.

Alright, so this week's blog is going to take a slightly different approach, but I have a good feeling many will still be excited about the subject matter. We are going to be discussing the Forsaken, particularly their relation to a famous line repeated a few times throughout the series, beginning in the very first book:

The Eye of the World

Chapter 47, "More Tales of the Wheel"

 

No man can stand in the Shadow so long that he cannot find the Light again.

This quote has been bandied about many times, and it very well could be foreshadowing for an event that happens in the next book, The Great Hunt. Near the end we find out that Lord Ingtar, a Shienaran warrior from House Shinowa, is actually a Darkfriend moments before he sacrifices himself to help save Rand and hopefully redeem his soul somewhat for the dark deeds he has committed. Indeed, he even mentions this line right before charging out to meet the Seanchan and crying out "The Light, and Shinowa!" a bunch of times (I always loved that battle cry; it's almost like he throws in "and Shinowa" as an afterthought). For now, though, let's go ahead and assume the quote might be foreshadowing a much bigger event: the redemption of one, or possibly more than one, of the Forsaken.

We'll examine them one by one, and speculate as to the likelihood that they will turn back to the Light in the last book, or would have if they were still alive. To simplify things somewhat, we'll base the likelihood they redeem themselves on a scale of 1-10, 1 being there's no way they turn back, 10 being they're assured to rejoin the forces of the Light. I'm not going to include any more quotes, since I don't want to strain my readers' eyes too much, and because much of this hypothesizing comes from Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson quotes as well as The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time, alongside characterizations of them gained throughout the entire series.

Aginor (AKA Osan'gar, AKA Dashiva)

Age of Legends name: Ishar Morrad Chuain

Age of Legends occupation: Biological Scientist

Aginor was both brilliant and extremely powerful in the One Power, being lower in strength only to Lews Therin Telamon and Ishamael, and possibly Lanfear. He chose to turn to the Shadow because his interest in experimenting with animals was discouraged by the forces of the Light; it was only after turning to the Dark One that he was able to begin to create Shadowspawn. His creations include Trollocs, Myrddraal, Gholam, Jimura, Draghkar, and others. One of the first of the Forsaken to be released from the Bore, he was also one of the first to be killed when he confronted Rand at the Eye of the World. He was resurrected again, only to be vaporized by Callandor at the cleansing of saidin in Winter's Heart.

He doesn't have the most rock-solid reason for originally joining the Shadow, but at the same time, his intentions weren't exactly noble either. He doesn't strike me as particularly sadistic; he does what he does out of his love to seek out new discoveries. They are discoveries that have the potential to kill millions of men, true, but hey, all in the name of science, right?! If given the choice, I doubt he'd ever relinquish his love for the dark side of research, and it's doubtful it will ever be considered kosher to experiment on animals in Randland. I know Bela wouldn't allow it.

Verdict: 2 out of 10

Balthamel (AKA Aran'gar, AKA Halima)

Age of Legends name: Eval Ramman

Age of Legends occupation: Historian

Balthamel was also one of the first Forsaken we meet on screen and suffers an even more embarrassing death at the hands of the Green Man, Someshta, when he's crushed to death. He was drawn to the Shadow simply for the promise of immortality, which is somewhat amusing considering he dies more than most characters in the books. He is reputed to have a great temper; in fact, it was this temper which is said to be the reason he didn't achieve an honorary third name.

As Eval Ramman, he was a womanizer and was known for being a gambler. When he is transmigrated into a female body known as Aran'gar (using Halima as his/her alias), his cruelty and fickleness shine. Generally speaking, those who gamble like to play the odds, so it is possible that under the right circumstances he would chance the Great Lord of the Dark's wrath and turn back to the Light. That being said, his temper and unpredictable nature make it unlikely he would stay in everyone's good graces that long.

Verdict: 3 out of 10

Sammael (AKA Lord Brend, AKA Mashadar meat)

Age of Legends name: Tel Janin Aellinsar

Age of Legends occupation: Athlete, Sportsman

Sammael is the jock of the Forsaken. He prides himself on his physical prowess (he is one of the best swordsmen who ever lived) and keeps his frame well sculpted so he can admire his glutes in the mirror. His main reason for turning to the Shadow was his hatred of Lews Therin. Considering himself to be one of Lews Therin's chief rivals, it's very doubtful he'd ever consider rejoining the Light with Lews Therin still on that side. It's also somewhat amusing that all his training and formidable physical gift meant nothing when it came to escaping Mashadar. I really don't think Sammael is smart enough to realize it might have been best to join the Light.

Verdict: 1 out of 10

Be'lal (AKA High Lord Samon)

Age of Legends name: Duram Laddel Cham

Age of Legends occupation: Lawyer

We can probably stop right there; everyone knows being a lawyer is one of the seven deadly sins. Just to go through the motions, though... He was known as the Netweaver for his ability to manipulate situations and create finespun webs of deceit and malice. Usually, someone who thinks he is especially skilled at manipulation thinks he can plan for anything; we saw in The Dragon Reborn that Be'lal was drastically wrong in his preparations and eats balefire for it. Even were he to choose to switch to the forces of Light, he most likely wouldn't be truly committing anyway and also wouldn't be trusted.

Verdict: 1 out of 10

Mesaana (AKA Danelle Sedai)

Age of Legends name: Saine Tarasind

Age of Legends occupation: Teacher

Mesaana is unique among the Forsaken in being the only one who wasn't a remarkable standout in her field. She was rated average and assigned to a teaching job even though she preferred more of a research position. This constant feeling of being undervalued helped lead her to the Shadow; she wanted revenge on those who doubted her ability. She taught propaganda to young students in order to turn them against their society and their parents. If she still had a fully functioning brain, she would be one of the least likely candidates to willingly turn back to the Light, but it's possible that after many simple lessons, she might learn to stop drooling over herself long enough to grasp that "being nice is good."

Verdict: 4 out of 10

Semirhage (AKA Anath Dorje, Tuon's Truthspeaker)

Age of Legends name: Nemene Damendar Boann

Age of Legends occupation: Physician, Restorer

Now this one is one bad mamma jamma. She is one of the Forsaken I can look at and easily guess she was evil long before turning to the Shadow. A particularly cruel sadist, she found her calling in the position of Restorer because it gave her such great opportunity to practice her wicked experiments on willing patients. She brags of how much she has learned of the ability to get anyone to do her bidding if enough pain is enacted. When she is discovered to be committing these atrocities, she is left with either the choice between criminal binding or being severed from the Source; she promptly chooses to roll with the Dark One. Of all the Forsaken, I feel she comes closest to delivering the biggest blow to the forces of Light. Had she succeeded in forcing Rand to kill Min in The Gathering Storm, it's very likely he would have been unable to prevent his own descent into madness afterwards and the Light would have lost.

Verdict: 1 out of 10. Ain't no way.

Rahvin (AKA Lord Gaebril)

Age of Legends name: Ared Mosinel

Age of Legends occupation: Military General, Governor

Rahvin is considered another master manipulator, known for using compulsion subtly but often to ensure he has complete control of the situation. He has a weakness for self-centerdness, though, and seems over-confident in his abilities to control everything around him. He is similar to Be'lal in that I doubt either one could ever truly be sincere in trying to turn back to the Light. Then again, he does seem more prone to panic than Be'lal, and might do whatever he can to keep from being killed.

Verdict: 2 out of 10.

Demandred (AKA King Rhoedran--okay, maybe that's not confirmed yet, but really, it's kind of the only one that would make sense)

Age of Legends name: Barid Bel Medar

Age of Legends occupation: High ranking public official, General

Demandred had the extremely bad luck of being born in the same age as Lews Therin Telamon. Were it not for the Dragon, Demandred would have been the most prominent, most powerful figure in the Age of Legends. Born literally one day after Lews Therin, no matter what he accomplished in life, Lews Therin was always there doing it better. His jealousy grew into something so much more than the common variety experienced by the masses; it was the most bitter, intense rivalry that itself ended up pushing Demandred to the Shadow. He also seems to have a bigger gripe than even Sammael, and he's still around to possibly be the one who can help take down the Dragon Reborn.

He's done a much better job of staying in hiding than many of the other Forsaken, and thus has been able to build his plans for longer and set who knows how many dreadful gambits in motion. I suspect we will be seeing a lot from him in the last book. Besides the fact that there really wouldn't be enough time for him to turn back now, I think Demandred's hatred for Lews Therin is so deep-seated he will never be able to turn away from the Shadow.

Verdict: 1 out of 10

Moghedien (AKA Gyldin, AKA Marigan, AKA one of Moridin's cour'souvra bondees, AKA Shaidar Haran's plaything)

Age of Legends name: Lillen Moiral

Age of Legends occupation: "Advisor for Investments" (basically a Wall Street Trader)

Ah, the Spider. She is an interesting one because she has gone through the largest metamorphosis of any of the Forsaken. We all know she started out as extremely cautious; she only acted when she felt completely safe from any recourse. Somewhere along the line, though, Nyneave happened. The level to which Nyneave completely owned Moghedien, forcing her to train powerful channelers on the side of the Light, completely flipped Moghedien's world upside down. Once she was freed, she still had to answer for her ineptitude and became one of Moridin's mindtrapped semi-slaves.

Now that she isn't quite so timid, you get a sense she is much more quick to panic, quicker to act, and much more desperate. This is demonstrated by her attack on Nyneave in A Crown of Swords. I feel that desperation actually works against the likelihood she'll turn to the Light; even if she thought there was a chance she might be captured again, she would be sure to flip out and try to take out as many as she could with her as she died.

Verdict: 3 out of 10

Asmodean (AKA Jasin Natael)

Age of Legends name: Joar Addam Nesossin

Age of Legends occupation: Composer, Musician

This male Forsaken had by far the strangest reason for turning to the Shadow. He grew up a child prodigy, and many around the world expected great things from him, seeing his potential. He didn't quite fulfill this potential, though, and this left a bad taste in his mouth. When given the opportunity to gain immortality through linking with the Dark One, Asmodean accepted, thinking that with more time he could end up fully realizing his potential.

He was beaten in the confrontation with Rand al'Thor in The Shadow Rising and bound by Lanfear in order to deliver to Rand the perfect tutor. Once captured, however, it became obvious that the evil that existed in Asmodean in no way compared to the evil inside the likes of Semirhage. I couldn't find the quote amidst all the "who killed Asmodean" questions for the author, but I do remember hearing that Robert Jordan confirmed that Asmodean had indeed turned towards and was walking in the Light.

Verdict: 9 out of 10 to play it safe

Graendal (AKA Lady Basene)

Age of Legends name: Kamarile Maradim Nindar

Age of Legends occupation: Psychologist

How very fitting for us to next visit (Spoiler Alert!) Asmodean's killer. Graendal held an impressive position in the Age of Legends; she was world-renowned for her ability to cure madness of the mind. Before she turned to the Shadow, she lived a very ascetic type of lifestyle, preferring modesty and simplicity over extravagance. Something clicked inside Graendal, however, and she soon abandoned all notions of conservatism or modesty and filled the gap with extreme hedonism.

Lately, though, she's had a lot go against her. Plans of hers have fallen apart left and right, and it's clear that the Dark One and Shaidar Haran are not happy with her. I could actually see her coming back to the Light if given the chance, both because she's desperate and because whatever shifted her viewpoint the first time might just shift back.

Verdict: 6 out of 10

Lanfear (AKA Daughter of the Night, AKA Selene, AKA Cyndane, AKA Silvie, AKA Keille Shaogi)

Age of Legends name: Mierin Eronaile

Age of Legends occupation: Researcher

And we start coming to the end of the list, not quite rounding it out with Lanfear, considered one of the most vile Forsaken, and the most attractive as well. One of the original members of the team that drilled open the Bore, she has had a central role in storylines throughout the series. It is assumed she died in the land of the 'Finns and was transmigrated into the body of Cyndane. Her reason for joining the Shadow is maybe one of the most classic themes in literature: "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." She was intimately involved with Lews Therin at one point before he broke off their relationship.

Many have actually speculated that Lanfear will be one of the Forsaken to betray the Great Lord of the Dark and turn to the Light. The big reason for a lot of this conjecture is the epilogue in Towers of Midnight, in which we see Rand dreaming about "Mierin" being in trouble. Personally, I just think this is another gambit of hers. She's seemed to change her way of thinking concerning Lews Therin, and would much rather be the one who gets to kill him than try and get him back with her again. It's still a possibility, though.

Verdict: 4 out of 10

And then we finally come to the Nae'blis...

Ishamael (AKA Ba'alzamon, AKA Moridin, AKA Heartfang)

Age of Legends name: Elan Morin Tedronai

Age of Legends occupation: Philosopher, Author

The baddest of the bad, the darkest of the dark, the Nae'blis, the maddest of the mad, the Betrayer of Hope himself. If Rand al'Thor is the Champion of the Light, then Moridin is almost assuredly the Champion of the Dark. Ishamael has been poised to be the Shadow's best chance of foiling the Dragon Reborn the whole series, and in his mind for the entire infinite history of the Wheel of Time, so there's no chance he converts to the forces of the Light, right?

Not so fast, Mr. Hotfoot. Let's take a second to look this over. It appears the main reason Ishamael first turned to the Shadow (and he was the first by the way) was an existential quandary. Unlike many of his peers, he saw no glory or benefit in the promise of immortality. Instead, he was actually searching for an end to what he thought was a cosmic joke being played on all the citizens of the world of the Wheel of Time. Endless turnings of the wheel with no differences, no growth, no lessons learned--all that held no interest for Ishamael.

Incidentally, Rand himself actually experiences this same internal conflict during the famous scene "Veins of Gold" in The Gathering Storm. He almost comes to the same conclusion his dark counterpart comes to, but at the last second has a sudden epiphany of what makes it all worth it: love. What does this have to do with Ishamael? Remember, there is a very real link between the two, and foreshadowing has hinted of either a merger or swap between the two since the very first book. During said transfer of souls and/or minds, maybe Ishamael will suddenly be able to see what he's been missing out on all these millenia. This fresh new perspective helping Ishamael to return to the Light might even be one of the keys to helping the forces of Light win.

Verdict: 8 out of 10

Alright, folks, 'till next time! As always, comment and tell me what you think. If you have any ideas for good theories for us to potentially discuss, please send me a PM or email me at hazelkrs110@hotmail.com.

Ni Hao, die-hard devotees of Dragonmount! Welcome to another weekly installment of "It Works in Theory," Dragonmount's theory blog, in which I get to unload all my various rambling! As you've probably noticed, Dragonmount's front page has been very busy lately, and we're also celebrating our birthday, so check in often just to make sure you don't miss out on any updates or announcements. To help alleviate the extra traffic, please visit our store and buy stuff so we can continue giving you such a great place to revel in your Wheel of Time fandom! And now for our disclaimer:

This blog is based on theories that will include facts and material from the latest books in the series, so if you have not read through Towers of Midnight, continue reading at your own risk! Side effects of reading "It Works in Theory" may include abnormal dreams, anxiety, dizziness, drowsiness, dry mouth, flu-like symptoms, flop sweat, night chills, loss of appetite, the "itis," increased appetite, loss of limbs, and severe abdominal distensions. Should any of these side effects not occur, please consult a physician immediately as your eyesight probably needs to be checked.

I'm particularly excited about today's entry. We shall be discussing the Seanchan and their role in the Last Battle. I was always fascinated by the Seanchan, but became even more transfixed with them once I found out their accents were supposed to be somewhat Texan sounding. Here's the link to the old WOTFAQ concerning nations and their real life counterparts. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see a list of some of the accents Robert Jordan imagined each nation to have. I'm from Texas myself (even though I don't have much of an accent), so I was very happy to see the quote by Johan Gustafsson and decided to use it for the title of this week's blog.

Okay, so where to begin? We know the Seanchan have attacked the White Tower once and are planning a second, larger attack. We know Tuon resisted Rand's ta'veren pull when he tried to intimidate her into submission. This means the Seanchan must be dealt with in some way before the forces of Light face the forces of Shadow, unless they want a two-pronged war that would most likely help the chances of the forces of Shadow winning. We have a good idea that the Seanchan practice of leashing damane may soon be changing, in light of the recent revelations concerning their handlers, the sul'dam, and their potential in being able to learn to channel themselves. This last little tidbit has potentially dire consequences which will threaten the stability of the entire Seanchan empire: the Empress herself has the innate ability to learn to channel, and I find it unlikely she'll submit to being leashed herself.

First of all, let's examine something that looks to be impossible in a way, or at the very least, confusing. Here's a snippet from one of Egwene's first dreams:

The Dragon Reborn

Chapter 25, "Questions"

 

She had dreamed of Seanchan, too, of women in dresses with lightning bolts woven on their breasts, collaring a long line of women who wore Great Serpent rings, forcing them to call lightning against the White Tower. That had started her awake in a cold sweat, but that had to be just a nightmare.

There's a slight problem here: Aes Sedai who have been collared are still unable to use the One Power as a weapon, except against Shadowspawn and Darkfriends, due to the Three Oaths. So, how are they being forced to call lightning against the White Tower? One explanation might be that the ones channeling against the Tower are Accepted who have not sworn on the Oath Rod yet. I find this somewhat unlikely, however, because Egwene's dream indicates there will be a large number of women wearing Great Serpent rings. Plus, the Seanchan may think the Aes Sedai who are unable to use the One Power as a weapon are doing so out of spite and will bring them to watch their Tower crumble and hopefully break their spirit even more. There is also the possibility this wasn't a true Dream and was just a nightmare like Egwene hoped, yet I once again find this unlikely.

While we're discussing Egwene's dreams, there are a couple more that are relevant to this issue:

The Dragon Reborn

Chapter 48, "Following the Craft"

 

Rand confronting a horde of Seanchan. Rand confronting her, and the women with her, and one of them was a Seanchan.

A Crown of Swords

Chapter 10, "Unseen Eyes"

 

A golden hawk stretched out its wing and touched her, and she and the hawk were tied together somehow; all she knew was that the hawk was female.

Crossroads of Twilight

Chapter 20, "In the Night"

 

She was struggling up a narrow, rocky path along the face of a towering cliff. Clouds surrounded her, hiding the ground below and the crest above, yet she knew that both were very far away.

...

Abruptly, the ledge dropped away from under her with the crack of crumbling stone, and she caught frantically at the cliff, fingers scrabbling to find a hold.

...

Suddenly a woman appeared, clambering down the sheer side of the cliff out of the clouds, making her way as deftly as if she were walking down stairs. There was a sword strapped to her back. Her face wavered, never settling clearly, but the sword seemed as solid as the stone. The woman reached Egwene's level and held out one hand. "We can reach the top together," she said in a familiar drawling accent.

It's apparent that Egwene will end up forming an alliance with a Seanchan woman and will, in fact, be saved by one. There's some debate about a couple of these quotes; some think the golden hawk in the second quote refers to Berelain since the golden hawk is featured on Mayenne's standard. It seems more likely that it signifies the golden hawk of Artur Hawkwing's empire, which the Seanchan use for the royal line. The last quote is even more obscure in its own way, as it's not clear if the woman who helps Egwene is one woman in particular (Leilwin Shipless or Tuon) or instead representative of a multitude of women since the faces are constantly changing. All things considered, I feel it makes the most sense for the woman who ends up being so connected with Egwene to turn out to be Tuon.

It would make sense that when Rand confronts Egwene, if she had Tuon with her, it would be a huge bargaining chip in trying to convince Rand not to break the seals. Rand will break the seals regardless, but he might see the only way he can do this once he sees Tuon is to get Tuon to come to his side by kneeling to her, satisfying Tuon's interpretation of her land's Dragon Prophecies.

So, if the Seanchan attack Tar Valon again, why in the world would Egwene turn around and ally with the woman who ordered the attack?! Okay, I think this is as good a time as any to reveal what I think might happen: Yes, the Seanchan will march on the White Tower, but after Traveling there they will find the Tower occupied with another invading force: a mini-horde of Shadowspawn and Dreadlords sent to destroy Tar Valon while it is at its weakest. The sudden revelation that the tales of Trollocs and Myrddraal have not been mere myth and superstition will force Tuon to drastically alter her plans, and she will end up giving aid to the Aes Sedai by helping to eradicate this surprise attack force of Shadowspawn. Her collared Aes Sedai will be able to channel lightning against the forces of the Shadow, fulfilling that part of Egwene's dream.

There's some other huge plot points that can happen in this potential confrontation. What if Suffa, the "loyal" damane (you might remember her as Elaida, the previous Amyrlin Seat), is part of the Seanchan force, and her sul'dam is conveniently killed during the fight? Freed from her enslavement by Shadowspawn, perhaps even by a Dreadlord or even a Forsaken, who's to say that she might finally switch allegiances after everything she's been through? Another confrontation between Egwene and Elaida, who has recently turned to the Shadow, would most likely be pretty epic.

Here's another thing I could see happening with this idea that I love: Mat still has to go back to Tar Valon to retrieve the Horn of Valere. It would truly be kismet if he were to arrive at the Tower at the same time the attack is happening, and while trying to rescue the Horn, is mortally injured. Who happens upon him but none other than Tuon, who in an emotionally charged scene embraces the side of her that has the spark and Heals Mat (and later Bonds him as her Warder). This event leads her to confront the "ancient wrong" her people have been committing and decree that all damane shall be freed and all a'dam destroyed.

Alright, I think I might be enjoying this whole wild predictions thang a little too much. Till next week, folks! Y'all come back now, y'hear? I'm fixin' to show y'all a thing or two about some dang 'ol Forsaken!

Bonjour, my brilliant boarders of Dragonmount! Welcome back to another weekly installment of "It Works in Theory," Dragonmount's newish theory blog, which just so happens to be entrusted to my hands. I apologize for the extended delay between new entries; as many of you are aware, Dragon*Con was held this past weekend in Atlanta, Georgia, and I had the privilege to go this year for the first time. In short, it was simply a blast, and particularly exquisite because my birthday fell on the last day of the event. It was, in fact, the first convention of any kind that I had ever attended, and it did not fail whatsoever to impress me. I greatly urge any fans of the Wheel of Time series to try and make it out next Labor Day weekend or even this coming spring when JordanCon will be held in the same city. And now, onto our disclaimer:

This blog is based on theories that will include facts and material from the latest books in the series, so if you have not read through Towers of Midnight, continue reading at your own risk! This weblog of "It Works in Theory" is copyrighted by Despothera and Dragonmount for the private use and enjoyment of our audience. Any other use of this weblog or any pictures, descriptions, or accounts of the blog without consent from Despothera "signed in triplicate, sent in, sent back, lost, found, queried, subjected to public inquiry, lost again, and finally buried in soft peat for three months and recycled as firelighter" (from Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) is greatly encouraged. To be honest, I don't really think it is copyrighted per se anyway, but just to be on the safe side, maybe just include a link back here or something.

Alright, here's one more thing I wanted to get out of the way that I hope my editor won't mind terribly: I don't believe many of you know this, but in addition to having somewhat of a penchant for writing, I also happen to pretend to have minor musical talent as well. I am in a band that goes by the same name as my handle here on Dragonmount (Despothera). We recently got our website up and running to feature our newly recorded EP, so if anyone would like to check it out and see if you like it, just visit www.despothera.com. We play hard rock and metal, but have a broad spectrum of musical influences so many might be able to enjoy the songs on the site. I'm particularly proud of the song which I wrote, a 9-minute instrumental which I named "Tarmon Gai'don" in reverence of The Wheel of Time. Now that I have finished shamelessly self-promoting my band, let's go ahead and move on to the subject of today's blog.

I thought it fitting today after already bringing up my love of music to go into further detail about a subject I've referenced in earlier blogs: the importance of the Talent of Singing in helping to save the world of Rand and his allies. As I mentioned in my premiere blog entry, we now have a pretty good idea that the "Song" which the Tuatha'an (Tinkers, or Traveling People) have been seeking might not actually be a singularly important song, but rather a longing to return to the happier ways of their people when they were Aiel and used Seed Singing to help promote the health of the land around them. The Tuatha'an practice the Way of the Leaf and have a strong affinity both for nature and music, making them something of an oblique allusion to groups in our own society that dedicate their lives to following peaceful ways and jam bands (any Deadheads out there?). Luckers, one of our own site's admins, has written a very helpful article which talks about this subject in further detail: Demystifying The Song.

Many people, including myself, believe that it might be essential for the Talent of Singing to be rediscovered in order for the forces of Light to have any chance at winning. However, the big question is, how will it be rediscovered? One of the characters who is connected to this mystery most often happens to be my favorite character in the series: Perrin "Goldeneyes" Aybara. We'll get to why so many people believe he will have a central role in rediscovering the lost Talent in a moment, but first, I wanted to examine one of the character parallels that exist in the personage of Perrin.

If you haven't been to The Thirteenth Depository, a Wheel of Time blog headed by Linda Taglieri (who I had the pleasure of meeting this past weekend at Dragon*Con), please take time to visit there at some point. While I have a fantastic time writing my blog and am proud of what I've been able to put out so far, the theories and notions I have presented are a grain of sand on the beach compared to the many musings and thoughts that have been expressed by Linda on her site over the years. I'm particularly impressed by her ability to find the many historical, literary, and mythological references and allusions found in The Wheel of Time; Robert Jordan was simply a master of his trade when it came to selecting various figures and stories throughout the history of mankind and injecting derivatives of them into his tale. One of the connections Linda has made that I particularly enjoy is the parallel between Perrin and the fictional character of the knight Sir Percival from Arthurian Legend and Grail stories (you might have to scroll far down the page to get to that part).

It's my feeling that the story alluded to the most in The Wheel of Time is the story of King Arthur, The Fisher King, and the search for the Holy Grail. We won't get into the plethora of references and allegories to this legend, but it is a good idea to focus on the Perrin/Percival parallels to see how Perrin might end up being involved with the rediscovery of Singing. First of all, it's very easy to notice the similarities in their names. In fact, another name for Percival found in the early writings of Grail legend is Peredur, which is even more phonetically similar to Perrin. Percival was of noble blood but was raised in the forest in a simple upbringing until he was fifteen, when he saw a gallant group of knights that inspired him to become one himself. His genuine interest in doing the right thing is stressed almost to the point of naivete, but it is his purity of heart which singles him out to be the knight who is best equipped to find the grail.

We know about Perrin's modest upbringing in the Two Rivers. Although he wasn't entranced into a life of heroics, he has nonetheless been transformed into a hero, even a lord, by both the nature of him being ta'veren and the circumstances which have surrounded him. In spite of his transformation, he has kept the same noble and modest personality, and the purity of his heart has never come into question. Of the three ta'veren from Edmond's Field, he is easily the most noble; Rand has a constant struggle of internal torment at his role as the Dragon Reborn, and Mat, while very lovable himself, is somewhat of a scoundrel.

In the Grail stories, Percival is plagued by being in constant conflict with temptation in his quest for the grail, as Perrin is plagued by the conflict against succumbing to the wild, violent side of himself represented by the axe he leaves behind in Crossroads of Twilight. Percival was so afflicted with internal struggle in the face of temptation that he wounds himself by piercing his thigh with his own sword rather than lay with a temptress. Perrin is wounded badly in the thigh in one of his confrontations with Slayer in Tel'aran'rhiod in Towers of Midnight. One of the most important congruencies between the two characters, though, is their potential role in saving the health of the land.

We know how Percival helps to save the health of the land; by finding the grail, he is able to rejuvenate the Fisher King and, through him, the land. One of Min's visions gives us a glimpse of how Perrin might be connected to the health of the land:

The Eye of the World

Chapter 15, "Strangers and Friends"

 

The strongest thing I see about the big, curly-haired fellow are a wolf, and a broken crown, and trees flowering all around him.

The wolf image is obvious as Perrin is a wolfbrother. The broken crown is a reference to his connection to the Saldean crown, for which Perrin is now in the line of succession since his wife, Faile, is second in line after her father, Davram Bashere. The trees flowering all around him are a strange viewing for Min to have about Perrin. It would make sense if she saw the image about Rand, since we see in Towers of Midnight that Rand now has an aura about him which instantly brings health and vibrancy to the immediate area around him. Being that the image is around Perrin, though, it's likely that he will end up having an important role in rejuvenating the land even as the Dark One's shadow grows strongest. But how will he end up doing this?

We're now going to venture into a subject that was talked about recently in our 4th Age Podcast: the mystery of Nakomi. Just as a quick refresher, Nakomi was the woman who appeared to Aviendha on her journey to Rhuidean, where she saw the bleak future of her people. Many theories have been raised regarding the identity of this strange figure, but one which I particularly enjoy and find to make the most sense has to do with one particular line in the book right before Nakomi's introduction:

The Towers of Midnight

Chapter 39, "In the Three-fold Land"

 

Aviendha settled down, watching the fire crackle, smelling the meat. Yes, she was glad she hadn't Traveled directly to Rhuidean, instead taking the time--precious though that time was--to run in the Three-fold Land. It helped her see what she had been, and what she had become. Aviendha the Maiden was gone. She had embraced her path as a Wise One, and that brought her honor back. She had purpose again. As a Wise One, she could help lead her people through their most trying time.

 

Once this was through, her people would need to return to the Three-fold Land. Each day in the wetlands made them weaker; she herself was an excellent example. She had grown soft there. How could one not grow soft in that place? It would have to be abandoned. Soon.

 

She smiled, settling back and closing her eyes for a moment, letting the day's fatigue melt away. Her future seemed so much more clear. She was to visit Rhuidean, pass through the crystal columns, then return and claim her share of Rand's heart. She would fight at the Last Battle. She would help preserve the remnant of the Aiel who survived, then bring them home where they belonged.

 

A sound came from outside her camp.

Perhaps Aviendha wasn't awake at all during her encounter, but instead had drifted off to sleep with her mind filled with the problems her people faced. Aviendha has a history of doing things "accidentally," as when she first wove a gateway to get away from Rand to try and hide her shame, so it's possible that she slipped into Tel'aran'rhiod. Another possibility is that she was drawn there somehow in her need to find further clarity. Once in Tel'aran'rhiod, she is visited by Nakomi, who happens to be a Jenn Aiel who is a Hero of the Horn and resides in that dream world. It might be against their precepts to interfere or talk to people from the real world, but we already have a precedent for it and since there is a dire need for Aviendha to gain understanding about her people's predicament, it's probably okay in this circumstance to break the rules.

I also like other ideas about Nakomi, such as how she might be a spirit guide, or even possibly the Creator in person (remember how she has to go "see to nature"?), but let's roll with this idea for now. I don't think it's a stretch to imagine there will be a huge confrontation in Tel'aran'rhiod in the last book, especially if Perrin somehow has to save Rand from the clutches of the Dark One after Rand's death. In such an important encounter, the forces of the Light will use any tool they have to help give them an edge, so I expect to see Dreamwalkers, Wolfbrothers, and Heroes of the Horn, possibly including Nakomi.

Even should Nakomi not be present at the battle in the dream world, what if she still finds the time to make another appearance to Perrin at some point when he's traveling through Tel'aran'rhiod? Perrin is not just a warrior, but a blacksmith, and has the ability to create as well as destroy. The title of this week's blog is actually a direct quote from The Shadow Rising, from the last paragraph of chapter 40, and could be important foreshadowing. The music he hears is from a band of Tuatha'an he meets in the Two Rivers, and it turns out he's familiar with this particular group of Tinkers and their leader, Raen, from when he traveled with them for a time in The Eye of the World. Raen hails Perrin with the customary greeting a Tuatha'an will ask upon meeting someone in the world:

The Shadow Rising

Chapter 41, "Among the Tuatha'an"

 

"You are welcome to our fires. Do you know the song?"

Perrin might not know the Song yet, and this might be a stretch, but perhaps Nakomi helps Perrin discover something else hidden deep inside himself. Perhaps, even as Perrin's hammer, Mah'alleinir, sings its own song of destruction as it carves swathes of death through ranks of Shadowspawn, Perrin Goldeneyes will let his voice resound against the Dark One himself at the sealing of the Bore. Leading a heroic grouping of Aiel, Tuatha'an, and Ogier (and maybe even a Nym), he will Sing the Song which ends up being the Light's salvation.

Wouldn't that be something?

Salutations, my savvy sojourners of Dragonmount! Welcome to another weekly installment of "It Works in Theory", the new theory blog this gentleman has the giddy pleasure to write. I hope everyone's had fun so far in picking my brain apart; I know I've had plenty of fun (not as much sleep, however). I have enjoyed your comments so much, in fact, that I was inspired with what I think might be a great idea. Many of you who have left comments or have posted on our forums have very good theories of your own that often have my head nodding and my mind thinking of all the implications they would entail. So, I thought it would be serendipitous if some of you could send in some of your ideas, and I could pick one idea once a month (or perhaps several if they can fit) and elucidate on all the ins and outs on my blog. Just to clarify: I more than likely wouldn't pick one out that I disagree with just to pick it apart. It's more than likely I'll go with one I find to be interesting or provocative, and try to expound in other ways that the theory could be significant.

If this sounds like a good idea, or if you had any other suggestions or possible topics for my blog, you can either PM me here on Dragonmount or e-mail me at hazelkrs110@hotmail.com. If you think this is me being lazy and you don't feel like doing my work for me, feel free to pretend your computer monitor is my face and dash it, dash it good. Now, on to our weekly disclaimer:

This blog is based on theories that will include facts and material from the latest books in the series, so if you have not read through Towers of Midnight, continue reading at your own risk! "It Works in Theory" is not intended for human consumption. Should any hypothesis or presupposition come into contact with your skin or eyes, flush the affected area with a tepid saline solution for at least 10 minutes. Should a rash or itching persist, consult a physician or visit the forums.

I figured we'd go with something slightly different this week, both to give my fingers and my readers' eyes a rest. Instead of breaking down another one of my wacky, convoluted theories for umpteen paragraphs, I thought it might be nice to highlight an individual set of prophecies or viewings every now and again. We already have a great resource for general Wheel of Time questions in our Wheel of Time FAQ, and there you can find an explanation of what the prophecies might be referring to, so this is just another take on it. Today, we are going to examine the Dark Prophecies.

There's some uncertainty over one of the prophecies--the one introduced to us when Padan Fain escapes from the dungeons in Fal Dara, towards the end of The Great Hunt. It was written in blood on the walls of the dungeon, and we were lucky enough to have Verin record it down for us so that she could study it and give her thoughts on it. It was verified later to be a Myrddraal, possibly influenced by Ishamael, who actually wrote the prophecy on the wall. When asked about whether or not the Fal Dara prophecy was a true dark prophecy, Robert Jordan gave us a Read And Find Out response, leading us to believe that even if it's not true prophecy, there's still something we can gain from studying it.

The Great Hunt

Chapter 7, "Blood Calls Blood"

 

Daughter of the Night, she walks again.

The ancient war, she yet fights.

Her new lover she seeks, who shall serve her and die, yet serve still.

Who shall stand against her coming?

The Shining Walls shall kneel.

The Daughter of Night is obviously Lanfear, and she walks again in the world after being released from the prison containing the Dark One. She fights his ancient war against the Light. I will say there might be subtle foreshadowing in the phrasing of "yet fights" relating to her capture and "death" in the land of the Aelfinn and Eelfinn, which she survives to fight yet again.

I talked about the next line last week in my blog when I spoke of the possibility of Lanfear gaining control of Rand through Callandor (here's the link in case you missed it). I think Rand is her new lover--new because he's not quite the same person she remembers from the Age of Legends--but others have brought up the possibility of her falling for someone else. I'm still not quite sure how Rand might serve her after dying, though, but I've got a theory (not to be revealed this week, however).

The last couple of lines are fairly important because part of them might be overlooked. "Who shall stand against her coming" could possibly be a reference to Moiraine, who stood up against Lanfear in The Fires of Heaven, but could also be foreshadowing of a future event. Then we come to "The Shining Walls shall kneel", which many take to mean that the White Tower (Shining Walls) will defer to someone else's authority, most likely Rand's. I contend that the line is both a metaphor and not one at the same time. "Shining Walls" refers to the White Tower, but when it says the "walls" shall "kneel", I take that to mean the shining walls and towers of the White Tower will fall.

We know the Seanchan are gearing up for a second attack on Tar Valon, and that the White Tower is lightly defended because so many forces are currently gathered at the Fields of Merrilor. There isn't any indication, however, that the Seanchan would want to hold the White Tower. They just want to capture as many marath'damane as possible, so it could very well come to pass that they simply demolish the Tower after they pillage it for whatever resources and treasures they can find.

Blood feeds blood.

Blood calls blood.

Blood is, and blood was, and blood shall ever be.

This is the refrain from the prophecy we're currently reviewing, and I just wanted to address some things I felt were relevant. We have a good amount of references to the Dragon's blood having something to do with mankind's salvation, but nothing indicates why we might specifically need his blood for the Dark One to be defeated. I also have a theory on that (yes, I'm saving that one too), but I feel the last line of the refrain might be hinting at something. Blood is--Rand is the Dragon Reborn, and the Champion of the Light. Blood was--Lews Therin was the Dragon and helped seal the Dark One away for three millenia. Blood shall ever be--either the Dragon will always be reborn to fight the Dark One, or perhaps that Rand survives Tarmon Gai'don using his "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?

The channeling man is Rand, and the second line is referring to the callus way in which Rand uses those around him to get what he thinks he needs. He puts Mat and Perrin, as well as countless others he meets, directly in harm's way with little hesitation. The next part is very interesting because it can be interpreted in two completely different ways. The first way is from the perspective of Darkfriends: one path leads him to "death beyond dying" because either he's balefired, the Dark One grabs his soul, or his soul is destroyed in Tel'aran'rhiod; the second path leads him to life eternal, for that is what is promised by the Dark One should he come to rule the land.

The alternate way of looking at it is that Rand can either end up destroying the Pattern, which leads to "death beyond dying", or he can take the other path and seal the Dark One away. The last line is also very significant because it is ominous foreshadowing to both the hand that he lost when he captured Semirhage and to Rand's internal conflict as he wonders which hand was destroyed, the one that shelters, or the one that slays.

Luc came to the Mountains of Dhoom.

Isam waited in the high passes.

The hunt is now begun. The Shadow's hounds now course, and kill.

One did live, and one did die, but both are.

The Time of Change has come.

This whole stanza involves the origins of one of our most mysterious bad guys, Slayer. Perrin knows there is some relationship between Slayer and Lord Luc, who he met when he went to the defense of the Two Rivers in The Shadow Rising, because their smells are somewhat similar. One of the most interesting aspects of Slayer is the fact that both halves of his makeup have very interesting lineages that could have many possible outcomes in the last book: Lord Luc is Tigraine's brother, making him Rand's uncle; Isam is the son of Breyan, the woman known for having a large part in Malkier's betrayal, and through this line he is Lan Mandragoran's cousin. This is better than daytime soap operas, huh? The last bit we can glean from this particular passage is the reference to the Darkhounds' hunt, which Slayer is at least involved in, and more than likely leading. He's also been referenced as being given the task of hunting Padan Fain down, so he has plenty of possible confrontations in his future. The "time of change" simply refers to the last days before Tarmon Gai'don and the possibility of the Pattern being unraveled.

The Watchers wait on Toman Head.

The seed of the Hammer burns the ancient tree.

Death shall sow, and summer burn, before the Great Lord comes.

Death shall reap, and bodies fail, before the Great Lord comes.

Again the seed slays ancient wrong, before the Great Lord comes.

Now the Great Lord comes.

The "Watchers" are clearly the "Watchers over the waves", who wait for the return of Artur Hawkwing's armies from across the ocean. The "seed of the Hammer" refers to Hawkwing's descendants, the Seanchan, where he was known as "The Hammer of the Light". The Seanchan burned the ancient tree when they defeated Tarabon because Tarabon's sigil is a tree, which is supposed to be a sapling of Avendesora, the Tree of Life. The middle two lines are pretty cryptic and hard to discern, but the next line is somewhat enticing to me. One way to look at the "seed" slaying ancient wrong is by correlating the Seanchan with the earlier mention of seed. The ancient wrong that they would slay could potentially be the practice of leashing channelers as damane, or possibly even slavery in general. Another way to look at it is switching Rand out with the Seanchan, and his ancient wrong could be the Dark One himself. I see this possibility and other obscure references as hints to Rand's possible re-altering of the Pattern itself, in which he replaces the cyclical expression of time in his universe with a linear expression of time. This is very iffy, but I'll probably explore that idea further some other day.

Next, we have the grade "A" approved Dark Prophecy, found at the end of Towers of Midnight. This prophecy is misinterpreted earlier in the same book by Graendal, when she attempts to set a trap for Perrin and his army.

Towers of Midnight

"Epilogue"

 

Lo, it shall come upon the world that the prison of the Greatest One shall grow weak, like the limbs of those who crafted it. Once again, His glorious cloak shall smother the Pattern of all things, and the Great Lord shall stretch forth His hand to claim what is His. The rebellious nations shall be laid barren, their children caused to weep. There shall be none but Him, and those who have turned their eyes to His majesty.

The seals holding the Dark One's prison are weakening, and the "limbs" more than likely refer to the the ancestry of the male channelers who created his prison, and how the skill and ability to use the One Power is being culled out of humanity. Channelers today aren't able to complete anywhere near the same type of feats as they were able to in the Age of Legends. The rest of the excerpt goes on to elaborate on how awful and dark things will get as the Dark One's influence grows.

In that day, when the One-Eyed Fool travels the halls of mourning, and the First Among Vermin lifts his hand to bring freedom to Him who will Destroy, the last days of the Fallen Blacksmith's pride shall come. Yea, and the Broken Wolf, the one whom Death has known, shall fall and be consumed by the Midnight Towers. And his destruction shall bring fear and sorrow to the hearts of men, and shall shake their very will itself.

The one-eyed fool is Mat, and the halls of mourning could possibly be when he went into the realm of the Aelfinn and Eelfinn to rescue Moiraine. The Aelfinn and Eelfinn feed on emotion, and it seems the particularly delectable morsels are the emotions drawn from those suffering and in agony. It also seems pretty clear that many have died in its halls, which is another reference to mourning. Lastly, they describe themselves as "the warriors of final regret".

The "first among vermin" is most likely Rand because it's a good play on the wording of Lews Therin's title in the Age of Legends: First Among Servants. There's other ideas relating the first among vermin to either Fain, Perrin, Moridin, or possibly Slayer, but Rand is the best option because he's the one who will be most directly responsible for freeing the Dark One when he breaks the seals.

As for the "fallen blacksmith", that most definitely is Perrin, but the fallen part might be more ominous than we realize. There is a chance that Perrin might be one of the characters who don't survive the Last Battle. Don't start throwing things at me yet! The great thing is that even after he died, he could still have a hand in shaping things, especially concerning his abilities in Tel'aran'rhiod. Many would say, though, that the part concerning "the fallen blacksmith's pride" was fulfilled when he quit trying to deny the mantle of leadership, which is a reasonable enough conclusion.

One idea I thought of, though, could be the possibility that the pride here refers to his wolf friends. We've had an image ready to visualize for a long time of Perrin riding into battle with thousands of wolves running with him and burning through the hordes of Trollocs like a brush fire in west Texas. They're his pack, not a pride as we normally think of with lions, and his connection to the wolves is where he gets a big source of strength, individuality, force of will, and pride. So, the line could refer to Perrin leading a very large number of wolves to their death, which would be heartbreaking because it would be the second time Perrin will have been responsible for that many wolf deaths (the first being Dumai's Wells). Wow, I really like theorizing about deaths of characters and races, don't I?

The way you interpret the last part of the passage depends on your idea of what "broken wolf" means. Some might think this would be Perrin, or a bunch of other alternatives that make less and less sense, but there's a much stronger case for Rand. There are a couple of comparisons made between Rand and wolves in the books, and he even has his own wolf-name, Shadowkiller. The point is that Perrin isn't the only one in the series who could be connected with wolves somehow. A much more thorough and elaborate argument is made by Terez in the Wheel of Time FAQ; she pretty much lays it all out very well.

Still, after all that, there is one line which is usually interpreted one way but could easily mean something else.

His destruction shall bring fear and sorrow to the hearts of men, and shall shake their very will itself.

"His destruction" is generally considered to be his death, but it is very possible it could be referring to the destruction he will cause. There's still only one person who truly could be said to cause enough destruction that it could shake the very will of men. That's right, you guessed it, Dark Rand 2.0 came back to rear his giant, ugly, prophetic head. I actually meant to make this connection last week, but forgot in my sleep deprived, zombie-like state of mind. Imagine Rand going to the Midnight Towers to be used like a puppet, wreaking a wild, destructive force across the countryside, balefiring friend and foe alike. Yeah, that would shake the will of men alright.

And then, shall the Lord of the Evening come. And He shall take our eyes, for our souls shall bow before Him, and He shall take our skin, for our flesh shall serve Him, and He shall take our lips, for only Him will we praise. And the Lord of the Evening shall face the Broken Champion, and shall spill his blood and bring us the Darkness so beautiful. Let the screams begin, O followers of the Shadow. Beg for your destruction!

The Lord of the Evening more than likely refers to Moridin, in that as Rand is known as the Lord of the Morning, Moridin as his arch nemesis would be the opposite. Being that the Lord of Morning will face the Broken Champion, it stands to reason that Rand would be the Broken Champion for a few reasons. No one else could really face Moridin and have a chance, unless they had some kind of sa'angreal or something, which would probably be referenced in the prophecy. Rand is the Light's Champion, and he refers to himself as being broken several times in the books.

Then we come to the last part of the prophecy, another reference to the spilling of Rand's blood possibly being a necessary catalyst for the freeing of the Dark One/defeat of the Dark One. I definitely want to contemplate this "Blood" issue hopefully in the weeks to come, so I might need a little more time for dramatic build up and eager anticipation to occur. You might or might not be seeing a blog from me next week, as the site will be busy handling the Dragonmount duties at Dragon*Con this coming weekend (plus it's my birthday next Monday), so it might be a good idea to emotionally, mentally, and physically prepare for a possible week of no theory blog. I'm sure you'll manage!

Willkommen, various visitors of Dragonmount! Welcome to week 3 of Dragonmount's new theory blog, which I happen to have the privilege to write. I hope everyone brought their pipe, monocle, and smoking jacket so you'll be prepared to contemplate and philosophize about what we cover today! Due to the length of today's dissertation, it wouldn't be a bad idea to get a pillow to get as comfortable as you can. Once again, before we begin, let's go ahead and get out our little disclaimer:

This blog is based on theories that will include facts and material from the latest books in the series, so if you have not read through Towers of Midnight, continue reading at your own risk! Any views and opinions expressed in "It Works in Theory" are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Dragonmount, any of the staff or members of Dragonmount, or of any sites affiliated with Dragonmount, Brandon Sanderson, any of Team Jordan, Herid Fel, anyone of the Fourth Age, or anyone with more than half a brain, for that matter.

This week I'll be continuing the ramifications of the theory I presented last week (Hand of Onyx) in which I theorized that there was a "Dark Callandor" which would counter the power of Callandor, and also possibly facilitate the transfer of souls between Rand and Moridin (click here for Body Swap Theory). The main focus of some of the effects that this theory will have will center on the phrase "Twice dawns the day...", which we get from prophecy. So, without further ado, let us begin!

Let's go ahead and get some of the preliminary quotes out of the way concerning this phrase and others that might relate to it:

The Great Hunt

Chapter 26, "Discord"

 

"Twice dawns the day when his blood is shed.

Once for mourning, once for birth.

Red on black, the Dragon's blood stains the rock of Shayol Ghul.

In the Pit of Doom shall his blood free men from the Shadow."

The Great Hunt

Chapter 8, "The Dragon Reborn"

 

"An anchor is not demeaned by being used to hold a boat," the Amyrlin said. "You were made for a purpose, Rand al'Thor. 'When the winds of Tarmon Gai'don scour the earth, he will face the Shadow and bring forth Light again in the world.' The Prophecies must be fulfilled, or the Dark One will break free and remake the world in his image."

and yet another one from The Great Hunt, out of the Prophecies of the Dragon:

The Great Hunt

Chapter 5, "The Shadow in Shienar"

 

"'For he shall come like the breaking dawn, and shatter the world again with his coming, and make it anew.'"

There's actually some really good ideas out there for possible ways the twice-dawning day can come true. One of my favorites is the idea of an eclipse happening. This would be somewhat out of left field (in a good way) and would tie in fairly well with a lot of prophecies. The only problem I really see with it is it's harder to directly associate Rand with the eclipse ending. Why does the Dark One need to do an eclipse when he can shut the sun out with cloud cover every day? Another theory I've heard mentioned is that the volcano on Dragonmount, the mountain created by Lews Therin Telamon that is this site's namesake, will erupt. I'm less a fan of this one because even a massive eruption from Dragonmount wouldn't quite be enough to compare to the brightness of a second dawn. In addition, how would the "once for mourning, once for birth" line fit in there?

I'm going in a slightly different direction with my theory. I believe too many instances exist involving a link between Rand and dawn to dismiss. There's also another connection made in the books between something else and bright sunlight or dawn: objects of Power that are drawing on massive amounts of saidin or saidar.

The Shadow Rising

Chapter 10, "The Stone Stands"

 

Rand pulled at saidin. Through Callandor. The Sword That Is Not a Sword blazed in his hands, as if he held noonday. The Power filled him, hammering down like solid thunder....

 

 

Callandor flared brighter and brighter, too brilliant to look at; he closed his eyes, and the light seemed to burn through his eyelids...

 

 

The lightnings faded and died with the last Shadowspawn; the spinning mass imploded with a loud clap of inrushing air. But Callandor still shone like the sun; he shook with the Power.

This brilliant light is seen by non-channelers as well, as we find from the two random passersby who venture near the male and female Choedan Kal in the taint cleansing scene in Winter's Heart:

Winter's Heart

Chapter 35, "With The Choedan Kal"

 

...Suddenly he realized that the day seemed very bright. Almost like summer noon instead of a winter morning. Strangest of all, the glow seemed to be coming from the huge pit beside the road where workman from the city had been digging away until the previous year. There was supposed to be a monstrous statue down there, but he had never been interested enough to actually look for himself.

 

Now, almost against his will, he reined in his stout mare and climbed down into the snow to trudge to the brink of the pit. It was a hundred paces deep and ten times as far across, and he had to put his hands in front of his face against the blinding glare that came from the bottom. Squinting through his fingers, he could make out a glowing ball, like a second sun...

 

...Suddenly the one unplowed hill caught her eye. A great stone hand stuck out of the ground clasping a sphere as large as a house. And that sphere was shining like a glorious summer sun.

Now we know the Last Battle has begun. The Shadow reaches across the Pattern, and the Dark One's influence upon the world grows. It will grow even more when Rand breaks the seals. As it is, the Dark One has been able to make things, well, pretty dark for a while, both literally and figuratively. The skies of Randland have been cast over with cloud cover the past few months, only parting around Rand after his "Veins of Gold" epiphany. I think it's safe to say that he can make things even darker in Randland, even without an eclipse. I think a "tempest" of a dark thundercloud will explode above Shayol Ghul and blanket the skies with an even more impenetrable darkness. Under such conditions, the normal dawn isn't even noticed at all because the sky is so dark.

And yet, as Rand confronts Moridin, each wielding their sword sa'angreal, the amount of Power being channeled will become a beacon in the sky, a radiant sun on the horizon (more than likely the confrontation will happen at Shayol Ghul, which is far enough from any civilizations that it would appear on the horizon for almost everyone). Remember, Callandor blocks balefire, as we see in the fight at the end of The Dragon Reborn between Rand and Ba'alzamon. It is more than likely that the Dark Callandor will have the same property, so this won't be a quick balefire fight to the dea- erm, oblivion. In fact, this property of Callandor might even have something to do with the Body Swap.

So, BAM! The body swap happens, and Rand gets put in Moridin's body, while Moridin is put in Rand's. The circle of Alivia and Nyneave will now be controlling Moridin; however, in a big blow to the Light, Rand becomes controlled by the circle of Cyndane and Moghedien. Remember that first verse in the dark Prophecy we saw written on the wall of the Fal Dara prison cell after Padan Fain's escape?

The Great Hunt

Chapter 7, "Blood Calls Blood"

 

Daughter of the Night, she walks again.

The ancient war, she yet fights.

Her new lover she seeks, who shall serve her and die, yet serve still.

Who shall stand against her coming?

The "Daughter of the Night" is obviously Lanfear, who has been transmigrated into Cyndane. We never really saw her make Rand, her "new" lover, serve her up to this point, even though she was manipulating him for a time when she was donning her alter ego, Selene. There's also other parts of prophecy that suggest he will be controlled:

The Dragon Reborn

Chapter 6, "The Hunt Begins"

 

"What does it mean that he 'shall slay his people with the sword of peace, and destroy them with the leaf'? What does it mean that he 'shall bind the nine moons to serve him'? Yet these are given equal weight with Callandor in the Cycle. There are others. What 'wounds of madness and cutting of hope' has he healed? What chains has he broken, and who put into chains?"

The first reference has to with his destruction of the Aiel, and the second has to do with making the Seanchan submit to him. The "wound of madness" is most likely the taint on saidin, and I would speculate that the cutting of hope that he healed has to do with the internal struggle he was having up until "Veins of Gold". The chains he has broken could have to do with the bonds of all men he breaks with his coming, but I'm crossing my fingers that it means he gets the Seanchan to free all damane. That last part could be foreshadowing the chains that Rand will be put in because of the transfer. So, now we see the ultimate reason why there is always so much devastation linked with the coming of the Dragon Reborn. Yes, he is the world's savior, but for a time, he will be the ultimate weapon of destruction. He will truly break the world with his loss of control to the Shadow. There's many things I can see happening in this scenario, and almost none of them are good. One of the awful atrocities I think he definitely will commit will be confronting his own gathering of Aiel and unleashing massive destruction on his own people. I suspect Rand might even kill Lan in this mode; the irony of Lan surviving a suicide mission to the Blight just to be killed defending Nyneave from Dark Rand 2.0 would be too much to pass on. Nyneave's grief was very important in a viewing Min had of Nyneave; it might be the thing which finally lets her truly let her anger go. If she's able to forgive Rand for killing her love (this would be after Rand is resurrected again, of course, so then there's no need for her to hold up that defense mechanism wall of anger ever again).

You probably noticed I mentioned Rand's resurrection even though I hadn't covered his death yet. Don't worry, I'm getting there. This muddled spiderweb of a blog post has a purpose, and it should all come together perfectly in the end, I hope think.

We already know that Alivia is guaranteed to be one of the people that will "help Rand die". One of the others is almost certainly going to be Moiraine in my opinion, simply because we've had an indication from Moiraine starting all the way back in the first book, The Eye Of The World, that if she felt it was in the Light's best interests to take Rand out, she wouldn't hesitate. I strongly suspect that the last person in the circle to take out Dark Rand 2.0 will be Narishma, because he seems to have his own connection to Callandor after drawing it out of the Heart of the Stone. His dark complexion also makes him a perfect candidate for satisfying Egwene's dream of a dark young man wielding a very shiny object (A Crown of Swords).

It is at some point during this tirade of terror when Rand sees himself either killing or about to kill Aviendha that he suddenly has "a memory of light" and wrests control back from Cyndane, giving Alivia and friends time to kill him. I believe he will end up dying in the Pit of Doom, his blood spilling on the rocks of Shayol Ghul to satisfy prophecy. Now we come to why this dawn is the one for mourning. The Light just saw their Champion turned against them, pave a wide swath of destruction through their forces, and die before the Last Battle was done. Many would be devastated, others would rejoice that Dark Rand 2.0 is dead, or that the Dragon is dead. Overall, though, things would look very bleak indeed.

I suggest that if you haven't read Terez's writeup on "Blood on the Rocks" and all the mystery surrounding Rand's death and possible resurrection, do it now. It states very clearly how easy and practical it would be for Nyneave to "rip" Rand out of Tel'aran'rhiod, just like Birgitte was. She would most likely need some help from Perrin, Egwene, and others in fending off Slayer and other Shadowspawn, and possibly Rand's help in fighting off the Dark One himself reaching for Rand's soul. Rand would also need his three ladies waiting in the real world to bond him immediately to keep him from dying when he is ripped out of Tel'aran'rhiod. Once resurrected, he turns things back to how they should be very quickly, brings Sunlight to Shayol Ghul through pure willpower, and seals the Dark One away for another turning of the Wheel. This second dawning would represent birth, in that Rand has a whole new life, a new opportunity to find love without the world resting on his shoulders, and the birth of a new age.

It's possible that most Randlanders would perceive the two dawns as being the normal sunrise, and the brilliant explosion of light coming from Rand and Moridin's fight, but I feel in the philosophical and literary artistic sense that it is more fitting that the second dawn be the rebirth of Rand.

With that, ladies and germs, my mind is about to collapse so I must put a stake in this undying vampire of a blog's heart, and bid you adieu.

Hello there, fellow denizens of Dragonmount! Welcome to another weekly installment of "It Works in Theory...", Dragonmount's brand new theory blog headed by yours truly! Before I begin, let me say that I was thrilled to read all the comments and responses to last week's premiere entry, and I hope to continue to find little tidbits and ideas for you to bounce around in your head a little bit. Also, let me put in this disclaimer for legal purposes:

This blog is based on theories that will include facts and material from the latest books in the series, so if you have not read through Towers of Midnight, continue reading at your own risk! "It Works in Theory..." is a free-flowing narrative that occasionally touches on immature subjects, and if you don't like that, then your mama wears combat boots.

There's one more thing I want to address before I move to the focus of this week's issue. Obviously, any theory I put out here is just one opinion or take on a subject. There's a good chance I'll be way off base with various predictions, but I occasionally will get lucky and hit the nail right on the head, and there's a chance I might spoil some big reveal for you. I know you're probably aware of this already, but I only stress this because I get the feeling I might have tripped onto the bombshell theory I was looking for last week.

So, what is the subject of today's article? It has to do with the "hand of onyx" that Min sees in a vision involving Callandor around Rand in Towers of Midnight. I was extremely excited to cover this topic because in earlier theories and discussions regarding the hand of onyx, Tel'aran'rhiod is usually brought up as a way of helping Rand replace the hand that Semirhage blew away. For a long time I believed something like this might happen, and I found it to be an amazing allusion to another favorite fantasy series of mine: The Chronicles of Amber, written by Roger Zelazny.

In The Chronicles of Amber, there exists a world/plane of existence known as Tir-na Nog'th, and there are huge similarities between it and Tel'aran'rhiod, the world of dreams in The Wheel of Time. Of course the names even look similar, but the overall feel of the two worlds, their relation to dreams/visions, and their use by the authors to reveal certain hints and foreshadowing all draw big parallels as well. There is also a main character in The Chronicles of Amber called Benedict, who is an amazing swordsman who loses a hand but later gains an artificial hand from Tir-na Nog'th that he uses to replace his lost appendage.

Unfortunately, even though it's still possible that Robert Jordan was alluding to Zelazny's epic fantasy series, I have come to a different conclusion regarding the hand of onyx. Before I go further, let's examine the full quote regarding the dark hand, found in Towers of Midnight, the last book to come out in the series:

Towers of Midnight

Chapter 51, "A Testing"

 

The hair on Min's neck rose as she held the crystal sword. Callandor. She'd heard stories of this weapon since she was a child, wild tales of distant Tear and the strange Sword That Is Not a Sword. Now she held it in her own fingers.

 

It was lighter than she'd expected. Its crystalline length caught and played with the lamplight. It seemed to shimmer too much, the light inside changing even when she didn't move. The crystal was smooth, but warm. It almost felt alive.

 

Rand stood in front of her, looking down at the weapon. They were in their rooms inside the Stone of Tear, accompanied by Cadsuane, Narishma, Merise, Naeff and two Maidens.

 

Rand reached out, touching the weapon. She glanced at him, and a viewing sprang to life above him. A glowing sword, Callandor, being gripped in a black hand. She gasped.

 

"What did you see?" Rand asked softly.

 

"Callandor, held in a fist. The hand looks to be made of onyx."

 

"Any idea what it means?"

 

She shook her head.

There's also another viewing Min has, earlier in the same book, that seems very closely related to this matter:

Towers of Midnight

Chapter 25, "Return to Bandar Eban"

 

"Rand, I see sunlight around you."

 

He looked up at her, then glanced at the sky.

 

"Not that sunlight," Min whispered. "A viewing. I see dark clouds, pushed away by the sunlight's warmth. I see you, a brilliant white sword held in your hand, wielded against one of black, held by a faceless darkness. I see trees, growing green again, bearing fruit. I see a field, the crops healthy and full." She hesitated. "I see the Two Rivers, Rand. I see an inn there with the mark of the Dragon's Fang inlaid on its door. No longer be [sic] a symbol of darkness or hate. A sign of victory and hope."

In my quest to wrap my head around this issue and figure out what I thought it might be referring to, I started to look at different theories and discussion relating to Callandor. I still couldn't quite get a grasp on what I was looking for, so I started to venture to other subjects and focused on one in particular: The BLANK in the Blight.

From Brandon Sanderson Q&A at Dragon*Con, September 4, 2010

 

Q: This question has to do with a conversation I had with Wilson.

 

Brandon: Oh okay, is this going to be? Okay, I think I know what this is going to be.

 

Q: At last JordanCon I was talking with Wilson, and he was telling me about the night that Robert Jordan told him the end of the book.

 

Brandon: Uh huh.

 

Q: And he says that it started off with the word... they were talking about whatever, and it started off with Robert Jordan getting really quiet and then leaning in and saying, "There is a _____ in the Blight." To which that completely blindsides Wilson. He says, "There’s a what?!?" And Robert Jordan then says, "There's a _____ in the Blight and not even Harriet knows about it." And then went on for two hours describing about how this was important and pivotal and yet takes place... be really important for the end of the book. Any further hints?

 

Brandon: And see, Wilson can get away with stuff that I can't. And that is a story I've been told by three different people now. In fact, the first day I was there in Charleston, Harriet told it to me. Then Maria told it to me. And then I met Wilson later and he told it to me. Because that was the day when they suddenly said, "We need a tape recorder. Someone get a tape recorder." And I think Maria, like, went to the store to get one and came back with... But then, that was the session where he started for the first time dictating what was to happen and things like this. I do know that story. It's great for you to share it with everyone. I would not have shared that story because I have to be extra careful not to cross any lines. And so...you will get hints about whatever that was in the next book [Towers of Midnight].

At first I thought this was unrelated to what I had been researching, but suddenly I had a "Veins of Gold" type of revelation: There's a Callandor in the Blight. At least, there's a twin to Callandor in the Blight, a male sa'angreal most likely equal in power, which perhaps might even draw in the True Power instead of the One Power. This series has often examined the nature of duality (Light vs. Shadow, Saidin vs. Saidar, etc.) and the stage is set for the ultimate confrontation between the champion for the forces of Light (Rand) to face the champion of Shadow (Moridin). Both champions will have their sa'angreal swords, and both will have their two female companions to help them wield the swords (Rand has Nynaeve and Alivia; Moridin has Cyndane and Moghedien).

The only things we know about the _____ in the Blight are that it's something that would be very hard to unearth, that even Harriet didn't know about it, that it would be an instant shocker that must have huge implications, and that it would be hinted about in Towers of Midnight. I'd say the two Towers of Midnight quotes I provided would qualify for that, but there's even more hints:

Towers of Midnight

Chapter 32, "A Storm of Light"

 

"Have you ever wondered why Callandor is so often called a 'fearful blade' or 'the blade of ruin' in the prophecies?"

 

"It's such a powerful sa'angreal," he said. "Maybe it's because of the destruction it can cause?"

 

"Maybe," she said.

 

"You think it's something else."

 

"There's a phrase," Min said, "in the Jendai Prophecy. I wish we knew more of them. Anyway, it says 'and the Blade will bind him by twain.'"

 

"Two women," Rand said. "I need to be in a circle with two women to control it."

 

She grimaced.

 

"What?" Rand said. "You might as well be out with it, Min. I need to know."

 

"There's another phrase, from The Karaethon Cycle. Anyway, I think that Callandor might be flawed beyond that. I think it might...Rand, I think it might make you weak, open you to attack, if you use it."

 

"Perhaps that's how I'll be killed, then."

The flaw Min speaks of, the blade binding by twain, has to do with the fact that there is at least an equally powerful sa'angreal which is the perfect antithesis to Callandor, and that wielding Callandor in the presence of that other sa'angreal will lead to the Dragon's fall. Needing two women in a circle is a red herring here; we have often seen that we will miss something big because we overlook a part of prophecy or foreshadowing in the novels, thinking it already has been fulfilled or explained. There is another reference to this sa'angreal in the fourth book of the series, The Shadow Rising:

The Shadow Rising

Chapter 9, "Decisions"

 

Could he use a sword against a woman, against Selene? No, against Lanfear, against one of the Forsaken.

 

His back came up hard against something, and he looked around to see what it was. There was nothing there. A wall of nothing, with his back pressed against it. Callandor glittered not three paces away--on the other side. He thumped a fist against the barrier in frustration; it was as unyielding as rock.

 

"I cannot trust you fully, Lews Therin. Not yet." She came closer, and he considered simply seizing her. He was bigger and stronger by far--and blocked as he was, she could wrap him up with the Power like a kitten tangled in a ball of string. "Not with that, certainly," she added, grimacing at Callandor. "There are only two more powerful that a man can use. One at least, I know, still exists. No, Lews Therin. I will not trust you yet with that."

One of the sa'angreal that Lanfear mentions is the male Choedan Kal, which is now kaput. As for the other, the one that supposedly is stronger than Callandor:

From Netherlands tour 8 April 2001, Elf Fantasy Fair - Aan'allein reporting

 

Q: In The Shadow Rising, Lanfear mentioned two sa'angreal stronger than Callandor that a male could use. Is the second one ever going to appear?

 

Robert Jordan: Read And Find Out.

And here's another one four years later:

From Knife of Dreams tour 28 October 2005 - Jason Wolfbrother reporting

 

Jason Wolfbrother: Was Callandor constructed during the War of Power?

 

Robert Jordan: Yes

 

Jason Wolfbrother: Was it used in the War of Power?

 

Robert Jordan: Yes, that is how the flaw was discovered.

 

Jason Wolfbrother: Why didn't they ward/buffer Callandor?

 

Robert Jordan: The flaw with Callandor is simply a manufacturing flaw. (He went on to talk about how they were at the end of their tech age with only a few sho-wings and jo-cars left. A couple of shocklances were still around but they were not as prevalent as they had been. Anyway they had been mass producing ter'angreal, angreal, and sa'angreal, and there are bound to be flaws with the products. The flaw with Callandor is simply one such flaw.)

 

Jason Wolfbrother: What is the second most powerful angreal for men? Will it make an appearance?

 

Robert Jordan: RAFO (Read And Find Out).

So, how does all of this apply to the black hand holding Callandor? Well, we all know that there is a link between Rand and Moridin (for more information see Rand/Moridin Link). If you take this one step further, and introduce the body-swap theory (here's the link for that one Body Swap theory) which essentially states that Rand and Moridin will switch bodies due to their link and the amount of Power they will be channeling in the vicinity of Shayol Ghul, you begin to see how a black hand might hold Callandor. When Rand and Moridin swap bodies, Moridin will find himself in Rand's body, and he will be held in a circle by Nyneave and Alivia, but he will be wielding Callandor. The black hand in Min's vision means the same thing meant by a "blade of black, held by a faceless darkness", that it will be someone from the Shadow.

There are other possibilities with this theory, as well as big implications in how this will effect the outcome of the series. Seeing as I've already covered a large chunk of material and rambled on for too long already, I will have to continue the rest of this theory next week, when I cover what is meant by "the day that dawns twice". Thanks for stopping by again, and please feel free to comment, whether you agree or disagree. Until next week!

Greetings, perusers of Dragonmount! I am happy to welcome you to "It Works in Theory..." (tentative title), Dragonmount's new theory blog headed by yours truly. This is my first blog on this site, so I suppose a short introduction wouldn't be a bad idea. I'm 25, an avid reader, an emerging writer, and a bassist in a band that shares my Dragonmount name. I'm getting married this fall, and generally enjoying life as it unfolds. Here's a fun fact about me: my band recently recorded its first EP, and one of the tracks we recorded was an instrumental I wrote called "Tarmon Gai'don." I hope to share a link with y'all soon.

Okay, now that that's out of the way, let's move on to the point of this blog. I was hoping the first idea I opined would be groundbreaking and shatter all preconceived notions anyone had about what was really going on in the Wheel of Time. Unfortunately, I soon found out that tens of thousands of fans who have been into this series far longer than me have put down just about any idea that I could hope to produce. That being said, I am still determined to put something out there that seems somewhat fresh. The subject we will cover today has to do with the fate of the Aiel as a people, and of Aviendha specifically.

Much deliberation has gone on in the forums about what might happen to the Aiel after Aviendha's visions in Rhuidean. The Aiel have been venerated by Wheel of Time fans since they were originally introduced, and the notion that what Aviendha saw may actually come to pass seems to have greatly affected many of us. Obviously, if we want to find a way that the Aiel's fate may be avoided, the first place to look would be the Aiel Prophecies. There happen to be a couple of them on which I would like to focus:

"One of the old prophecies says that if ever we fail the Aes Sedai again, they will slay us." - The Great Hunt, chapter 28

"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

I'll go ahead and cut to the chase at this time: I believe the Aiel nation and Aviendha in particular will assume the roles of martyrs in the last book of the series, and that they will essentially be destroyed, except for that last remnant. Their sacrifice will be essential to the Light winning, and the manner in which they do it will be truly heroic. One thing to remember is that what saddened Aviendha most during her visions wasn't that her people would die, but that they would lose every last shred of honor. She will do everything in her power to prevent either from happening, but if given the choice, she would greatly prefer that the Aiel maintain their honor.

Aviendha has always seemed to be a perfect martyr in the series; her internal conflict and lack of arrogance has defined her. One of her first lines in the series is loaded with foreshadowing:

"Death comes for us all," the Aiel said. "We only choose how to face it when it comes."- The Dragon Reborn, chapter 38

Of course, the rest of the Aiel have the same sense about them--the same fearless stance toward both death and fighting the Shadow--but Aviendha's character has many moments throughout the series when she considers the notion of sacrificing herself to help another to be expected. Then there's the fact that her relationship to Rand differs from Min's and Elayne's in important ways. Elayne already has his seed in her, so she has a lifelong connection no matter what. The intimacy shared by Min and Rand is considerably greater than what is shared by the other two. Aviendha and Rand's relationship seems much more complex. Part of this has to do with Rand's difficulty with seeing the Aiel as his people, but there has been somewhat of a distance between the two in all phases of their relationship. This distance can be observed as recently as Aviendha's conversation with Nakomi, when she is reluctant to reveal how well she knows Rand (even though she already trusts Nakomi at this point). Most significant, though, is her belief that the blame for her people losing all honor lies in her bloodline. It is apparent that she wouldn't have any problem assuming the martyr role to save her people; in fact, it might be necessary.

So, how will this occur? Rand will need help at Shayol Ghul when he breaks the seals. He already has hinted that he doesn't think he will be able to contain the Dark One, and after the Dark One has been imprisoned for another three thousand years following his short vacation of being released on the world, I highly doubt that he will be handled like a kitten that has escaped its litter. The Aiel will be the ones who will provide that aid, led by Aviendha.

The unique way in which Aviendha will assist with containing the Dark One has to do with somewhat of a controversial subject: the Talent of Singing. I know the idea of a particular "Song" has been put to rest, but I still believe that Singing will be the one thing which is able to keep the Dark One from completely escaping his prison once the seals are broken. We see hints of the powers of song and music throughout the series: in Loial and other Ogier's ability to Tree Sing, when Rand initially staves off the Forsaken from entering his mind by playing his flute, and when we hear about the lost ability of Aiel Singing used to promote crop growth. The Dark Ones represents chaos or disorder. The Light, on the other hand, represents order and harmony. In fact, there is a humorous theory that examines this idea more in depth on Theoryland: Wheel of Time: The Musical.

I'm not sure how the Talent will be rediscovered, but I would speculate that it might end up having to do with Tel'aran'rhiod, unless Aviendha gets another visit from Nakomi. Few Aiel probably have the Voice for Singing either; in fact, Aviendha might not even have it. Much like the Da'shain Aiel defense of Tzora, when 10,000 Aiel hooked arms and sang until the last one died, Aviendha will make sure the Aiel gather in mass to save Rand not through violence, but by finally restoring the Way of the Leaf in her people. The combination of even more Aiel than at Tzora and hundreds of Wise One channelers, including Aviendha, will create a force of harmony that will keep the Dark One from unleashing his fury on Randland, at least for a time. Assuming Rand's ruse works and the forces of the Shadow are all distracted while he does his business in Shayol Ghul, Moridin will show up to give Rand the fight of his and everyone else's life while Aviendha and her Aiel chorus will buy Rand more time.

Unfortunately, the other Forsaken will show up with other creatures of the Shadow, and the Aiel will start to get massacred. The Forsaken are, after all, true Aes Sedai, and the Aiel failing to fall into place in their schemes will earn their own destruction. As Aviendha is slain, Rand will feel the loss through his bond to her. He will then proceed to blow open the floodgates, defeat Moridin and whichever Forsaken are left, and wrap it all up by resealing the Bore along with both male and female channelers. Another way for that part of Prophecy to be fulfilled is if a Seanchan attack on the White Tower forces Egwene to ask for help from the Aiel. The Aiel won't be able to accommodate that request because they will have readopted the Way of the Leaf. This would lead to Egwene refusing to send Aes Sedai to help Aviendha and the Aiel contain the Dark One. In this scenario, a likely assumption would be that Egwene changes her mind in the end so she is able to lend female channelers to help seal the Bore.

I believe the remnant of a remnant that Rand saves will be the Tuatha'an, for they are a remnant of the current Aiel society, which is itself a remnant of ancient Aiel society:

A Crown of Swords book tour, 9 October 1996, Dunwoody, GA - Erica Sadun reporting

 

 

Q: Are the Aiel already a Remnant?

Robert Jordan: RAFO.

Some may say that the Tuatha'an are not similar enough to the Aiel anymore, that their genetic pool has been "diluted" by non-Aiel blood. I say all you need for a remnant is for something to be descended from something else, and the Tuatha'an most certainly trace their origin and bloodline back to the Aiel. It is possible, though, that the remnant Rand saves will be some of the Aiel who are left at Shayol Ghul, and I really like the idea someone else proposed that their place ends up in Rhuidean helping that city to flourish. Another issue I wanted to address was Aviendha's death, which many might say can't happen yet because of Min's vision of Aviendha's babies. I am of the opinion that Min's visions are no longer foolproof because the Dark One's influence has grown and cast a shadow over the Pattern, which makes it difficult to read. That being said, it is possible that Rand comes in at the zero hour to save Aviendha when he feels her mortally injured through the bond. Either way, she and many of the Aiel would approach their death with no fear and gladly assume a martyr role in an attempt to alter their future. Their actions would make it possible for any surviving Aiel not to be persecuted in the Wetlands because it would become widely known that Aiel were partially responsible for defeating the Dark One. Their actions would also completely resolve any toh leftover from when they broke the Covenant, and would give them a much more fitting end than the one seen by Aviendha in the columns.

Thus ends my premiere blog. I hope it ends up being much more fun for you to read it than it was for me to write it.