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

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

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

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

 

Chapter 17, "Older, More Weathered"

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

“Are you singing?” Mat whispered to Rand.

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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