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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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