Regarding Perrin surviving to gain a crown (@Andrea, @Despothera), I really don't see it. I'm convinced he will die. The dark prophecy Moridin read to Graendal said "Aybara will die" (paraphrasing, don't have book or passage in front of me). Also, at the end of The Great Hunt, after Matt has winded the Horn and Perrin has axed a small tree for the Dragon Banner, Artur Hawkwing casually mentioned that sometimes new heroes are added to the host brought forth from the Horn, eyeing Perrin as he says it (I believe he even referred to him as "Standard-Bearer," almost like testing out a Name).
Given the way RJ liberally peppered this saga with foreshadowing, I gotta lean toward this as a clue to his demise, but also to his return. Presuming Matt blows the Horn again before the end, Perrin will charge in to help save the day. To the Host of the Horn, he may be the Standard Bearer, to the Seanchean he will be their Wolf King, and to the Dragon he will be forever bound to the Horn of Valere. He'll still be able to come to Faile in her dreams, to learn of the child she bears him, and of grandchildren, until she passes and perhaps joins him in being bound to the Horn (the Falcon and the Wolf, the Huntress and the Standard Bearer, etc.). They definitely have an heroic love story worthy of legend, worth being bound to the Wheel of Time. Just sayin'.
It Works in Theory: Perrin's Broken Crown (Don't worry, this is NOT a discussion of Faile's marital abuse)
in Theory Blog
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Regarding Perrin surviving to gain a crown (@Andrea, @Despothera), I really don't see it. I'm convinced he will die. The dark prophecy Moridin read to Graendal said "Aybara will die" (paraphrasing, don't have book or passage in front of me). Also, at the end of The Great Hunt, after Matt has winded the Horn and Perrin has axed a small tree for the Dragon Banner, Artur Hawkwing casually mentioned that sometimes new heroes are added to the host brought forth from the Horn, eyeing Perrin as he says it (I believe he even referred to him as "Standard-Bearer," almost like testing out a Name).
Given the way RJ liberally peppered this saga with foreshadowing, I gotta lean toward this as a clue to his demise, but also to his return. Presuming Matt blows the Horn again before the end, Perrin will charge in to help save the day. To the Host of the Horn, he may be the Standard Bearer, to the Seanchean he will be their Wolf King, and to the Dragon he will be forever bound to the Horn of Valere. He'll still be able to come to Faile in her dreams, to learn of the child she bears him, and of grandchildren, until she passes and perhaps joins him in being bound to the Horn (the Falcon and the Wolf, the Huntress and the Standard Bearer, etc.). They definitely have an heroic love story worthy of legend, worth being bound to the Wheel of Time. Just sayin'.