...No comments on the Leanne one? Really?

That one caught my breath somewhat, and she's rarely depicted in fanart

@Aaaammmond: That is actually one of the ideas of eternal return I talked about. The idea that mankind has already risen and fallen, a few times, yet each time we feel like we are "rediscovering" everything from before. It's more an illusion of cyclical time, you're right, but it's a valid example regardless. Great comment btw

@b1ackb1rd: Wow, that is a GREAT catch! I never noticed that before! And thank you for being a fan

Yeah I figured you'd end up reading it lol. I'm sure you also prob could have guessed as much anyways, considerin...

@Metalhead: I'm glad you enjoy my writing! It's really been more satisfying than you can imagine, getting so many comments and messages telling me how much my blog is appreciated. Believe it or not, but during the holidays malaise and everything else, I had kind of been contemplating taking a break from the blog (don't tell Dwynwen that ). Now not only am I glad I didn't, I'm also overjoyed that my work is so appreciated. As an aspiring writer it means a lot, thank you.

As for other writing of mine, I did used to write for another website but they have since closed down, even the portal link doesn't work anymore. I wrote about a lot of things on there, from daily observations and randomness to other deeper more introspective issues. I've been contemplating starting up another blog perhaps, a personal one, but I'm not exactly sure what I'd like to focus it around. Pop culture, music, sports, daily life, social issues; there are plenty of topics I would enjoy writing about.

If I did start a personal blog, do any of my readers have a preference for what kind you might like?

Oh, one more thing Metalhead, you can find a little bit more of my writing in the Cage Match fights we recently featured. I wrote all of the Week 2 matchups, and the Nynaeve vs. Moridin matchup.

@Redshield: I agree with Mark, I think Mat's theory on the memories is false. The characters are often wrong throughout the series when it comes to certain matters, and Mat is prob the worst at this. More than likely he is in denial about his lineage/ancestry because of how much he loathes the idea of nobility or people who think they're better than others. He wants to believe the memories are from other people so that he can go on pretending he's no one special.

As for the Slayer/'Finns connection, I'm really not sure because there aren't many other hints of a link between the two, but I would suspect him disappearing by the Tower was more likely an attempt to get Perrin to try and get inside the Tower.

Something yall might be forgetting about is Rand's link with Moridin, which is where he most likely originally got the ability to use the TP from. I suspect Rand will have the ability to access the TP without the Dark One's permission for as long as he and Moridin are linked.

Having access to it and using it are two different things however, and I think Rand has an idea of what kind of effect using the TP could have on him, which is why we prob haven't seen Rand use it in other circumstances. I could easily see him using it in the last book for some reason though

I also really like your theory Metalhead, about Rand's wound being foreshadowing of sealing Fain with the Dark One in a new prison. It definitely fits very well with other ideas and the series definitely has a recurring theme of two seperate entities merging somehow (Fain is an example himself, along with Slayer and even Rand/LTT to an extent)

Thank you for all your compliments once again everyone! I especially liked the part where someone referred to me as a "good WoT theorist" lol (I wouldn't turn down a penny or two for my thoughts either incidentally ) And even though life has still been busy, it has been fun to get back into the swing of things somewhat by working on the blog again. I'll try my best to keep 'em coming in!

By the way, if there was anything specific that you wanted to see discussed about Slayer next week, just let me know!

I absolutely LOVE that thought Jenn!

@Falling Gholam: I'll have to look it up again to find the exact reference, but Mark pretty much hit it head-on: the more you channel, the quicker you learn. Channeling in a circle allows you to channel more without wearing yourself out as quickly

Thank you Talmanes! I'm glad you're enjoying my blog, and I'm really happy it's helping you with some of your theories! Keep enjoying the website, I know I've gotten tons of enjoyment from it ever since I discovered it

I agree with what Mark said, there's so much to cover and there's definitely going to be some threads that don't get tied up into neat little bows. Robert Jordan even confirmed as much, saying he didn't like stories where everything is resolved at the end all peachy-keen.

One more thing Talmanes, and I plan on doing a Demandred blog before too long to go into this more, but Talmanes is pretty much ruled out for Demandred's alias. In Q&A sessions it's been revealed that we haven't seen Demandred's alias "on-screen" (as in being introduced in someone else's pov) throughout the series yet.

Either way, keep crackin with the theories, they're fun and help you enjoy more and more about the series! The scope of the Wheel of Time truly is amazing, I feel blessed to have a position which lets me write about all the different allusions, foreshadowings, and possible connections I see

If I'm not mistaken Brandon Sanderson hinted in a QnA that the damane issue would be resolved in the last book. It certainly seems like an issue that would have to be resolved in order for other plot points to make sense. I brought up how it might end up working out in my blog on the Seanchan, Y'all bow down to the Empress, y'hear?

Rand made the statement that Nynaeve would be part of the circle in Towers of Midnight, which was after his personality transformation in Veins of Gold. I wouldn't say all bets are off necessarily. The other things, eh I could see her dying or being preoccupied or something but some of the other points seem like yall have kind of decided she definitely won't be in the circle and are trying to think of reasons why she won't.

As for Callandor, as much as it's been hyped in prophecy, fourth age histories, and foreshadowing throughout the books I think the large majority of readers would be pretty upset if it didn't play some significant part in the last book.

Also, the female Choedan Khal melted during the cleansing. Not just the ter'angreal which controlled it, the giant statue itself. And Rand destroyed the male one in Veins of Gold. So both of the Choedan Khal are officially kaput, finito.

Just a couple of quick things: I don't want to reopen this debate lol, but the Taint wasn't focused in Shadar Logoth. What Rand felt was the Taint pulsing against Mashadar, both had a beat and counterbeat, pulsing in rhythm with one another. The idea seems to be that while Mashadar was also evil, it was still completely the polar opposite of the evil of the Dark One so both waves kind of canceled each other out. I talk about it more in depth in my blog from the week after this one: Mashadar: The Wheel Of Time's All-Purpose Cleanser?.

Also, I don't believe I remember saying that a ter'angreal could be used in conjuction with an angreal or sa'ngreal. What happened with the little fat man angreal is somewhat strange though, I'll admit.

As for Taim being Demandred, both Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson have confirmed many times that this theory is incorrect, that Taim is NOT Demandred. I'm thinking about writing a write-up on who Demandred might be.

One more thing: Lanfear didn't kill Asmodean. It was Graendal. This was confirmed in the glossary of The Gathering Storm I believe, either that one or Towers of Midnight. If you use some clever sleuthwork (hint: think like Sherlock Holmes ) you will be able to arrive at this conclusion.

@ Andrea: No worries about the late comment, I might not always see them but you're in luck today because I was able to notice it on the side of the front page. Btw, if you liked this entry, but are also interested in how Perrin might be connected to the Talent of Singing, you might want to read this past entry of my blog: A Faint Thread Of Music Caught Perrin's Ear. What you brought up is the exact subject matter that entry focuses on.

As for the possibility of Perrin dying in the last book, it's definitely possible, there are a couple of small indicators this should come to pass. Plus he's unique among the three main ta'veren in that he would still be very useful even if he were to die, because of his abilities as a wolfbrother in Tel'aran'rhiod. That being said I actually get the feeling he won't die in the last book, there seems to be something important about all three ta'veren being together for some final confrontation, and I'm not sure how this could work with Perrin being in Tel'aran'rhiod.

One more thing, I left out a certain passage in the book which foreshadows Perrin wearing a crown even more strongly than some of the other quotes I referenced; I was hoping one of my readers might be able to find it...

Thank you for all your comments everyone! I really appreciate all the compliments, you have no idea. I actually put a good bit of work into this thing so it makes me feel good to have others enjoy it.

As for the appearance thing: I understand what everyone is saying in that it's very easy in real life for siblings to look completely different, but as I mentioned up above we should probably pay special attention to that detail about them differing from one another since the passage seems to be trying to call our attention to it. Padra even says they are "very dissimilar" (italics mine). Not only that, but pretty much EVERY Aiel we've seen is described as having either reddish or blondeish hair. We've seen MUCH more subtle hints from the author of things that came to pass, ignoring this excerpt would be kinda silly. Especially when the oddness was so vaguely foreshadowed 4 or 5 books ago.

@ Leyrann: Hey bro! I like that idea - and he kills her with a spear!

compulsion compulsively Is that you, Mawthtex? Sure sounds sig-quotable, so it must be...

Yeah, I agree that Davram pretty much CAN'T be a darkfriend. We're shown several of his PoV's and he would have had WAY too many chances at this point to cause major trouble for Rand if he were actually a darkfriend.

I still think it's possible though that Tenobia is a darkfriend

And thanks for your help this week Ithi! Sorry for forgetting to include thanks in my article itself; I'll make it up to you next week

I agree that Tolkien was just trying to write a good story, but the theory is that when he envisioned the story he might have been tapping subconsciously into some forgotten part of our past. There are similar stories surrounding the book of Acts and it's similarity with more modern stories like ones written by Philip K. Dick.

Not saying I believe those theories, but I find them extremely fascinating

I mentioned the Oscillating Universe model is theory, not accepted fact, and there are explanations for why galaxies would appear to be accelerating. The point was to show examples of recurrence that we don't often consider.

Many have offered explanations for several mysteries surrounding the Pyramids, that doesn't mean they as a whole have been "explained". It's naive to think that we've unlocked all or even most of the secrets of the Pyramids, there's still so many huge questions left unanswered.

Stonehenge was only partially renovated over time, and was also first seen in writings guessing as to it's function as early as the 12th century. That area was relatively well populated even during the middle ages, so it was known about long before the 19th century. And there are once again many questions concerning it's creation, it's original purpose, and which culture created it (my money is on the Druids).

Campbell you raise some great ideas! I love em, especially the part about competing sine waves and destructive interference. It makes a lot of sense in that aspect, especially considering the quote from Robert Jordan discussing the circular aspect of the forces of evil in Randland. Your analogy is better than mine really, because it takes into account the "wheel" metaphor, while the PH scale is merely a linear representation of two opposing concepts.

One thing I have to throw in there though, is that somehow Mashadar and the Taint didn't completely annihilate each other without any "spillover" or collateral damage. The eradication of Shadar Logoth was no small event, it wasn't just a catastrophe of physical dimensions in being able to remove an entire city, it was a miracle in being able to abolish two such immensely powerful forces. They both could almost be said to have a malevolent will, and did not submit so easily to physics even though their doom was at hand. They fought like wild beasts, and their confrontation grew into a climax that resounded against the land.

Destructive interference in this case is almost too good of an explanation in that it describes perfectly the kind of process which could lead Mashadar and the Taint to be abolished, yet isn't quite vague enough to let any possibility of spillover or massive side effects to be seen. The whooshing sound makes sense, because perhaps the annihilation of both forces created some kind of vacuum, however that doesn't explain the gigantic crater which replaced Aridhol.

I think if you won last time and then subsequently won again, we'd have to find out what dirt you got on Brandon and make you stop blackmailing him

I can see your point about Lanfear, maybe Rand pulls a Godmode moment and severs whatever connection Lanfear has to the cour'souvra.

As for Moiraine, if I'm not mistaken you're unable to use other angreal when using a sa'angreal. That's how it was for Nyneave during the cleansing. Once again though, the level of Power she can normally channel might not have anything to do with who would qualify to be in the circle with Rand. Even so, I still feel Moiraine was a major character in the first few books, but at this point her role has changed. She has more to lose than ever now that she's taken Tom as her lover. Plus she was never necessarily one for leading the vanguard into battle, her role always called more for sage advice and counsel. She'll be able to give that to Rand without being one of those encircled with him.

The very fact that Lanfear is mindtrapped makes it very unlikely that she would be allowed to turn back to the light, unless Moridin turns back himself. Moiraine probably isn't strong enough in the Power anymore to be as useful, but this may not mean much when it comes to wielding Callandor. Either way, it seems like Rand has already picked who he wants wielding Callandor with him. Alivia is pretty much a definite, because Rand thinks it will be essential that she's there to help him die. The only way Nyneave doesn't end up in the circle with him is if she somehow gets sidetracked by Lan's death or gets captured or something.

That's a tough question there. I can really see it going both ways. It might have just been Rand taking out two birds with one stone, or it might have been the best place to attempt the cleansing because of the presence of Mashadar. I think myself I would lean towards the latter, Mashadar wasn't being used in the process but perhaps the presence of Mashadar helped ward off the Dark One's influence so it would be easier to remove the taint. Maybe it had more to do with using Shadar Logoth as a filter to help draw saidin through so that it could be cleaned. I have to check on this, but wasn't it suggested in the books that Shadar Logoth sat on some kind of "faultline" for energies and power that Mordeth ended up using to try and experiment with? I might be completely wrong on that one.

Either way it does seem like Mashadar was used as some kind of opposing force to counteract the taint, and that they both ended up destroying each other. I understand your analogy Mark, but perhaps it's more like using a leach to clean an infected wound. The leech can be bad for you itself if it's carrying toxins, but using it on the infected area helps rid you of the infection while simultaneously killing the leach.

Thing is though I think Lanfear had no idea what metaphysical supreme powers she was messing with at the time. She was looking at it from a scientific point of view, there's this mysterious power source that's somewhat unattainable right now, let me just break through and tap it and humanity can soar into an even more advanced age. She had no idea this power source represented the Dark One, and likely the only solution to resealing the Dark One will involve aspects and perspectives that a scientific mind simply would not possess. I think this is the reason Min's role has been stressed so much, she needs to review as many philosophies and conjecture involving the Pattern, the Bore, and the relationship between the Creator and the Dark One in order to come up with how Rand must seal the Dark One's prison.

I do love your idea about Fain becoming a "young dark one" lol, unfortunately this seems unlikely. I can only assume no matter how powerfull Rand and his buddies are, they cannot match the power of the Creator. If the Creator wasn't powerful enough to destroy the Dark One, and instead had to create a prison to seal him away, how would mortals, albeit very powerful ones, be able to accomplish such a task?

That being said, what if Fain ends up being necessary to help reseal the Bore somehow? Not because he's converted back to the Light, obviously that will never happen, but I've always kind of looked at him as the Wheel of Time's version of Gollum. Hideous little creature - check. Follows around main characters a lot - check. Crazy nimble and quick - check. Completely off his rocking chair bonkers - check. It just seems perfect that he will end up inadvertently saving the day because of his nature