Also did we ever find out what Thom was doing on winternite, when he was not seen by anybody but his cloak was burnt. Are Thoms knives mini shocklances like that darkfriend sister in KoD. And does Thom still have his knives, i seem to remember him losing them in a couple of trollocs or something and he said "those were my best knives"

I think it's more likely that they're just Power-wrought. And you're right, that scene was in Aridhol, but it was a mistake. Later editions read 'second-best'.

I think it's in the BUT topic, but someone mentionned Ishamael's chord to the DO being severed during Tear's fight. Does this mean Moridin was reborn without that chord? My question more specifically, even though I think the answer is positive, is: Does the DO can "redo" that chord to ensure total obedience of its subject, if he wants to obviously?

I think it stands to reason that anything the DO can do, he/she/it can also reproduce.

Moghedien gets a seal at Tanchico. Why didn't she take it to Shayol Ghul?

Maybe because it is Nynaeve and Elayne that took the seal, not Moghedien. She fled after her failure against Nyn, who shielded her.

No, Val's got a point. Moghedien saw it first, but chose to disguise it rather than take it. Why did she do that? And if the Shadow isn't interested in acquiring the Seals, why attack Devram and Dobrain?

Have we gotten an explanation as to why there were blue flashes when Thom fought the Myrddraal at Whitebridge while Rand and Mat escaped yet or is it still a RAFO?

Basically still RAFO, but we've gotten two answers. The first, Thom's favorite couple of daggers are very special. The second, that the flashes began before Thom reached the Myrrdraal.

So, maybe the rubble he mentioned wasn't supposed to be the Seals alone? Or maybe that 'Belief and order give strength' part is vital in some way.

How come Moghedien or Taim never break the Seals?

Moghedien couldn't, the Seal in Tanchico was still unbreakable (the BF didn't break it, or was that the Dominion Band?).

And Taim - that seems to be part of some scheme. Or, maybe he wasn't evil when we first saw him.

Ishamael said:

"They will not save you," Ba'alzamon said. "Those who might save you will be carried far across the Aryth Ocean. If ever you see them again, they will be collared slaves, and they will destroy you for their new masters."

What he meant by that is anyone's guess.

I forget the term used by the Loial's mother, but do we know if the Gardeners are in on the escape plan?  Seems like it would be a legend to them as disassociated as they are from RandLand Ogier.

I don't know, and I actually think that it's quite insulting that they weren't invited to the Stump (at least, were I a Seanchan Ogier and I learned that the Randlanders intend to open the Book of Translation without consulting me, I'd be offended :)).

Barid, not at all, I wasn't offended (you and I have been there, haven't we?). I think it's not the same thing. One can hardly say 'whom I'll marry' when actually referring to some casual love interest, but I can certainly see her saying 'know his face' when she means 'know him'. Don't you agree?

Excuse me, I meant to say that I think you're taking Moiraine's statement too literally, but at the same time I acknowledged that sometimes one has to do just that when it comes to that woman.

So take it as an 'I don't agree but your argument is valid'. If you feel that this doesn't advance the discussion much, well, I agree. But it's good to sometimes test the public reception of your theories, isn't it?

That could end up an important part of it, or it's just a turn of phrase.

And yet Moiraine does say 'marry', and she believes herself better informed on the identity of the man she'll marry than the girls (this is particularly odd since she's aware that Elayne fancies Rand, and Min has undoubtedly shared her viewings with Moiraine. In addition, she herself has made arrangements for Lan to be passed to Nyneave, and every fool could see that the two of them will marry as soon as it will be possible).

And it was discussed before, perhaps even on this thread. If I recall correctly, I said then - and I believe still - that Min couldn't have just told her she's destined to marry Thom, else she wouldn't say there's a possibility that they would die in the rescue attempt (unless she thinks to ask a 'finn to officiate a quick ceremony...)

Please refrain from making things up on the spot.

I was going by something I saw on Discovery (or NG, I don't remember). I've checked again, and apparently I was a little confused - cooking doesn't contributes to the nutrition value of meat, it only increases the calories-intake from eating meat. If you need a reference, this will do: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/02/090213-human-diet-cooking.html

Please refrain from leaving offensive comments.

I get that.

By the way, cooking isn't necessarily a sign of delicate taste, it actually increases the nutrition value of meat. That's the main reason that the discovery of fire was such a big deal for our ancestors.

And some animals do have a higher tolerance to spoiled meat than ours. Dogs and cats are the obvious examples. I don't know regarding crops, though. I think there're rotten bananas in what we feed cows with, but I'm not sure.

Spoiled food isn't completely destroyed, as it would have been had it been burnt, though. It's not devoid of nutrition, it's rotten, i.e. it contains dangerously high levels of bacteria. Or am I mistaken?

Barid, I think farthammer meant that you have no way of knowing that trollocs can feed on spoiled food. That the DO didn't cause it to go bad isn't proof in and of itself.

A good question, but no, they won't. The reason I'm certain of that is that Liandrin still couldn't channel when we last saw her, which was after Moghedien's been shielded by Nyneave.

No, there is still the possibility that SOME Aes Sedai think that it's okay to write lies, while most don't. It's always a matter of what you believe in with the OR.

Firstly, Mat's seepage of memories and OT phrases from before TSR is explained by Moiraine as 'the old blood singing', i.e. it comes from his ancestors, not past lives.

Secondly, if we keep debating this, we should probably start a new thread. This one is for simple questions and answers.

And lastly, it doesn't really matter, but bobothebarbarian - why do you post several posts in a row, rather than using 'edit', or else preparing your posts in advance?

Oh, yeah. Sorry, but you were wrong. There are quotes from RJ himself supporting that BFed souls do get reborn.

can someone please explain Mat's power with luck?  I've only read the first two books but am very curious to know how this works and plays out through the series.  thanks!

No, there's really no explanation for it. We know from interviews with RJ that the dice ter'angreal stolen from the Tower has nothing to do with it, and he also once said "when people say Mat has the DO's own luck, he might get angry, but in a way that's true" (I'm paraphrasing).

Just after he got his memories back he asked someone, i think Lan about people he had been in the past, and i think it was mat who said he had been known as the gambler, not 100% sure tho.

I would really like to know what you're referring to. I have no recollection of us ever learning who Mat was in past lives. We do know that he's currently known for being somewhat of a gambler (and I don't mean by his friends. That's a given). We have an example of that when the Aelfinn call him Gambler.

2: Dreams. Rand has a 'dream' where he's in a Ways-like maze and Ba'alzomon is searching for him / chasing him. He gets a thorn through his finger which is still there when he wakes up which means it can't be an ordinary dream.  But if it's Tel'aran'rhiod then presumably Ba'alzy brought him there and shouldn't need to search for him. What gives? Are the boys 'dreams' actually them being brought into T'A'R ?

(Awesomely, this dream ends with Rand checking out a face in the mirror:  one face, his own face, Ba'alzomon's face, one face... could this be a hint at a future link to Moridin?)

There's nothing to suggest that when you forcibly bring someone to tel'aran'rhiod you can then control his actions there or locate him should he run away. Moreover, it just might be the chase that Ishamael was interested in.

3: At the Eye, Aginor mentions that it was Mat who led them there. How did he do that?

Moiraine tells Mat that by the time he reached Caemlin, his link to the dagger would have been visible to every common Darkfriend on sight, and IIRC would have also pulled Shadowspawn to him. I guess the Forsaken can also use that link in the same way (even after Moiraine did her thing).

4: Is it generally accepted that it was it the Creator chatting to Rand at Tarwin's Gap? Seems a bit of an odd thing for the Creator to do; why at that point in Rand's life and never again?

Well, it was all caps. The only other being who we've seen talk that way is the DO. Hence, it's likely one or the other. I can't tell you which one, and RJ didn't like to answer questions that nobody in Randland has a way of knowing the answer to (therefore questions regarding the Creator were rarely answered).

We've seen many references to the 13*13 of someone tu turn him/her to the Dark One, but is there any mention of the reverse????

Much has already been said, and I'll do my best not to repeat anything. I just wanted to add that the common belief is that no one can walk in the Shadow long enough that he cannot come back to the light. Now, believing something doesn't make it so, but I like to think that, if there's justice in the world, the likes of Ingtar and Verin do achieve redemption, in the end.

so that strongly suggests Mesaana isnt either

That's hardly convincing evidence. I take Graenal's assertion that Mesaana was to be more reliable than similarities between the behavior of other Forsaken (it's important to note that those Forsaken had no real reason to change their apperences, while Mesaana certainly does).

Do you think it's possible that Birgitte will 'slow' along with Elayne?

[...]

Min does see many lifetimes of adventure in Birgitte's aura; much more than one woman could possibly have.

An interesting notion, and I don't think anyone can have an answer for you on that one. Min's viewing, however, is more likely just about Birgitte's future lives (the fact that Gaidal appears in them as both younger and older than her seems to suggest just that).

No, I mean I was reading a quote where the forsaken are having a meeting in tFoH, Rahvin guesses that Graendel and Lanfear are holding the power. Shouldn't he be sure of it if every man could do what Rand can?

What Rahvin thought was:

For that matter, both women were probably filled to bursting with the Power right that moment, ready to strike at the slightest suspicion of either man.

I take it to mean he thought they were ready to counter any attack he or Sammael might try. We know all men can sense a woman holding the True Source.

yes i know he was dreaming but i believe Ishamael was there in the flesh to be able to pull a dreaming person in to T'A'R

Oh, then that's okay. Sorry about that.

How is it that Rand can get a faint sense of when a female channels near him?

Why do fish swim, and birds fly? That's just the way the WoTverse works.

1. they are only at the mercy of someone if a. that person is also a dreamwalker or b. that person has a strong emotional connection to them such as Gawyn/Egwene.

2. only masters of TAR can pull some one into TAR, and only if they have some sort of connection to them, such as Ishy and darkfriends.

3. i doubt it happened, only apprentices of dreamwalkers could be pulled in, and i dont see that happening much.

4. i reckon you don't actually lose a part of yourself when going to TAR in the flesh, Egwene didn't lose a part of herself, and Rand didn't, not because of TAR anyway...

Mostly true, but why do you reckon it's only possible to pull someone you have a connection with into tel'aran'rhiod? I don't see any evidence for that.

BTW bobothebarbarian, the man Ishamael killed was there in the dream, not flesh. It's certainly possible to die that way in TAR.

So, a couple of pages back someone asked about what Moiraine couldn't think of when visiting with Vandene & Adeleas in tGH.  It might help if you quoted more from that conversation.  I remember at the time I thought it had something to do with the events at Falme.  I don't know where my copy is right now to look up that conversation.

Oh, it's too long to quote here, and they discuss many subjects (the forsaken, the horn, Shadar Logoth, the prophecies of the dragon, dark prophecies, the watchers over the waves etc.). It's in TGH ch.22: Watchers. If you'd like, PM me and I'll PM back a complete quote. Anyways, if you have an idea, I'd love to hear about it.