Oh I so miss RJ's Mat and Tuon.

Mat in ToM was RJ, not BS, so you don't miss RJ's Mat, you miss the old Mat before he developed.

I always interpreted Mat's reaction as him basically knowing they had a whole army of mooks after them, knew they had to escape quickly, and knew there was no time to marvel over the fact that Noal was Jaim. The "oh, you're Jain Farstrider. Thx for sacrificing yourself. Yup, I'll tell Lan. See ya!" might have seemed out of place if the revalation was over a campfire and coffee, but in the circumstances, when they knew they were in imminent danger, it seemed to fit just fine.

 

I'm sure Sanderson's style of writing had something to do with it as well. His dialogue isn't as drawn-out and detailed as RJ's was, so saying, 'l8r jain fasrstird' and ditching is staying in form.

except that sequence was written by RJ, not BS.

The statement RJ made about the flashes starting before Thom reached the fade are incorrect (in neither of my EotW versions are they mentioned before Thom has taken down the fade) - unless he means that the cause started before Thom reached the fade (which doesn't preclude Rand channeling, since that starst aboutt 1 page (paperback) before the flashes.

As to having to see, Rand was still looking at Thom and the Fade when the flashes came, then he turned around / got turned and fled (along with half of whitebridge). As to Thoms knifes, he is holding them, but the fade does not have its sword drawn when Thom bears down on it, and the powerwrougth / thakan'dar forged effect can't be the cause of the flashes the way the encounter is written.

IF rand did not channel, what caused his fever? (I haven't reached that yet, so I can't remember if there is an obvious alternate reason for the fever)

Did Rand channel in Whitebridge when the fade came at Thom them, and is that the cause of the blue flashes?

I am currently readin EotW, and being very thorough about it due to spotting when Rand learns about the Black Ajah (will return to that another time). I have just finished the Whitebridge episode, and thought of the mystery of the blue flashes.

The following leaped out at me combined with knowing that next time we see Rand (it goes to Perrin for the next chapter) he is having a fever and other bad symptoms.;

The black cowl froze Rand where he stood. He tried to summon up the void, but it was like fumbling after smoke. The Fade's hidden gaze knifed to his bones and turned his marrow to icicles. [...]Rand tore his eyes away - he almost groaned; it felt like tearing a leech off of his face - but even staring at the stones he could still see the Myrddraal coming, [...]

Thom then pushes Rand who is still fixated on the Myrddraal, Thom crashes into the fade "before theblack blade was half drawn, and both went down in a thrashing heap"

Thom yells for them to run and then "the air in the square flashed an eye-searing blue".

From the description the Myrddraal has not gotten its sword out, Rand is fixated on the tableu, and the preceeding pages description of the feeling in his bones parallels the descriptions of Saidin several other places. Rand was reaching for the void and in a state of fear for his life (like the previous - and later - times he channels.

damn... thanks for the reply tho! thought someone would have as a digital copy!

Is this it?:

"My name is Nynaeve ti al'Mera Mandragoran.

The message I want to send is this:

My husband rides from World's End toward Tarwin's Gap,

toward Tarmon Gai'don.

Will he ride alone?"

(I grabbed it from "Impressive Bosom"'s signature)