Amazing. <3

Doesn't kanekaspar know that if you ink the Dragon on your forearm, random Aiel kill you in bars?

Very interesting article! I like this theory.

I think Birgitte's rip from tel'aran'rhiod is what will kill her in the last book. It's not a natural rebirth, and I think her body and mind are revolting against her current life.

This question has always fascinated me, maybe you could write an article on it. -Was- Birgitte's rip "outside of" the Pattern? If you go back to the first time Loial told Rand about Ta'veren, it seems like "having the soul of a legendary hero ripped from tel'aran'rhiod prematurely" is not in the category of "a small change that the Pattern can accomodate." She's saved Elayne so many times, you have to wonder if Moghedian's actions really were part of the Pattern (making sure there's a strong supernation that will survive after Tarmon Gai'don).

All Glory be to the Creator, and to the Light, and to he who shall be born again.

The biggest problem I have with Taim = Moridin is Winter's Heart, Chapter 22, Out of Thin Air.

Taim gives Kisman the order to outright, straight up, kill Rand. Moridin has never wanted Rand harmed, especially since their "bonding" in ACoS. Semirhage was punished for doing exactly that. In the same scene, Kisman remembers that Moridin's orders were almost contradictory to Taim's.

Using the True Power isn't necessarily evidence that he is Moridin, just evidence that he has served the Dark One well (See: Graendal). Creating an army of Dreadlords surely counts as good service.

Just because Taim favors red and black is, again, not necessarily evidence that he is Moridin: Moridin -required- Lanfear and Moghedian to wear them because they were "his" colors. Since (theoretically) Moridin and Shadar Haran have spent the last half-dozen books uniting the Forsaken under Ishamael's command, it isn't too surprising that he could order this of Taim.

There is another explanation for the colors: aside from being called the Netweaver, Be'lal was also called the Envious. Adopting the colors of the Nae'blis (as well as Rand's dragons on the sleeves of his coat) would be his demonstration of jealousy of the two most powerful men in the world. It also explains the sigil on the doors of the Black Tower.

I don't think RJ specified that the Dark One can save his minions from "very small Balefire" for no reason.

I, for one, have always been a fan of the Taim = Be'lal theory.

Week 3 Question

Someone who has been killed with balefire in actuality died before the apparent time of his or her death, and thus the window of opportunity for the Dark One to secure that soul for transmigration is gone before the Dark One can know that the soul must be secured unless the amount of balefire used is very small.

Additional thoughts: the last several volumes have had almost distracting numbers of typos and errors in them, and all so that we can have our story sooner. Are you really going to villainize them for taking their time to get this one right?

As TOR said, this is one of the most important, probably the most important, book they will ever publish.

If it takes 3 more months to make sure that Rand is bonded to Alanna instead of Manna (check it, Lord of Chaos, when Verin and Alanna are talking right after the bonding; page 288 in the old paperback version), or to make sure that Gawyn's and Galad's names are switched, or to make sure the Shaido Aielsedai aren't rampaging through Cairhien on their way back to the Waste, then all the better.

No one's milking anything. Everything that's gone into the last two books has been necessary to wrap up the billion-and-one plot lines lying around. I'm honestly kind of surprised that there will be enough space in the one remaining book to clear everything up. Perhaps if Perrin's subplot and Elayne's bid for the thrones of Andor and Cairhien had been told more efficiently, the story could have taken one less book, but those problems date back to books 9 and 8, respectively. And while 13 books would have been very symbolically appropriate, ending the series in the last month of the year of the Dragon is at least as appropriate, and is almost painfully meaningful.

When I read Brandon's blog about the release date asking everyone to wait before complaining, I was surprised that he felt a need to ask for patience. Very surprised and disappointed to see some of the misplaced outrage here.