@mashira i would agree... the columns are showing aviendha what would happen to her people if they do not get a new toh to meet... be it serving the aes sedai again, or otherwise.... the columns show us that the aiel cannot survive without a purpose other than living

@rosie moraine didnt go through the columns... she went through the rings... the columns show the past and(possible) future, the rings show similar to the flickering rand found on his trip by portal stone... what might be.... which is how she knew lanfear could have attacked at the docks, and how she might be able to beat her. and to leave the letter to tom for her rescue...

While I think most agree that the past is fact, going forward the Pillars only tell of what may come to pass. I believe they give hints of what might be, not what will be. Even min's viewing are of only parts of the pattern. And for certain people they have multiple outcomes yet to be determined. (Siaun and Bryn.) The Pillars are linked to the realm of the snakes and the foxes. I believe they lay outside the pattern in some way. And feed on emotion - Passion, and what greater passion is there than purpose. The reason I say this is because during Aviendha travels into her possible future she received hints at the "causes" of this possible future. This fore knowledge has armed her to deal with opportunities that are sure to arise during the current 'present' time. if only she can recognize what needs to 'change' to change the vision. (HINT) I feel comfortable suggesting that Aviendha's fate and that of her people might lie in influencing who comes to rule or continues to rule the crystal throne. If you re-read the chapter with this in mind I think it will shed new light.

it would be a kicker if the path that av finds for the aiel, is serving the empire, but, i really doubt it as the seanchan capture wise women as damane... a HUGE insult, to their entire way of life...

also, i believe the glass columns dont show past/future, they show the different ages... when avi touched the columns, they sensed her, and her need, and simply updated to show the next age... if anyone else stepped through now, the would also be shown the next age... be it past, present, or future...

as for its certinty, i still believe the past is set, it will show that without error... but the future can only ever be a possibility

to me, its obviously just "a possible future" as aviendha's children are named :) a very easy way to change the future from the visions she saw, is to name her children something else... a small difference, but an easy proof that the vision isnt set in stone...

the future is only what we make of it...

anyone else find it ironic that the amyerlins title is "watcher over the seals" and yet, they have had no clue where they were for thousands of years? ending up in places from palaces, to farmers huts, to underwater, to in the eye itself... so... why couldnt they find any?

i must agree with jack... lanfear by FAR is the most interesting forsaken...

and, moraine and lanfear have had nearly identical parts to play... moraine leading rand to the light, lanfear to the shadow...

lanfear is the one with the most depth... she's veyr powerful, the one who first drilled the bore, obsessed over rand to the point of insanity(related to the drilling?), and yet, she's one of the few i could see returning to the light...

I like how almost every forum topic comes back to Taim, Demandred, or Slayer - but that's OK because it's all relavent.

The leading theory on Taim (which I really like) is that Demandred is in the Borderlands. He ordered 13 black ajah sisters in Saldaea to turn Taim to the shadow, and those 13 are now with the borderlander army in the south.

And for the record, I HATE the theory that Taim = Moridin. Ishy died at the end of tDR, and first appeared as Moridin in aCoS. Taim has been up and about for the past 15 years; we've seen him while Ishy was and wasn't dead.

yea, taim is not moridin... however, i have heard theory that taim is actually ishameal's son... we know that ishy was able to get around before the releasing, and there are many physical similarities...

when people are turned, there are differences in how they look/act... taim doesnt have those... if someones turned, they become reckless, i wouldnt expect a turned, to become a darkfriend of any real authority...

and i believe that demandred is the king of murandy... he came from nowhere, and is close to the band... we havent seen much of him in either case...

i dunno about that damer... its not rands task to kill luc/slayer... thats perrins destiny... tho i would agree, that luc will probably be around at TG... i suspect that ran and perin ill be together, in TAR to seal/rebuild the prison... luc may go after rand, but perrin would likely be going into TAR in the flesh this time(with rand), and thus, have the realness that will make slayer a puppy compared to perrin :P

third one(selene) is how i imagined her most... simple, flowing robes... bare feet... but theyre all very nice pictures :D

i also think, Nynaeve will heal Rands death. She surely will be there at the last Battle. But i dont think, she will be in the circle wielding Callandor.

 

i think, the circle will be made of obviously Rand, Moraine ... and Cyndane/Lanfear/Mierin - she is The female wielder while opening the Bore in the first place [Rands memories in the Aiel Ter'Angreal]. And she regrets going for the Shadow [Epilog of ToM].

agreed... moraine and mierin have very similar story lines from the getgo... as much as the evidence(book cover) shows hat its moraine and nynaeve, i still think meirin&moraine would be a better fit in the story...

Also, i think, the Callandor is not only a Sa'Angreal for the male One Power, but also for the True Power [all this hints from Min: "it is flawed beyond we know.." and "Callandor, hold in an onyx hand.." and the fact Rand is now connected to it].

again, agreed, it may be a dual purpose sa'angreal, but if so, its the first we've yet seen... i think more likely, that its actually much more powerful than the chodenkal, and that the females in the circle with it act as the buffer stopping the channeler from drawing that much... think, lews created dragonmount with a sword of light too... far more than we've seen before...

thats one reason why i believe rand+calendor+circle will be used to kill the DO and fix the prison, and rand+calendor will be used to stuff fain inside it...

DarkOne is not a person. This Voice forsaken hear while in the Pit of Doom is the voice planted into their minds by Ishamael/Moridin, who is playing "this fools" for his own end.

I think i disagree... i see fain as... a younger sort of DO... fain is the flesh, but he is also much more than that now... i believe that the TP is the "much more" of the DO, but he still has flesh somewhere...

if thats so, it could be argued, that... as TG ends, both the creator and the DO neutralize eachother, fain becomes the new DO, rand the new creator... which could explain the breaking, a slightly different view on the world, and the world adjusting itslef to the new mindsets...

Ameneon, on , said:

 

The royal line of Andor is Rand himself

I agree. I'm sure Elaida's Foretelling was referring to Rand. Doesn't that just make you grin?

...

~Mashiara

it sure does! elaida failed in every way possible :D hurray! :D

will channeling disappear during one of the ages? i suspect so, but, the coming age, isnt it... avi's children are fully capable of channeling... i mean, the spreading of the stedding effect may take time tho, i cant rule that out...

it does seemt tho, that after this breaking, in a few generations, they go from the perma-channelers, to the a'dam has become obsolete... whethe its a static to stop bonding, or the steading slowly spreading, or a seanchan societal change(i doubt), i dont know...

they have the early car, and the early gun/cannon... id like to think that the coming age is our own, but i dont rightly see how a non-channeler could defeat the DO and cause the next age to come... wouldnt that mean TG has nothing to do with the power?

the only problem with that theory, is that avi's children are fully able to channel... the people thought it was odd how easy they did it, so others also were able to channel... id more call it a "distortion"... where certain things stop working, or even potentially backfire... travelling, adam, others perhaps? but not a complete severing of all channeling ability...

i tend to think that it will change... if not completely self destruct at the end of the next book... when avi did her future walk through rhuidean, se saw the seanchan use the guns, but there was absolutely no mention of damane... or suldam... we do know that saiar isnt tainted, as its not mentioned(seems like an obvious thing to mention)... and that people still can channel... i think it more likely, that bonding in the next agee wont be possible... be it the aes sedai bond, or the a'dam...

have you considered that the "Three on the boat, and he who is dead yet lives. The great battle done, but the world not done with battle." may not be referring to avi, min, or elayne? it could be mat, rand and perrin, and moridin

well... we dont know if rand is tied to the DO, i tend to think not... we do know, that he is bonded in some way to moridin, and he has the "right" to touch the TP.... whether that was the souce of rands ability, or the DO lied saying that only those with permission could touch it... dangerous yes, stupid to do it without permission(or with for that matter) yes... possible to touch it without permission... i dont know... we know the characters in the WoT are often wrong... and we've yet to have any proof one way or the other...

Mark, I think when Rand used the power in the Eye of the World, he was connected to with a thick strand of Light. That could be the connection to the Creator. He used up all the saidin in the Eye, but the connection could still remain. It was, after all, when he was using the Eye that the capitalized voice (most assume it was the Creator) spoke to him.

i completely agree, most people forget about the eye, as it happened so long ago, and it was pooly explained(or understood)... tho that does raise one question... i forget which forsaken it was tthat fought rand at the eye, but he was drawing on it too... could someone be connected to both creator and DO? aparently.

and, as evidence to support that the eye was a connection to the creator... when the forsaken was drawing on it, it was restoring his health... rebuilding muscle, flesh, etc... even nynaeve couldnt heal rands hand that had been blown away... the OP can heal whats there, but it cannot replace...

then the question is... if rand is bound to the creator, and the DO (aparently) doesnt need help to resurrect people bound to him, why would the creator need nyaneve to "heal death"? couldnt the creator just do it?

So, I see what you are saying and I did not read through the comments but I wanted to add this.

 

I would think along different lines and not put it as blunt as Nyneave healing death. Through out the entire series they talk about the "pattern" and "weaving". If Rand and Lews are the same person "Technically" then Nyneave is offered two choices to "revive" Rand.

 

At a key point in time, Nyneave could "weave" a change in the thread of the pattern itself. Either repairing it (essentially bringing a character back to life), or splice it separating Lews Therin and Rand so that they become separate. In time for Rand to do what needs to be done and Lews to finally make the sane choice to redeem himself in his own eyes.

 

Making the splice would be a good choice and possibly give Rand a chance at becoming more of his old self. Changing his identity and living out his life with 3 gorgeous woman. What a jerk! But I hope it happens! lol

i see rand and mat as vvery similar characters in this apsec... they both have memories of their previous lives... difference being, that rands previous life, was insane... i belive the "hearing voices" was a psychological effect of rands mind protecting itself from that insanity... rand has always been lews... and as of ToM, there is no longer a line of division between them...

two glasses of water are seperate and unique, but when mixed, there is no way to seperate them again

What if the price to be paid to resurrect Rand is sealing off the One Power (and the True Power) to everyone, forever, going forward in time? The WOT universe goes on like our own reality. No magic at all, for anyone?

there is no end to the turning of the wheel of time...

ive also considered, that since the black ropes that connect the forsaken to the DO is likely what lets him ressurect them, that the whitteness n rands mind, may be a cause of him being bound to the creator... perhaps that is the tool that nyaneve uses to bring him back... we do know that she is the only one sofar to have noticed it...

That being said, I have always assumed that when Mat blows the horn at the last battle (or whoever blows it now--since he died and came back, I'm sure that's another forum...), that Birgitte would be pulled from "real life" and back into T'A'R. The women talk about her untimely pull from T'A'R snapping her connections to the wheel, but this is just chatter between a few women, who have done no research or study of the situation as it is an exclusive event. They have no real understanding of what will happen when the horn goes off. I believe that if the Creator himself tied her to the wheel, not even the Chosen could change that without the use of balefire.

im pretty sure that rj said that mats balefired rebirth, didnt sever his connectin with the horn... or more to say, that when he died, it was severed, when balefired back to life, the connection to the horn returned also...

as for brigetta, i believe that she is still bound to the wheel(or at least will be sortly again), that she will likely die in the next book, and be reborn almost right away, in time for her to be reconnected with gaidal(she was always younger too)...

ive always thought there could be a very simple way of "healing death"... just... balefire the corpse... it would burn back in the pattern, and undo the death...

the other option, would be that since rand is tied to the wheel, if the sealing happens in TAR, if rand were to die, he would just come right back to life... not truely alive, but living in TAR as a hero of the horn...

yea, im pretty sure demandred is the king of murandy... he hired the band, so he is closeish to mat, he just showed up out of nowhere, and the likes... we havent seen much of demandred, or the king of murandy, so its quite hard to tell... i think its a good fit still :)

a great question, and ive honestly lost count... i generally have one at least one read through before each new book was released... so yea, we're talking 10+