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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Memory of Light

Prologue

 

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

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

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

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