min saw a vision above melaine, that she would have twins "like mirrors". she accidentally said this out loud, and when melaine, who had just discovered that day she was preggers, asked how she knew, min was forced to explain. then melaine went off telling the other WO's she was carrying twins, and they got all excited, and wanted to know how she knew, so min had to explain, and then she became an honorary wise one.

During the scene where this occurs, Min only reveals her ability because Rand assures her Melaine will keep a promise not to tell anyone else.

 

Like I said before, I don't remember the scene too exactly. But if you describe it accurately, then the fault was in Rand's poor judgement of Melaine, not with Melaine breaking a promise. Or perhaps Min's failure to secure the promise. Rand says "You can trust her promise to keep her word." Min says "Ok!" and then doesn't ask for the promise.

 

How does a shielded character break through a shield.  I get that a strong channeler can push against a shield and shatter it (if held by a weaker channeler), or that a shield can be unknotted if is tied off, but what does the shielded channeler use to do the pushing or unknotting?

They have a psychic appendage, more or less. For lack of a better term, this is their "will" exerting itself psychically. This is the same will that allows them to manipulate weaves at all. Connecting with the source does nothing if you cannot then shape/move the flows.

 

 

They can't use saidin/saidar as they can't reach it, but how can they feel the knots if they aren't connected to the source?

They can still see/sense the weaves. Blocking the connection does nothing to block their sensitivity to the source. If you think back to the time Rand was in the box, he could see the shield all the time, even without stretching out his will to touch it. When he did reach out to touch it, he could feel the soft points, yes, but he could definitely sense the shield without reaching out for the source.

 

what was the answer though  & to what ????

Rand asked Herid Fel to work on a couple of problems, essentially the same questions he asked the Finns. How to win the Last Battle and how to clense Saidin. Rand told Herid Fel the answers he got from the Finns. Fel said the principals were sound. The two talked a lot off-screen and Rand was able to piece together how to clense saidin.

 

We only have hints as to the answer for the first question, though. Herid Fel left a note saying something like "Have to clear away the rubble", which Min has been working on interpreting. She and Rand believe it means destroying the seals.

 

Re: Archery

It has been said in this series (and many other places) that Archery takes years and years to master. You pretty much have to grow up with it to become truly good. Armies train archers to shoot in unison. You don't have to be especially good, only able to hit the broad side of a field of battle. The idea is that it is hard to dodge thousands of arrows coming at you at once. Two Rivers arhcers are different. They can do the battle archery, yes. But when things get close, they are still effective. They can shoot with accuracy into a melee.

 

Two Rivers may not be different than many other isolated farming communities in their reliance on archery, but it does have two things going for it. 1) Pretty much the entire male population volunteered into an army at once. 2) The Long Bow.

 

Been bugging me for ages - Who killed the old scholar/inventor type guy (can't remember his name)  who discovered something very important and was about to tell Rand (via a note/letter) - when he was found dead - and what was he going to tell him ?????

 

Driving me crazy !!

I think it was the gholam. He was found torn to pieces in his room. Obviously someone in the School is a DF and when Rand began regular visits to Herid, they began watching/following his research. When he got too close to an answer, some forsaken sent the gholam to kill him.

 

Random question about Min and the Wise Ones in LoC and ACoS:

 

In LoC, Min reveals her ability to see visions around people to Melaine.  She does this at Rand's prompting and assurance that Melaine will honour her promise not to tell anyone else.  The next time this comes up is in ACoS, and all of the Wise Ones and Maidens know about Min.  Granted, Min is quite happy at the outcome as no one seems to make a fuss about it, but wouldn't that give Melaine massive toh to Min for breaking her promise?  I can kind of see Melaine using the Wise Ones version of truth and honour to think that telling all the Wise Ones about Min still counts as keeping her secret, but all the Maidens too?

I don't remember the promise not to tell anyone. I'll have to read it again. I only vaguely remember the scene, but I half-remember that she glowered at Rand as if it was hif fault she let slip about the twins, and then he reassured her that he can trust the Aiel not to go running for pitch forks. She then told Melaine and the two were soon gossiping about men fainting and such. If there was a promise not to tell, then I think it might have had an unspoken clause about not telling anyone not Aiel. I seem to also remember something about not telling Bael becuase she needed to tell her first sister first or something like that.

 

I don't know why I even posted. I barely remember the scene. I'm probably way off.

Yeah, that always bugged me. They were practically worshiping Perrin, then one little rumor from some gossipy maids and they treat him like scum. Though somehow they still respect him as a leader? That seems a bit odd to me that they can give him the cold shoulder one moment then follow him into battle the next.

Moiraine and Lan seemed to find her irritating.  The Two Rivers folk fawn over her because she is a lady, and then because she is Perrin's wife and she brought an army to save them. Morgase doesn't seem to like her, but respects her a little (in a condescending sort of way).  The fools from Cairhein are fools, so it only makes sense they would like Faile.  Loial likes her, but he likes everyone.

 

Everyone else, I think, only tolerates her because she is married to a power of the realm.

They already carry Rand's honor. Grasping for more would shame themselves. Plus I think they are already headstrong and independent women. The idea of being owned by a man (as is strongly implied by the word Siswai'aman), would be apalling.

She might take it if only to distance herself from her past life.  Especially for Elayne's sake. If Morgase Trakand, the failed queen, is always hanging around, people will wonder about Elayne being a puppet. If Morgase Tallanvor is hanging around... Wait. Who is Morgase Tallanvor?

Perrin can "Smell" the destination when someone wills themselves elsewhere. Hopper says that anyone can do this... as long as they can smell as well as a wolf. So, there is that in the plus column for Perrin over other dreamerwalkers. I think Perrin is getting the much better training out of him and Egwene. The Aiel dreamwalkers are great and have a lot of knowledge, but wolves LIVE in the dream all the time. Though, Egwene and other dreamwalkers seem to be able to go to that place in between that allows them to view/enter dreams of normal people.

 

Re: dreamwalkers vs mundanes with a ter'angreal

I belief the difference in TAR itself is negligible, except perhaps more experience or intuition. The will is all.

Maybe the problem with Moghi is that she was trained in the AoL, when everything was defined and had rules and had been taught for hundreds of years. Moghi knew all the tricks of TAR, but not the fundamental cause and effect of TAR, which is force of will. She knew what she knew, which was a lot, but in knowing so much, she forgot that it all boils down to willpower. The a'dam was not something she was familiar with or expected. She didn't know any tricks to escape it, and so she panicked.

 

Plus, I get the impression that Moghi will always lose in a contest of wills. She plans and traps. In TAR, this means she works behind the scenes and lets the other dreamer convince themselves what they are seeing is real. She doesn't go face to face and try to force something on another. She only does so with Nyn because she underestimates her. She is overconfident of her training and experience. Nyn won in that contest of wills by default because Nyn = stubborn and Moghi = crafty and careful, but avoids direct confrontations with equals (which she did not consider Nyn to be until after she was captured).

1: Because the ter'angreal in Rhuidean showed her that she needed to battle Lanfear and fall into the doorway, or else Rand will either die or become Lews Therin prematurely. The placement of the angreal must have been part of the events that needed to play out.

 

2: Everything I have seen/read on the subject says that the connection to the Finns world being severed is what broke the bond. I don't know why she didn't know if Lan was dead or not. Seems to be an oversight.

 

3: I guess Moghi isn't as good as she thinks she is. Part of her believed that the a'dam would work, and so it did. Also, she doesn't like pain, so when Nyn began punishing her with the a'dam, Moghi's will collapsed. Moghi is great at what she does when she thinks she has control, but loses it when she feels she doesn't.

.

She eventually wanted to make enough to equip all of her guardswomen with them. I assume she makes them as much as possible, considering her pregnancy is getting in the way most of the time.

The area where the eyes should be is smooth skin. They never had eyes.

 

Also, I don't think there is such a thing as baby fades. We don't know the process that makes them, but I imagine that they are either full-grown people converted to fade (much like Darkhounds are corrupted wolves), or they have a very rapid gestation/growth process (I am thinking of the Uruk Hai).

One note on Healing severing in the AoL: I think I remember reading that they didn't have Delving in the AoL. They had to rely on what they knew about anatomy and what they could observe about the injury/illness.

 

I could be completely wrong about this, of course, but I think Delving was developed during the third age. Therefore, they probably never would have been able to detect the hole that Nyn found to be able to cure it.

Ah, but Aludra was willing to share secrets, if he figured out what she needed a bellfounder for and was able to provide one/many. She said she'd reveal all her secrets, even the ones that would make him blush. So, there was the seed that she would give up the secrets.

 

Also, as the last Illuminator, she was going to have to tell SOMEBODY. Else, how would the Illuminator guild re-grow? She'd either need to have kids or tell someone trustworthy.

 

Mat's ta'veren pull didn't make her tell because she needed to come along with him to Andor and the bellfounders there. Also, she had a strong will against telling. We've seen a few instances where someone can resist the ta'veren pull (Tuon does it. Egwene does it. I think Cadsuane does it. I think there were others around Mat and Perrin that did it too, but not sure).

I don't think she has a copy of the stone ring with her. All of those are with Egwene. She only has the lesser ter'angreal that require channeling. That was all the hall allowed her to take with her to Ebu Dar, and I think they'd have prevented that if they could, but she needed a way to stay in touch with Egwene.

By the way, there is no Portal Stone use in Dragon Reborn.

 

Sorry. I guess I meant the beginning of The Shadow Rising, when he travels to the Aiel Waste.

Then how do you explain Rand's sudden increase in insanity in book 3 before calming back down in book 4 =P

Well, if you need something more mystical than just the stress of coming to terms with not only being able to channel but also being the Dragon Reborn, and needing proof once and for all (despite having Artur Hawkwing and the other Heroes tell you so), then consider also that Ishy was manipulating his dreams as well. Remember that Egwene saw him in TAR, and he nearly killed her with balefire? He was being hunted by all sorts of people and creatures, including darkhounds, as well as having his every dream torment him. He couldn't even find rest in sleep. He was at the end of his endurance and after the events of tEotW and tGH, and he felt the need to finally get ahead of everyone and either disprove his destiny, accept it, or die trying. Also, this is an early peek at his later madness. He was trying to accept his inevitable and immanent death. He finally came to accept that death at the end of tDR, and it took him 10 more books to find a reason to accept that death other than duty. He is battling with his duty. On the one hand, he knows he must go forward and fight the shadow and save the world. He accepts that. But on the other, why him? He's just a regular guy from a small village. He wasn't in any way prepared or trained for this, he didn't volunteer. He is accepting it because the alternative is worse, but he did not choose it nor does he want it.

 

So, he goes a little crazy for a while.

Where did Balthamel's outfit and mask come from anyway? I would assume he made it himself. But why? What was with the smiling face?

 

and if it was to hide his appearance. He knows the Mirrors of mist weave. Aginor too for that matter but he didn't seem too fussed on his appearance

 

Early Bookism.  The Eye of the World happened in a slightly different world than the other books.  When Rand used the portal stones in tGH and tDR, he transported to other worlds that make better sense.  At least, that's how I rationalize it.

Think of the Shadow's fight against the Patterns designs as playing Chess against a computer. If you set the difficulty way up, it will be difficult. The computer will lead you into traps, force you into moves, take advantage of every mistake. To beat the computer, you have to be GOOD. The DO is GOOD at this game, but even he has yet to beat the computer. What chance do the Forsaken have fighting the Pattern? Of course they will sometimes be influenced to do the Pattern's will. It may bve against their will, and probably without their knowing it, but it happens. It is up to the DO to take that into account and plan accordingly, which he has done. This isn't a straight forward military fight between Shadowspawn and light-siders. This is a massively complex game of chess where every person, animal, plant, and speck of dust is a piece in the cosmic game.

 

We are spectators in that game. When you watch Masters play, you don't say "But, the Pawn didn't want to go there! It had no choice!" or "I can't believe that the King escaped that Check! That was so unbelieveable!" Instead, you say things like "That was a very clever feint by Player A." or "I didn't see where Player B was going. It seemed like Player A had him beat, but those last couple of moves revealed a clever trap." (Pardon the lame dialog. I am not really a chess player and so cannot come up with appropriate expressions) The two main antagonists are the DO and the Pattern. If you wanna see the DO as the underdog and root for him, fine. That's cool. Yes, there is free will. Chaos does enter into the Pattern and can potentially mess up the schemes and plans of the players, but most of the time the characters in this series are playing within the plans and schemes of the two major antagonists.

They would need to experiment to find the exact cause as to why Rand cannot be compelled through the Bond. Me, I think it is because he is Ta'veren (I know, EmporerAllspice, you don't like that explaination). Rand's destiny is so tightly controlled by the pattern that he cannot be manipulated that way. I bet that if Mat or Perrin were to be Bonded, they would also be immune.

 

Of course, it could also be as simple as the fact that he is a bonded channeler, and as such has more resistance to Bond Compulsion. His will is so much stronger than Alanna's that she cannot move him. If they were closer to equals in willpower, then she would be able to influence him.

It was clearly stated that the weave to see through the eyes of the animal was a TP weave.  Read the Towers of Midnight Prologue.  I don't have it handy for a quote.

Imagine this:

Saidin ---->___ 
           /   \
          |Wheel|
           \___/ <------Saidar

The two forces are going opposite directions, and so oppose each other, but together spin the wheel. Also, think of how a hurricane is formed, or a tornado.

Or, better yet, imagine this:
 

The two chase each other, pushing against each other, in a whirlwind.

Mat and Tuon.

 

He likes plumply pretty, playful and willing women with full lips and a bit of wiggle.

 

She likes completely obedient and propper noble men who are politically acceptable.

 

He is a peasant rogue with an independant army and a strong dislike for nobles and slavery, likes to dance and gamble and frequents the seedier taverns and doesn't mind a good natured bar fight.

 

She is a petite, serious girl who likes everything in its place and everyone completely loyal and obedient to her every whim, completely unwilling or unable to accept another culture's customs as valid.