What I find funny is when I read short sighted posts filled with Perrin hate that denounce him for suddenly going off the reservation when this was foreshadowed at length in both the story and in prophecy.

It Tear when he entered TAR to get Faile back no matter the cost, then standing up to her father when he said he would take Faile away, Perrin again says he will come for her no matter the cost.

Over and over we have been told how single minded wolves are and that Perrin shares this trait.

Then, prophecy itself....

"And it shall come to pass, in the days when the Dark Hunt rides, when the right hand falters and the left hand strays, that mankind shall come to the Crossroads of Twilight and all that is, all that was, and all that will be shall balance on the point of a sword, while the winds of the Shadow grow."

This is obviously about Perrin going off the reservation while Mat pisses around in Altara.

I agree with the OP, Perrin has had a long and mostly enjoyable road in his development and while I agree the Faile being held by the Shaido arc was overly long and drawn out. That shouldn't take away from his character overall.

Why did Moridin not appear at the cleansing and trying to stop it? Part of his plan?

We don't have a definitive answer for that but it is something Demandred took note of when Moridin gave the orders about it in chapter 13.

As to the comment about Rand, I am curious as to what you are referring to here? What makes you think he has constant access?

 

His comments to the Borderlanders while under the influence of the Guardians of Far Madding.

 

I thought so, I interpret that comment differently. Rand does not refer to the "present". He says that it would not have stopped him when he went to see Hurin, and could have used it if he had gone in. He doesn't mention if he could do so now.

 

Towers of Midnight: Chapter 51: A Testing

 

"You do not know how close you came to doom," Rand said softly. "If I had come to you but a short time earlier, I'd have returned those slaps with balefire."

"Inside the Guardian?" Tenobia sniffed disdainfully.

"The Guardian blocks the One Power," Rand whispered. "The One Power only."

 

Rand is talking about the past here, if he had come before VoG. We do not know if he can access the TP after VoG.

It may be that he can, I am not saying he cannot, however, this quote does not confirm that he can.

 

Edit: Bold is mine.

You bolded the wrong line I'm afraid, the line that needs to be bolded is this one...

"The Guardian blocks the One Power," Rand whispered. "The One Power only."

That makes it pretty clear what he is talking about.

 

 

As to the comment about Rand, I am curious as to what you are referring to here? What makes you think he has constant access?

His comments to the Borderlanders while under the influence of the Guardians of Far Madding.

Now that the end is near, I've been wondering...

 

Do you think it was the Dark One who spoke to Rand at the end of The Eye Of The World?

 

He allowed Rand to use the True Power. Rand speaks as if he can access it anytime.

 

-MehtaXephon

Whether that was the Creator or the DO speaking to him is highly debated but the allowed use of the True Power is usually attributed to Rand's link with Moridin after their Balefire streams crossed in aCoS.

Technically Aginor killed himself by drawing too much trying to take control of the Eye from Rand, and Lanfear was killed by the Finns--or so they claim.

 

I wondered about Lanfear and the Finns killing her. I think they most likely did kill her because she was reincarnated in another body. If she wasn't dead; then the DO - Shadar Haran killed her after taking her out of the Finns realm.

I think you had it right in the first place, pretty sure she was already dead by the time the "man" came there looking for her.

The "man" most likely being Moridin and not Isam/Luc as some believe. I highly doubt that Isam/Luc has the power to destroy the Doorway.

Technically Aginor killed himself by drawing too much trying to take control of the Eye from Rand, and Lanfear was killed by the Finns--or so they claim.

Fair enough on Aggy but Moiraine killed Lanfear regardless of whether she pulled the actual trigger.

If you throw someone into a cage full of hungry Lions, do you blame the Lions for their death?

Who are the 3 dead Chosen that Shadar Haran blames Graendal for?

 

Mesaana, Ara'angar, & ______

Run through them....

Aginor--->Rand

Balthamel--->Greenman

Ishamael--->Rand

Be'lal--->Moiraine

Lanfear--->Moiraine

Rahvin--->Rand

Sammael--->Rand/Mashadar

Osan'gar---> Elza Penfell

Aran'gar--->Graendal

Semirhage--->Rand

Mesaana--->Graendal/Egwene

That leaves only one other....Asmodean.

You can check out Graendal's entry in the ToM glossary for confirmation ;)

Is Rand's new sword mentioned anywhere else? Is there any discussion on it here?

There is, try searching for "Justice".

I am part way through my reread of the The Shadow Rising.

 

Is there a Dreamspike in Rhuidean?

 

Wiseones can't dream there. Matt sees some spike looking ter'angreal. But If I recall correctly later in the book, Asmodean travels (skims) there and Rand follows.

 

And if it is not a dreamspike what keeps the Wiseones from accessing Rhuidean in Tel'Aran'Rhiod?

I don't think or remember off hand if it's ever been proven whether it was an actual device doing it or a weave/Ward.

Either way, it functioned differently than a Dreamspike.

Unlike the DS dome, the "shroud" around Rhuidean was a solid wall in TAR, refereed to as an actual barrier.

Rand also notes upon entering the mists while chasing Asmo, that he found it harder to channel. That is obviously not the case at the BT and was not the case with Perrin's channelers inside the dome.

Is he remembering Aemon for sure?

Or "just" a high ranking military commander of Manetheren who handling the Heart Guard?

Remember his snarls of "I'm no meat for AS" - Aemon was married to a bad-ass AS queen and might have been "educated" out of that particular aversion if he ever had it.

There's very little doubt it was Aemon.

He was leading the entire army as well as his personal Heart Guard , he had the personal Manetheren bannerman. It was do or die and we all know who died there.

From BS's twitter:

Lee Davis:

The speaking the Old Tongue is from his bloodline though, not his memories in that case, isn't it?

Brandon:

Yes, but it's still foreshadowing. He's the one who does it, not the others.

sleepinghour:

In TEotW, is Mat remembering the Old Tongue from his own past life or from his ancestors?

Terez:

Good question. He seems to have confirmed Old Blood for the Old Tongue, but the Aemon memory?

Felix:

That's what my belief is, Aemon. Mat Cauthon is the reborn soul of Aemon. Aemon's Old Tongue.

Brandon:

It isn't made clear. It could be either. The implication is his bloodline.

Brandon:

The Aemon connection is certainly implied strongly.

sleepinghour:

Without revealing names, did RJ's notes say whether any character besides Rand is the reincarnation of someone important?

Brandon:

This is a difficult one to answer, as I think even an answer might give some people too much of a clue. I'll consider.

He pretty much confirms that the memory is indeed of Aemon. He just won't confirm if Mat is actually Aemon's soul reborn.

Can any channeler directly "gift" luck?

We've seen no evidence of such a Talent have we?

It's speculation where Mat's luck (and his ability to identify when key moments are approaching via the dice-in-head) comes from - the Pattern, the GLoD, some weird side effect of Shadar Logoth, or something else.

RJ's answer doesn't really illuminate,

Hell, for all we know, his increased luck and ability to "sense" upcoming events could be a side effect of blowing the Horn.

Just mentioned this in another thread but it bares repeating here...the dice ter'angreal are not functioning dice, it is a carved cluster of six spotted dice joined at the corners about 2 inches across.

So not only are they not individual dice but even if they were separated, the dice are very small.

Which individual/group started the rumors about Mat? And when & where did they start?

Have they been heard anywhere besides Caemlyn?

 

 

Most likely, it was Olver talking to the Redarm's who in turn spread them while on leave.

The clues are out there. Olver telling Mat that he only discusses those things with the Redarms and Mat thinking about how his soldiers like to brag about him to one up the other Merc companies.

Remember, Olver knows everything about Mat from that night in the tent in KoD with Thom and Noel after Mat reads Mo's letter.

It also wouldn't surprise me in the least if Thom has also had a hand in encouraging some of them as well.

question from the TSR, is there a chronological telling of the history of the Aiel?

 

also the Aes Sedai with the Jenn Aiel, were they from the WT? or AoL?

According to Rand's visions in Rhuidean, it took about 4-5 generations or about 80-100 years for the Aiel to arrive in the Waste after the Breaking.

It took another 2 generations, 40ish years, until Rhuidean is built and the Aiel start sending chiefs there.

The Aes Sedai are from the AOL. It is implied in Rand's visions that some Aes Sedai traveled with the Jenn right from the beginning.

Alright so I'm on a re-read, and just finished through Crown of Swords...

 

Did anyone else find it just kind of weird that Moridin just happened to be at SL, so shortly after Sammael & Rand had arrived?

 

As to say, Sammael goes all bru-hah-hah challenge challenge in response to Rand et al's Illian surprise, and gates away. Rand follows him.

 

Assuming SL wasn't planned out as a trap beforehand, and since Rand's plan came off like a complete surprise, is the thinking that Sammael 'paged' for lack of better words, for help in an off camera moment in the meantime, when we're just seeing things from Rand's PoV...Or, Mori just happened to be out for a stroll?

 

Probably just reading too far into it, but it is kind of weird to think about. *shrug

Except, SL was indeed planned out as a trap by Sammy in the first place.

Evidenced by Rand commenting on how the amount of power he used for the fire-sword shouldn't of been enough for Sammy to detect. Showing that Sammy had been there earlier and warded the place.

In the KoD epilogue Pevara and the other Reds going to bond Ashaman use a gateway to the BT. Now I know Tarna was present when Beonin demonstrated the weave for Elaida, but Elaida gave the order for it not to be shown to any sister without her approval. And Pevara doesn't show any surprise at the use of a gateway or any wonder. So I'm just wondering what's happened here?

ToM chptr 53

From what Pevara says/thinks here we can only assume that Tarna showed how to make Gateway's to Tsutama, who then imparted that onto Pevara and some or all of the sisters that went to the BT.

When Pevara says "The Highest", that is the title of the Red Ajah head, in this case Tsutama, not a reference to Elaida.

So I've got a question (bet you didn't see that one coming!): Where is everyone in the timeline compared to Rand? Obviously Perrin, Egwene, Elayne, Nyneave are all with him at the FoM, but what about Mat, Thom, Moiraine, and Talmanes, Olver, and Lan, and Androl and the BT?

All timelines are relatively on par with each other (within a day or three) except the BT.

The BT timeline is a week or two (10-20 days) behind everyone else. That's right from BS, he said that catching up and cleaning up the BT timeline is an early priority in aMoL. Needs to be caught up before moving on.

A "simple" question.

At the time of end of ToM... Where are all the Aiel?? (there ARE more than 500000 after all)

 

 

Illian, Tear and Arad Doman mostly and the number is closer to 350k than 500k.

The "Bleakness" was taking close to 1000 a day for quite a while after the Shaido defeat at Cairhien.

 

Aren't some still in Cairhien too?

There prolly was but I suspect Elayne has "kicked" them out like she did in Andor.

A "simple" question.

At the time of end of ToM... Where are all the Aiel?? (there ARE more than 500000 after all)

Illian, Tear and Arad Doman mostly and the number is closer to 350k than 500k.

The "Bleakness" was taking close to 1000 a day for quite a while after the Shaido defeat at Cairhien.

So you mean that the Black Ajah would have used black members among the Red Ajah to influence the other Reds to go against Tower law and gentle male channellers on the spot hoping to take out the Dragon Reborn, is that it? That's actually pretty smart. Shame they're missing the critical information that the DR is just a baby at that time.

Yes, Moiraine realized in New Spring that they didn't know how old the Dragon Reborn was...yet. And the names Logain mentioned really do suggest that the Blacks were trying to influence non-Black Reds to get involved...including Elaida (who was minimally involved) and Barasine...but the other names Logain mentioned were Katerine and Javindhra, and we know they're Black. And somehow (as a result of this?) Galina was raised to Highest of the Red Ajah. (She had only been Highest for 18 years at the time of Lord of Chaos, so she wasn't until 2-3 years after the Aiel War.)

Yep and it wasn't the first time nor was it the last.

Most Blacks and Alviarin (head of the Black for about 2 years at the time) denied to Ishamael that they had anything to do with the death of Sierin Vayu. However, we later learn that Chesmal Emry did indeed manipulate the Reds into it or at least takes credit for it.

Come to think of it, the illegal gentling probably didn't begin until Galina was raised Highest. Before then it was probably just Blacks trying to kill lucky men.

That's what I always figured, especially with Elaidia's PoV in the aCoS prolougue.

She recalls that there have been 24 men gentled in the last 20 years, only 16 are recorded and she was involved in the other 8.

No she asked about the business of stilling several male channelers on the spot (contrary to tower law).

 

 

Those gentlings are later. Or stretched over 20 years, not exactly after the Aiel War. And that was a talk between Elaida and Alviarin.

The killing of the ex-gray Amyrlin was years later, by the Red Ajah, not exactly after the Aiel War.

Annoura is gray.

 

 

Abruptly her voice hardened, and her gaze. “Were either of you involved in that . . . vileness . . . right after the Aiel War?”

 

Despite herself, Merana gave a confused start. The other woman’s eyes spoke of the block and the headsman’s axe. “What vileness? I don’t know what you are talking about.”

 

That accusing glare hit Annoura so hard, she almost fell off the bed. “The Aiel War?” she gasped, steadying herself. “The years after, I spent trying to make the so-called Grand Coalition more than a name.”

 

Merana looked at Annoura with interest. A good many of the Gray Ajah had scurried from capital to capital after, the war, in a futile effort to hold together the alliance that had formed against the Aiel, but she had never known Annoura was one of them. She could not be that bad a negotiator if she was. “So did I,” she said. Dignity. Since setting out after al’Thor from Caemlyn, she had not retained much of that. The few scraps remaining were too precious to lose. She made her voice calm, and firm. “What vileness do you mean, Cadsuane?”

 

The gray-haired woman simply waved the question away, as though she had never spoken the word.

 

She's very specific about the 'right after' part.

-The search party was killed

-the Amyrlin(Tamra Ospenya) was killed by the BA

-the BA started killing lucky men.

 

THe gentlings were stretched out over 20 years.

The Amyrlin killed by the Reds(Sierin Vayu) died 5 years years after the Aiel Wars, not exactly after.

The illegal gentling ends in 985 (15ish years ago) when Marith Jaen exiles Toveine, Tsutama and Lirene. They were the 3 sitters for the Red Ajah at the time and took the blame but they were not necessarily the ones responsible.

Also, Jarna Malari, who was the head of the Black Ajah before Alviarin, was the one that had them killing lucky men and she was killed by Ishamael when he found out.

She is also the one who had Tamra Ospenya killed.

I thought that the "Oath Rod", known as a Binder in the AoL, was actually a punishment device for channelers that broke the law.

You are thinking of aCoS chpt 38.

That's when the Gholam says that and he is referring to Elayne.

Except that we know it didn't happen in a Portal World because we saw it onscreen, nowhere near a Portal Stone...

 

The "Death took him" line always seemed a little foggy in that instance for me. I always read it as his assassin wrapped him up and took him away. *Shrugs*