I'm rereading the series for the third time and am on EoTW. Does Thom ever explain how he killed that Myrddraal or what happened? Maybe I just missed it?

The events of that day are subject to much debate.

You wouldn't need to hold the Source, but you would need to be able to. In a stedding you couldn't hold the Power, so you couldn't sense if someone was a channeler there. Outside of a stedding, a woman could sense another woman's ability to channel with neither of them holding the Source.

I don't believe you are correct.

Hmmm. Curiouser and curiouser. Will be very interesting to see how RJ's wild card fits into the final showdown...

The fires below awoke in anger, the red light blazed, and all the cavern was filled with a great glare and heat. Suddenly Rand saw Fain's long hands draw upwards to his mouth; his white fangs gleamed, and then snapped as they bit. Rand gave a cry, and there he was, fallen upon his knees at the chasm's edge. But Fain, dancing like a mad thing, held aloft the ring, a finger still thrust within it's circle. It shone now as if verily it was wrought of living fire.

'Precious, precious, precious!' Fain cried. 'My Precious! O my Precious!' And with that, even as his eyes were lifted up to gloat on his prize, he stepped too far, toppled, wavered for a moment on the brink, and then with a shriek he fell. Out of the depths came his last wail Precious, and he was gone.

I think it's hard to quantify the damage Halima did since we don't get to see what position Egwene would have been in without Halima's presence. On the other hand, she does seem to have been largely ineffectual even considering her influence on Egwene's dreaming. I think the best conclusion is that the Dark One simply wanted to have a hand on the tiller of every organised group of channelers and that Halima served her purpose even though the Dark One didn't happen to exercise her use.

Lan gives Rand a red eagle pin for when he goes to the amyrlin.

Then when leaving Fal Dara Rand puts it in his pocket.

 

Now forgive me if I'm wrong I don't remember that pin really ever being mentioned or worn ever again.

Can anyone tell me why? Or did something happen to the pin and I keep missing it in my rereads?

I don't believe it ever comes up again.

I think that after a certain point in the story, though, Rand would have stopped wearing it even if he did still have it because when he accepts that he's the Dragon Reborn he stops being a representative of Manetheren alone.

Do you mean this one?

“You were a greater swordsman once Lews Therin. Do you remember when we took that tame game of swords and used it to kill?”

—Be'lal to Rand, The Dragon Reborn. pg650

Any references in the book to helmets, armour or shields Perrin uses? He spends most of each battle fighting, it makes sense he'd use gear.

So far as I can remember his defensive gear, if any, is never mentioned.

When we first meet Urien (TGH28) he sees Verin, and greets her respectfully as 'Wise One'. When Verin asks hm why, he says: 'You have the look of those who have made the journey to Rhuidean and survived. The years do not touch the Wide Wise Ones in the same way as other women, or as they touch men.'

I believe this is in reference to how channelers 'slow' rather than in reference to the ageless look.

[...], that's a horse of a different color

I think it's quite clear that Bela is the real horse of a different colour.

The difference between Morgase and Sorilea is one of training, not of ability.

Also, thanks for that list. I disagree with some of the ratings and the way it appears to have been treated as a linear scale but it looks like a useful resource overall.

A small amendment to Lucker's posts above; Sorilea has the same strength in the power as Morgase does.

I'm reminded of a passage from tEotW.

"I have almost forgotten the pleasures of the flesh." Aginor's tongue crossed his withered lips, sounding

like stone on rough leather. "But Balthamel remembers much." The laughter of the mask seemed to grow

wilder, and the wail that left Nynaeve burned Rand's ears like despair ripped from her living heart.

When Rand roams the palace in Cairhien after the attack, Cadsuane passes him by. Interesting. Her ter'angreals should tell her that Rand is around. Do you think this is an erro?

Did she seem surprised to see him?

Why does AOL chanellers tilt their head as if they are straining to listen? Examples I most recently noticed are in TSR: Lanfear meeting Rand near the beginning of the book, Asmodean as Jasin Natel, and AOL Aes Sedai near Ruhidean.

Do you have a more accurate reference or a search phrase to use? I can't find the quotes you mentioned.

Did we ever figure what this dream of Eggy's was all about?

tPoD "Stranger Written Law"

Recently, all her dreams about Mat were pale and full of pain, like shadows cast by nightmares, almost as though Mat himself were not quite real.

Is that just from his injuries in Ebou Dar or was there something more?

I'm think this is about his trip to Finnland. The 'pale and unreal' feeling, I expect, is due to him not actually being in the same world as her at the time.

Can rand see a difference between people who are force turned or voluntarily turned?

We don't know for sure. I'd suggest it doesn't matter as he really doesn't seem concerned about Darkfriends any more.

Don't forget that in several books he spent a lot of time studying. He was specifically studying versions of the prophecies but he also looked into the history of various nations (amongst other things).

Quick question: I think I remember the shaft of Mat's ashandrei getting charred by fire in ToM. Was this an error, or has the spear's shaft ever been described as common wood before this?

I never thought of it as wood considering it's a power-wrought weapon but...

The Aiel took the 5th in Tear..they also took the 5th in Illian.

You mean 'fifth'. '5th' doesn't make any sense.

Doesn't make logical sense at all.

And now you understand women :)

1) The effects of the existence of channelers on the way power is distributed is an important theme and if you missed it then I'm not sure what to tell you.

2) Elayne is more than capable enough to take the throne without using the power.

3) The Three Oaths would probably make it difficult.

4) Taking a country by force sets a bad precedent for the way people will expect you to deal with other nations and the people of your own nation.

4a) The people of a nation need to feel as if the country belongs to them rather than an invader, usurper or despot.

5) Elayne is an initiate of the White Tower and a representative of Aes Sedai. If Elayne where to take the throne by force then the immediate expectation of every other country would be that Aes Sedai intend to do the same to them. This would cause the nations to band together at war with Tar Valon kind of like they did in Hawkwing's day.

A better analogy would putting using a powered screwdriver to fix an antique watch. You might seem to achieve your goal a lot faster but the result wouldn't be worth having.

I tend to think the 'man juggling fire' refers to Mat although, admittedly, Min could have recognised him.

The White Tower is obviously a reference to Thom's relationship with Moiraine.

As far as Transmigration is concerned; the Dark One has to be waiting to catch a soul as it traverses from the living world to wherever souls wait to be reborn. When Balefire is used, the soul migrates before the Dark One can know to be there waiting. Since he is constrained by temporal causality (in the normal sense) he is perforce unable to intervene with souls of Balefired people. (So it's the paradoxical effect of Balefire that makes it impossible rather than some peculiar attribute of the weave itself as opposed to other weaves)

Then please discuss it here

Yes I went looking for Nakomi threads after making that post :) I should have thought of it first really.

Really? I always thought Barthanes was killed by Thom.

Thom killed Galldrian when he learned that it was his people, not Barthanes's, that murdered Dena.

Yeah, I thought Thom killed both of them.

Yes, I think you're right. I re-read this scene recently and there's no line which could be interpreted as Aviendha doing something to change how the ter'angreal works. It seems to me either that no-one survived a second trip or that a decision was made not to allow a second trip.

 

That sequence was probably the most depressing part of the whole series.

 

If that were true though, why would the ter'angreal work multiple times for visions of the past and just once for the future?

Aviendha felt something "almost alive" when she probed the ter'angreal, afterwards it was dead. So either Aviendha actually DID do something or the ter'angreal was a one-shot-gun for the visions of the future. Please discuss.

 

Actually, come to think of it, it was the words of Nakomi (Verin or not) that started Avi's line of thought that put her through a second time.

Some more oil on the fire of that theory?

It doesn't work that way... I'm suggesting that for any given person they see the past during their first trip and the future during their second trip.

There really is no line suggesting Aviendha had done anything. She wasn't even holding the source.

I'd like to hear people's theories about Nakomi though, that was weird.

He knows the anti-sweating trick. Where did he learn that?! and he also knows how to test for the channeling ability. The process is quite tricky and time consuming and hardly intuitive. How could he possibly figure it out by himself?

Just because you can't imagine how to work things out doesn't mean Taim is a darkfriend. Someone had to work those things out first anyway, why is it so hard to believe someone else could work them out too?

I've been thinking a lot about it. I'm in the middle of Aviendha's trip into the future. If it was hard for the Aiel to accept their past (many who go to Rhuidean never return) it must be nearly impossible to see their future and survive.

Is that the reason that no wise one can go through the Pillars twice? Back when they were figuring out what the Pillars were for, they sent someone in. They came back and told the story. The wise ones decided it would be a good test to become a wise one. They sent her back to find out more... she never returned. Could it be that Avi didn't actually change a thing with the Pillars? They have always shown you the past the first time, and the future the second time. It's just that Avi was the first person strong enough to cope with the second trip.

Yes, I think you're right. I re-read this scene recently and there's no line which could be interpreted as Aviendha doing something to change how the ter'angreal works. It seems to me either that no-one survived a second trip or that a decision was made not to allow a second trip.

That sequence was probably the most depressing part of the whole series.