Ah. Ya'll are too tough on Perrin. Granted, he's much more interesting since he's come to accept his role as a leader. And yes, the quest to rescue Faile went on WAY too long. CoT only took place over the course of a few days, and for my money, if Perrin wasn't going to rescue Faile in that book, they should have not been in it at all.

But since Faile has been rescued, the two of them have:

1. Rescued 1 former and 1 sitting Queen (while rescuing Faile)

2. Driven off the Shaido once and for all (while rescuing Faile)

3. Managed a temporary truce with the Seanchan (also during Faile's rescue)

4. Learned the truth about Morgase

5. Reunited Morgase with her children

6. Definitively dealt with the Whitecloak charges against him, including getting closure with Bornhold and Byar.

7. Brought those same Whitecloaks into the Last Battle on Rand's side

8. Battled Slayer on Slayer's turf and terms, and beat just shy of killing him.

9. Lost Hopper for good

10. Learned the truth of his humanity/wolfbrother balance

11. Got himself a power-wrought weapon

12. Inadvertently shaken up the power struggle between the Forsaken by mucking up the plans of Graendal AND Mesanna (and Moridin by default) RIGHT BEFORE the Last Battle

13. Oh, and Faile finished off the Mesema for good.

That list is pretty impressive to me. The frustration I felt toward Perrin and Faile from ACoS to TPoD wasn't really about their characters, but more about the plot pacing of those books in general. The pacing of Perrin and Faile's story SINCE her rescue has more than made up for it, in my humble opinion.

And for the record, I agree with Mashiara that Perrin survives, and becomes King of Saldea, whether or not Faile survives, but also for the record, I think she'll live too. What I really want to know is: How does Perrin finally beat Slayer. Their last battle was E to the P - I - C. And their final battle can only raise the stakes...

Or maybe it's because Perrin is the character with which I self-identify the most.

@Mashiara - That thread you mentioned where you made some predictions between KoD and TGS... can you share some of the theories you got wrong? Or give us a link?

I remember making a theory that seems totally outrageous now, though still technically possible I suppose. It was that Rand would lose the Last Battle (on purpose?), allowing the DO to break the Wheel of Time, and create linear-time, also eliminating the One Power, True Power, World of Dreams, Wolfbrothers, reincarnation, and everything supernatural; making Randland more like our world. My thought was that the way we live now IRL was exactly what the Dark One would want: easily divided, easily controlled, all the while believing that we still have choices.

I say it's outrageous now, because (1.) Veins of Gold made it perfectly clear that Rand has no intention of losing the Last Battle and (2.) the Dark One is not interested in "creating" anything, except as a means to destroy something else. He wants to negate all of existence, so a "linear-time" world seems unlikely.

And yes, the Sea Folk... they seem to have taken a back seat since TGS, We know their aptitude with weather. Makes me wonder if the Dark One is going to try to make the weather fatal near Shayol Ghul, and the Sea Folk channelers will be needed to stabilize it. There's another prediction for you.

I still think that Denzel must be lauging his a$$ off at us, him being the only person who's read it already and he knows which of our theories are bogus. I applaud the man for containing himself. I'm not sure I'd be able to.

Yeah, but this is a close-knit group. We want our own thread. You can't just have random fans making predictions all willy-nilly. That'll just lead to anarchy and chaos! We here on Mashiara's blog are professional WoT Theorists. And we've been doing this a while, but our days are numbered, since you know, story ending soon! Is it snobbish of me to be in favor of this? Yeah, probably.

Also, Elaida seems to have a history of misunderstanding her own Foretellings. Remember her Foretelling about the Black Tower? And how Sisters would "walk in its grounds?" She TOTALLY read that one wrong.

@gwenifer - Wow! I'm somebody's favorite something! That's a first! Thank you very much.

And don't sweat your English. It's better than most native speakers' English. I had no idea you were in Poland. You could not be further away from me if you tried. My species (over-fed, long-haired, hippie leaping gnomes) is native to California.

If we do start our own Social Group, it should be called the "WE WERE RIGHT AND EVERYONE ELSE WAS WRONG SO NYAH NYAH!" group.

@Mashiara, another way to look at that "Royal Line of Andor" Foretelling is that it could have been referring to Tigraine and Luc's mother, who was Queen at the time the Foretelling was made. That would cover Tigraine, Luc, Rand, and Galad, yes?

It's always the same group of folks that post on the theory blog. Man, I'm going to miss you, my fellow WoT nerds, when there are no more theories to uncork. If you all lived in the Frisco Bay, I'd suggest we should get together after we've all read AMoL and see who's theories were right.

It's close now. Just a couple more months... Mashiara, mark, jack, gwenifer... you guys are awesome!

Okay, enough with the love fest. Now let me tell you why you're all WRONG WRONG WRONG!

No just kidding! I agree with you guys almost all the time. And when we disagree, I love that too!

@jack - I agree with you and mark that Perrin's battle (and likely OTHER battles as well) will take place in T'A'R, but I'm not too worried about who will command Perrin's armies in his stead. I would think it'd be obvious who would take over for Perrin if he becomes otherwise occupied: Davram Bashere. He's one of the five Great Captains, and he's been fighting shadowspawn all his life. If anything, he'd be more qualified than Perrin to lead that massive army.

And don't forget that Tam and Galad are also both blademasters, have held commands, and both have recent experience against large contingents of trollocs. Bashere still makes the most sense, but my point was just that Perrin has alternatives.

The most interesting part of this to me is the "Three shall be as one" line. More foreshadowing that whatever the path to victory is, it MUST include the good guys working together toward the exact same goal. The bad guys will continue to try to divide and conquer. This is why Rand and Egwene MUST come to an understanding with each other. Rand cannot succeed the way that he needs to without the Aes Sedai behind him. Rand, Mat, and Perrin will be all at Shayol Ghul together, because it's the only way they can win.

I don't think the Dragon was ever meant to face the Dark One alone. He was meant to LEAD the world's struggle against the shadow. To win, the good guys must ALL fight, each according to their strengths. Unity is the Dark One's kryptonite. Unity builds and creates, while division and selfishness ultimately destroy. That, in my opinion, has always been the theme of the Wheel of Time.

@metal head.

moiraine bracelet is an angreal,not a sa'angreal,i just finished rereading

the relevant pages in tom.

I stand corrected. It was indeed an angreal. The reason I was confused is because it was stated to be a very powerful angreal, almost as powerful as a sa'angreal. I knew "sa'angreal" was in there somewhere. It was the "almost" that I forgot about.

http://encyclopaedia-wot.org/items/ivory_bracelet.html

Metal Head, on , said:

 

@jack - Thanks for kind words about my Dragon post.

 

Where's that post? Could I have a link, please? :)

http://www.dragonmount.com/index.php/News/theoryblog/wot-ifthe-wheel-is-just-showing-off-r450?st=25#commentsStart

There are two comments from me on this page, and the one jack is referring to is the second one, at the bottom, with the numbered bullet points.

And thanks for the interest, gwen. It's not a long post, but still I hope you find it worth your time. It's just about all the different places and times where there was movement in the Dragon's development. Sort of a comment about the Dragon's "many" origins. My main point is that the Dragon was actually "re-born" twice during Rand's life, both times on Dragonmount.

Hmm... been thinking about this a little more mark. You may be on to something...

If Birgitte was ripped away from T'A'R, and if time is a wheel, then she will again be ripped away from it at some point in the future. And in order for that to happen, she would need to be bound to T'A'R again somehow.

I wonder if whatever cosmic forces in WoT-land that decide who is heroic enough to be reborn will decide that her actions since being ripped away are enough for her to be re-bound to the Wheel and T'A'R? That'd be a pretty simple literary work-around that would make sense.

@jack - Thanks for kind words about my Dragon post.

I think everyone is underestimating Moiraine. Cyndane isn't as powerful as she was when she was Lanfear. I think I recall her thinking that during the cleansing of saidin. And while Moiraine may have lost much of her strength in the power to the Finns, her new toy isn't an angreal, but a sa'angreal. I know I need a reference, but I think I remember her saying that even in her weakened state, that sa'angreal makes her many times more powerful than she ever was before. Besides, I don't need her to kill Cyndane in a face-to-face duel. I don't think Moiraine is dumb enough to take on ANY Forsaken toe-to-toe. She'll be sneaky, right? Perhaps you know the Trolloc proverb which says "Un Kaa!! SLAAARR! Grrotik!!" Which I'm told translates to "Revenge is a dish best served cold?"

And I firmly believe that Cyndane will NOT betray the Shadow intentionally. No way does the "Daughter of Night" turn to the light in the end. It's a trap, and I very much doubt that Rand will fall for it. Moridin is much more likely a candidate for turning, but truly I don't think any bad guys are looking for redemption. They've committed too many atrocities to be redeemed at this point. If Cyndane provides any helpful information to Rand, it will be unintentional, like maybe she gloats a little too much and gives something away. But helping the good guys on purpose? Lanfear? I can't buy that yet. Not with Moridin holding her mindtrap, and probably not even if he frees her from it.

@mark, when I said that we were at "THE END" -- I thought BS and Harriet said that this would be it, and that other than the forthcoming encyclopedia, there wouldn't be any further WoT novels, outriggers, or prequels; that it was being put to bed, permanently. My statement was based on that belief, that there will be no additional new canon WoT content after AMoL. So I don't think we'll see Birgitte again after her death, IF she dies. That's why I say "we'll probably never know."

@Taryntula - I LOVE this idea! As far as we know, Min and Aviendha aren't pregnant yet. They are all bonded to Rand. It's conceivable to me that she could be reborn as the child of either Min or Aviendha, through her indirect connection to Rand (via Elayne). Good theory!

Except Rand's hand was not exactly "severed." It was blown off by a fireball, leaving no "hand" after it was done. I know it seems like a small distinction, but I feel it is significant because how can there be a vision about a severed hand with no severed hand?

I agree with Mashiara that Birgitte is probably the most major character that will die in the final novel, but I think that she will NOT be reborn, due to the way she was ripped out of T'A'R. Then again, we'll probably never know for sure, since this is, you know, THE END.

As for what other characters will die, well... it's a crap-shoot. Could be anyone, but I think anyone that would qualify as a major or primary character will survive, including Lan. Perhaps Faile might die. She'd be the only other semi-major character that might not survive.

But I REALLY REALLY REALLY hope that Moiraine takes out Cyndane. I believe there is some unfinished business there.

Re: Birthplace of Dragon...

I see where you're coming from, jack. I've had similar thoughts, but I thought there were several "literary birthplaces" for The Dragon.

1. As mark noted, the physical birthplace of the Dragon in this age was Dragonmount.

2. Shienar was the place where Rand first learned that he is the Dragon. So in a sense, that was the birthplace of the Dragon's awareness, though he didn't really accept it until TDR.

3. Falme was where Rand declared himself, and announced to the world that he was the Dragon, despite not being too sure about it. So this was the Dragon's "public" birth, so to speak. His "debut," for lack of a better word. Mark's choice of the word "proclamation" is perfect.

4. Tear was where Rand finally convinced himself that he's the Dragon, so Tear could be said to be the birthplace of the Dragon's acceptance of his own fate. This was a highly pivotal moment, because up until that moment, Rand was, I believe, still hoping for a way for it all to be not true, but his uncertainty was unbearable, so he went to Tear on his own rather than listen to Moiraine tell him all the way there why he should be doing something different. If he wasn't the Dragon, he'd have died in Tear. But if he was, then he'd have a lot of work to do. Like they said in Shawshank Redemption: "Get busy living, or get busy dying."

5. Then there's Veins of Gold. There is ZERO coincidence that this chapter took place on Dragonmount's peak. Once again, Dragonmount in VoG was the "rebirth" of the Dragon, or more specifically, the rebirth of Rand 'al Thor. When he came down off that mountain (Apples First!), he was a changed man. He had become what the world needed him to be: not just a champion, but a leader as well. Rand 'al Thor was born on the slopes of Dragonmount, but the Dragon that the world truly needed was born on Dragonmount's highest peak during Veins of Gold. In a sense, this was a "higher" form of birth (reintegration), and so it occurred higher up on the mountain. Unlike his physical birth, this time The Dragon birthed himself.

Okay now, back to work!

Hello fellow WoT Theorists!

I think you are all very close to my own opinion. Short response: The battle between Rand and Ishamael appeared in the sky everywhere because the Wheel needed the entire world to KNOW (not merely believe or wonder) that the True Dragon had been reborn and that it was time to follow him and unite behind him if there is to be any hope of the Wheel of Time continuing to exist after the Last Battle..

I think that whether or not the Wheel is neutral is somewhat irrelevant. It is merely attempting to preserve itself, which puts it on the side of The Light by default. I think it's pretty clear that the Dark One wants to negate creation and break the Wheel. If you are THE Wheel of Time, you don't want that to happen. No more Wheel, no more Pattern, no more threads, etc. So the Wheel is indirectly on the side of the Light, if only to preserve itself.

So the Wheel spins out the Dragon (and other ta'veren and heroes) to try to make things right for it's own preservation. But even that is not enough.

The biggest, most oft-recurring theme in The Wheel of Time is this: We are stronger, better for each other, and better for the world, when we unite and stand together against the Shadow. When we are divided, scattered, and leaderless (or if we have TOO MANY leaders), the Shadow prevails. Everything the Shadow has done or sought to accomplish has been to divide the people. From altering the Seanchan prophecies, to turning Hawkwing against the Aes Sedai, to the Black Ajah orchestrating the Breaking of the White Tower. Everything Rand has done (especially since Veins of Gold, but before that as well) has been to try to get people to work together, by force if necessary.

In order to continue existing, the Wheel needs all of humanity to follow the Dragon Reborn. Not a false Dragon, not the Aes Sedai, and not some random King or Queen who inherited whatever power they have. The REAL Dragon. Now if they had some form of mass communication in Randland, then that could have been used to let everyone know that Dragon had been reborn. But since they didn't have that, the Wheel did the work of informing everyone, not to show off, but to put the planet on notice that Doomsday Clock to the Last Battle has started ticking, and that the entire world must line up behind Rand for it's own survival, and for the continued survival of the Wheel of Time itself.

Peace, folks! Water and shade and all that...

TOTALLY agree with MatrimC about loving Fan Art Friday. If I had an artistic bone in my body, I'd be making WoT art all the time.

I'm not sure who it was who (maybe mark) who said that Rand will not be the one to help Lan. If I recall correctly, the reason given for this was that Rand would not have enough time to help Lan.

I must respectfully offer a different perspective. Rand saved what was left of the city of Maradon in about 30 minutes, and he faced HUGE numbers of shadowspawn without an angreal. Don't know if the numbers Lan is up against are similar, but even if he's facing twice as many as attacked Maradon, Rand could make SHORT work of them, probably in about an hour. I think Rand will make time to help Lan personally, if for no other reason than for Nynaeve's sake. And if he takes an angreal with him...? Well, it could be a bad time to be a shadowspawn in Tarwin's Gap.

I've never subscribed to the theory that Lan will die. I've always felt that he would live. So I agree completely with you on this, Mashiara. One of the quotes you brought up about Min's viewing:

"And...what was that vision that was suddenly hovering above Nynaeve's head? She was kneeling over someone's corpse in a posture of grief. The viewing was gone a moment later."

"...SOMEONE's corpse..." Hmm... "Someone's?" This could be anyone. Possible a woman? It could be Birgitte, who I think is a prime target for dying in AMoL, and Nynaeve would certainly feel that she is at least partly to blame, as she blamed herself for Birgitte being ripped out of T'a'R in the first place.

It could be Siuan, or Leane, or Perrin (if anyone still thinks he's going to die, I actually think he'll live), or anyone else that Nynaeve cares about. Could be Rand too. Heck, it could even be Moiraine. Nynaeve may not have liked her, but she knows what side Moiraine is on, and presumably will have a lot more respect for her once she finds out she's still alive. But I really don't think it's going to be Lan, for all the reasons that you mentioned here, Mashiara. And from a literary stand-point, I just don't think either author has really laid the ground-work for killing Lan. That's just how it "feels" to me.

But I guess we'll all find out in three more months!

And Lan. And Siuan.

Ah yes, he did. End of last book, I'd forgotten. And it was somewhat glossed over, wasn't it? But Gawyn did react much as I described, fell to his knees and cried and all that. It would have been much more emotional if more time had been spent on it, or better yet if that scene had been a Gawyn POV. I hope the Rand/Moiraine reunion will be a Rand POV.

But Gawyn and Morgase are not central characters. Rand and Moiraine both are. I think (hope) their reunion will be a much bigger deal.

I hope there is a reunion between Rand and Moiraine. I hope it is as touching and full of emotion as it could/should be.

When I think back to the way that Rand thought of Moiraine, and how he treated her before that scene in TFoH, at the time I thought he was totally justified. I really did feel that Moiraine was trying to push Rand in the direction the White Tower wanted him to go, not the direction the world needed him to go.

Obviously, Rand (and the rest of us) since learned that he was completely wrong about Moiraine. She had been trying to help him all along, in some cases even defying the White Tower, and her Amyrlin. She really risked everything for him: she risked Lan, she risked stilling, she risked others being stilled, she risked herself, her soul, and even the entire world to keep him safe and get him ready.

Her note to Rand nearly made me cry the first time I read it.

So how will he react to finding that she's not only still alive, but also completely ready to kick some Shadowspawn a$$? Probably very much like Gawyn will react upon seeing that his mother is still alive. Moiraine is the closest thing to a mother that the Dragon has. Nynaeve was Rand's mother-figure when he was still "sheep-herder." But it was Moiraine who birthed the Dragon Reborn. Just imagine how you would react to reuniting with your mother after believing not only that she was murdered before your eyes, but also having blamed yourself for her death, and believing that she might have lived if only you'd believed in her more.

I think we're going to see Rand fall to his knees to embrace her, and cry and ball like a little boy. Tears of Joy. That's what I hope that chapter is called.

And if the Fortuona is present when he falls to said knees, well that could clear another prophecy, wouldn't it?

Can I ask a question that's slightly off-topic, but also related to some secondary theories here?

Regarding Birgitte being pulled out of T'A'R. I may be remembering this wrongly, but didn't she say that she was no longer bound to the wheel as a result of how she got yanked from T'A'R by Moghedien? I always took that to mean that this was the last life Birgitte would ever have, and that she would no longer be re-born. If/when she dies this time, it'll be the LAST time for her. No more rebirths. She was, as I recall, extremely upset specifically because Gaidal Cain would be forced to live out all of his future lives without ever finding her, and every future life he would ever have would feel incomplete to him, because the two of them could no longer be together.

Am I remembering this wrong? My point is just that if she dies, she will not be reborn, and any theories for Rand "resurrection" based on this same line of thought would have to account for Birgitte's predicament.

To pile on to Mashiara's theory, what if... the Aes Sedai can only "borrow" souls from The World of Dreams? In other words, they can only manipulate those souls that are special enough, heroic enough, timeless enough, that live in the World of Dreams after they die. Conversely what if the Dark One can only restore the souls of those that have sworn to him? As you pointed out, Trollocs have souls, but I very much doubt that Aes Sedai could put a Trolloc soul inside a Nym construct. Interesting idea for a WoT-themed horror story, but probably unlikely.

As gwenifer said, I don't think it's as simple as pulling souls from just anywhere. It can't be so simple. But if there were limitation on what kinds of souls they can use, such as those that still inhabit T'A'R, then perhaps....

But it does bring up one very cool question: What about Gholams? They're constructs, too. And if I'm not mistaken they are also "pure" constructs, right? Do they have a soul? Where do THOSE souls come from?

Oh, and don't forget the Diablo soundtracks. All of them were perfect, especially the Tristram theme. I was glad that made an appearance in Diablo 3.

My musical tastes tend more towards guitar-driven stuff. I have this one album that I always use as my alternate soundtrack when playing World of Warcraft. Their in-game music is already pretty good, but I like mine better, so I turn down the in-game music volume, and let iTunes run in the background playing Dream Theater's "Systematic Chaos," which has very cool power metal themes like possession, demons, ghosts, vampires, and secret societies. It's the only album they made like that, just works of supernatural fiction with dark themes. Turns out it's nearly a perfect match for a good WoW instance run, or for those grind periods where you're just trying to level up. Dream Theater also has an instrumental song on the last God of War game, called "Raw Dog."

As for existing game soundtracks, all the FF games have stellar music. Brilliantly composed, same as all the Zelda games. Original music is certainly the better choice, but sometimes just selecting really good existing tracks can have an impact too. I wasn't really a fan of the game Brutal Legend. They had a great idea that was pretty poorly executed, but it did have some extremely well-placed hard rock and metal tunes.