You know, I thought about that, but the male sensing of female channeling is a passive thing- they feel it whether they're trying or not, while a woman using a weave is an active thing. Maybe that's it, you could be exactly right, but... eh. I don't know.

In the matter of men vs women and The Power, it seems there is always balance. I mean, that's obvious, given how much RJ has quacked on about the subject in the books, but during a re-listen of the series, a question came up in my head that, to the best of my knowledge, hasn't been resolved anywhere. Balance can be found everywhere. Men are stronger in Fire and Earth, Women are stronger in Water and Air, they're both equal in spirit. Men can't link together, but they are, in general, able to hold more of The Power than women. Women are able to link together, but in order to go beyond 13, they need to use men. Those are just the few (obvious) examples I can think of off the top of my head. The question comes in when Egwene and Elayne are derpin' around with Rand and discover that Rand/men know when a woman is channeling, or holding the power because they get goosebumps or a shiver. Elayne and Egwene can't sense when Rand seizes saidin. So, what's the balance to that? I imagine it's something obvious that I've missed, and if so, just knock me around and call me stupid. Thanks in advance!

Egeanin thought of a Seanchan woman named Leilwin in TSR, and was later given the same name by Tuon. I think that was in CoT, though. Holy crap. I bow to a knowledge far greater than my own. And my apologies for getting the book wrong. I'm in a re-read right now, and just started FoH. -Tycho

In the entirety of the Wheel of Time series, each character has a unique name and backstory, regardless of how much screen time they have, and how, in TSR, Nynaeve thinks about how there lots of people in the world named [Whatever The Name Was]. Discounting aliases (eg, Siuan calling herself Mara Tomanes in FoH, naming herself after a little known Aes Sedai), can you think of two characters in the Wheel of Time that have the same first name? I'll even give you a clue- the first character with the name is in The Shadow Rising. The second character's name comes up in Knife of Dreams. There's no prize or anything. Just curious if anyone else caught it. Good luck. -Tycho

Question the First: Near the beginning of the book, Min and Co are talking about Alanna, and how she seems to have completely disappeared. She vanished in the night, apparently, and when Rand shows back up, he comments that she went somewhere north. Possibly the Borderlands. Pg 189, Towers of Midnight [An Empty Ink Bottle]: ~~ "Alanna is gone," Sarene continued, unruffled. "Vanished right from her chambers. The Defenders, they didn't see her go, and there was no sign of a Gateway." "Oh. Well, let's go then." Nynaeve bustled out of the chamber. "And I'm telling you that I felt nothing," Corele said. She smiled, tapping the side of her nose. "I don't know how she got out. Unless you think she somehow invented flying- which I daresay wouldn't be outside reason, considering some of what has occurred lately." [And later, pg 190] Cadsuane had thought Alanna well in hand, despite recent stubbornness. She'd obviously slipped out intentionally. The clothing from the trynk was gone and the writing desk was mostly bare. Only an empty ink bottle remained." ~~ Then in chapter 13 [For What Has Been Wrought], pg 193: ~~ Finally, [Min] exhaled, reluctantly pulling back. "Rand, Alanna is gone. She vanished earlier today." "Yes, I felt her go. Northward somewhere. The Borderlands perhaps." ~~ That's the entirety of the conversation regarding Alanna's disappearance, at least as far as I remember. I'm only up to chapter 38 on my re-read, so if she gets mentioned again, I've forgotten it. Do we know what this is about: where she went, and why she vanished? Question the Second: Chapter 38 [Wounds] Pg 600: ~~ The servant- one Moridin had loaned her- was on one knee before her. His eyes were tempestuous, and only half-lowered. This one was under control, but barely. He knew he was unique. He also seemed to know the failure would fall upon her shoulders. ~~ Then later: ~~ She still had one tool left to her, one she had positioned so carefully. One she prepared for a moment such as this. ~~ So, question the second, part the first: "The Servant" is Slayer, yes? He and a Dreamspike went to her on loan from Moridin so she could redeem herself by killing Perrin. Subsequently, Perrin has not yet been killed, and Slayer, while receiving some serious wounds from Perrin, also escaped with his life, but the Dreamspike was destroyed. As a result of this action, Mesaana got her mind blown by Egwene, and Graendal is now desperate and ready to spring the trap on Perrin to get him killed once and for all. And question the second, part the second: This is my third re-listen of the audiobook of ToM, and I don't seem to recall what this tool is. If it's explained later, I'd rather not have it spoiled for me, but if it isn't, some enlightenment on the subject would be appreciated. Question the Third: All through the series, the Five Great Captains are talked about. Rodel Ituralde, Gareth Bryne, Davram Bashere, Jaged Agelmar... and who is the fifth? Or do I have one or two in there that I shouldn't? Thanks in advance! -Tycho Co-host, the It's On Craigslist! Podcast Http://ItsOnCraigslist.blogspot.com