Look, you probably can't walk up to Galad and convince him that all Whitecloaks are rabid dogs that need to be put down.

But with Morgase he could without any equivocation of circumstances, just said "I was in the wilderness and I saw whitecloaks, I tried to hide and they pursued me until they found me (illegal behavior on their part in Andor) and they raised their lances and commanded me (an Andoran citizen) to exit at lance point. I killed them in self defense. They would have taken me without cause believing that I am DF, their command was behavior preliminary to arrest, their arrest would result in only one outcome that they would assume I am a DF. That conclusion on their part would result in my torture and eventual death, so I was responding to an imminent threat on my life.

Perrin picked a side. In people's eyes may be he's guilty of murder. In the eye's of the wolves he is innocent. I think he did the right thing.

I'm only half-way through the TOM, but I would like to know why Egwene hasn't asked Rand why the Seals have to be destroyed? The others haven't asked either, but she is plotting against him by usurping his rule with the monarchs of the realm. It would seem to me that she should've. After the way she maneuvered the Hall with the army/monarch thing I found myself disappointed that it never occurred to her to find out why he wants to destroy the seals.

This has been discussed to death in various Egwene bashing threads. I'm sure you've seen those. You won't find any answers in the book. Yes, she should have asked but Rand should have also explained his reasons better. He did with Nynaeve and she agreed. This was simply needed for correct plot development. That's usually the explanation when characters start behaving too irrationally.

I have seen the Egwene bashing threads, in fact I've written a few. Generally relating to this type of post. Since TGS I have come to like Egwene, even though I agree that she acts irrationally at times when she shows greater intelligence and wisdom. Your summation is the same as I had been thinking, but I thought I would throw it out there.

@ Suttree - The point I'm at in the book is not where you are quoting from. I'll keep my eye out for it. The fact that she didn't asked for the specifics of why the seals must be destroyed when Rand told her, is what frustrated me. In your quotes she asks to discuss a plan, not why he wants to destroy them, but I think it might come up. She knows that he wants to destroy them to reseal the bore, but why the seals have to be destroyed in order for the bore to be sealed is something she doesn't know.

I'm only half-way through the TOM, but I would like to know why Egwene hasn't asked Rand why the Seals have to be destroyed? The others haven't asked either, but she is plotting against him by usurping his rule with the monarchs of the realm. It would seem to me that she should've. After the way she maneuvered the Hall with the army/monarch thing I found myself disappointed that it never occurred to her to find out why he wants to destroy the seals.

@highwiredsith. Calling Steven King a hack? You surely are joking. I have to agree with randsc on the 100 page thing. I actually laughed at the irony of that statement.

How strong is Moridins link to Rand? It appears to me that it is getting stronger as time goes by. Moridins hand seem to be affected, may be physically, by that fact Rands was destroyed. I wonder if it may get to a point that the death of Rand would mean the death of Moridin? May be there is some confusion with Moridin about how strong the link is and that is why he is pushing the Forsaken to not kill Rand now(tGS). I know that there is some discussions about Rand and Moridin swapping bodies at the end, if I am correct, body swapping between Rand and Moridin would be a mute point. Another thought on this. If Moridin is using the True Power almost exclusively, and the True Power is poison, how long would Rand survive, even if he swapped bodies?

Hello, there is my simple question :

 

In "The Path of Daggers", when Maighdin / Morgase has joined the camp of Perrin in Ghealdan : Why has nobody recognised her ?

Annoura Sedai is from the grey ajah : she must known all the rulers of Randland, doesn't it ?

 

Thanks ! :)

 

Not every Gray will have met every ruler. Evidentally Annoura had not met Morgase.

I thought about that to. Morgase went to the WT to train, and unless Annoura was completely absent from the WT, which maybe she was, she would recognize an important person like Morgase. Morgase, a celebrity, was a direct link to Andor for the WT.

Anath sitting down in the Lion throne

Wait, what?!

Oops, I'm editing that out. lol

I, too, enjoy crossroads of twilight. The Mat storyline is awesome. The impulse for many is to not enjoy the Elayne politicking and tea scenes and windfinders, etc. But as I've said on this forum before, my advice is to really hunker down and enjoy every one of those scenes! Savor every word that RJ writes, savor the color of the dresses, the type of carpeting, savor it all. It's the intricate level of detail that makes RJ a better writer than all the crap that's out there, and he's gone now and his replacement stinks so savor it!

I just finished CoT a couple of days ago. If you take out all the Elayne stuff it was good. I noticed something after finishing the book. In tEotW I thought Aes Sedi were cool, mysterious and pushy. At the end of CoT I thought they were no better than Sul'dam's of the Seanchan, and I really dislike the whole Aes Sedi society. I just started tGS last night, wouldn't it be cool if when Egwene takes her oaths, all Aes Sedi re-swore all their oaths as a sign of solidarity. The BA hunters could use it to eradicate the BA. I'm just starting tGS and I knew it would be different than RJ writing style, which in the Forward BS stated this. So far I like it. True it isn't RJ but so far so good. The start with Sem. did seem rushed, but we'll see where it goes. I thought that Anath was a Forsaken, I didn't know which, but there were several clues.

Is Halima Be'lal? I believe she freed Mog.(she was seen in Mog.s tent right before Mog. escaped) and we know that Mog. was freed by someone using Saidin. There are other things that make me think this is a possibility. I believe that she showed up when Rand and Nyn. used the Choedan Kal and fought with Eban. I'm in the middle of CoT, so there may be things I have not read yet.

No, she's Aran'gar, formally known as Balthamel. We've seen her and Osan'gar wake after their transmigration, and Osan'gar's thoughts betrayed him to be Aginor. As you'll recall, the two of them died together at the Eye. Besides, Be'lal was BFed. That usually means he isn't eligible for transmigration.

Ha, ha, ha. I meant Balthamel/Aran'gar, sorry. I just posted something about the Forsaken earlier. I'm starting to wonder what was in my Wheaties. I don't know why(Wheaties???), but I got the names mixed up. Thanks...

Is Halima Be'lal? I believe she freed Mog.(she was seen in Mog.s tent right before Mog. escaped) and we know that Mog. was freed by someone using Saidin. There are other things that make me think this is a possibility. I believe that she showed up when Rand and Nyn. used the Choedan Kal and fought with Eban. I'm in the middle of CoT, so there may be things I have not read yet.

Heres my question: now that Saidin has been cleansed, is it safe to enter the ways again? I wonder with the taint gone what effect it would have on Machin Shin.

It took decades or even hundred of years for Machin Sin to form and render the Ways unusable. You could argue that it would also take time for it to get cleaned up (IF the taint was the reason for it's creation in the first place).

Also, consider that Fain had some troubling interraction with Machin Sin and we don't really know how it behaves NOW.

If I remember correctly, the taint is what caused the corruption and decay of the ways. Machin Sin is the result of that corruption. I think Machin Sin would not be affected by the cleansing of the taint, kind of like Rands wounds haven't healed. However, I would like to know how the removing of the taint has affected the Ways now, if any.

KoD has proven to be a better read IMHO but frankly the whole Elaine story arc grates on my very last nerve. This entire "I'm pregnant and moody while trying to fend off a siege and win the Lion throne completely on my own" thing is about to do me in. Thankfully I just powered through her chapters. I know this is big picture stuff but I really fail to see how the fortunes or misfortunes of one of many monarchies has any impact on Toman Gaidan and/or the last battle. The White Tower and the Aes Sedai must be present to fight with the Dragon Reborn so Egewene's story line is of utmost importance. Matt and Perrin are Taverin and must be with Rand when he faces the dark one - The Seanchan even seem to be factoring into the last battle now and possibly the Whitecloaks though we so precious little of them. But frankly I've yet to see how the Lion Throne or the eating and drinking habits (and tender breasts) of an immature, pregnant, whiny girl have any real meaning in the bigger story.

 

Maybe the connection is coming, maybe not.

I totally agree with you. The fact that she wants to keep Andor strong is believable, however the whole thing could have been para-phrased into 3 pages, seriously. The fact that she wants to somehow save Andor from the shadow of the Dragon Reborn is mentally challenged. Example(one of the many): She takes over Rands inventors/library in Caemyln and changes it to her own creation, for Andor. There are much better things to write about and that have a greater impact on the story.

I have the same issue with the series HighWiredSith. I've read CoS, PoD, WH and I'm half way through CoT in the last two weeks and I'm starting to remember why I put the series down many years ago. I found myself thumbing through the chapters to get an idea of when I would get through Elayne and Egwene to get back to something tangible. Too much irrelevant information(you could throw out 1/4 of this book and would miss very little) being laid down, and some not believable. I would rather read about sub-plots that have been dropped.

1) Mat

2) Rand

3) Aviendha

4) Min

5) Perrin

6) Brigette

7) Moiraine

8) Lan

9/10) Nyneave, Elayne