I like that synopsis. 

 

Yes, it is annoying that a completely new plot element is introduced at the end of the series, a series in which fans have had to endure a lot of waiting and uncertainty and ambiguity in so many areas.

 

But I dont want to dismiss it. Why? Because it's fun. But also because it is part of what makes sf/f so awesome: in debating things like this, we are essentially creating the answer...sure, there is canon and then there is speculation, but I think, author/audience notwithstanding, fantasy is a communal experience, in that the rules of the narrative are not pulled out of thin air by the author per se, but rather dictated by deeper social/psychological/existential/spiritual experiences which we all share, and by debating together what this plot element means we are essentially discerning as a group where Nakomi belongs in our collective unconscious mythology.

 

Or whatever. Just sayin to all you haters that it matters.

 

I think the connection to Harriet is kinda awesome, and the Tom Bombadil connection is not irrelevant either. Again, working with the idea that these stories are more than just fabrications but are manifestations of a common mythology, Bombadil is essentially a similar trope. Sure he's got more explanation to him, but if you take LOTR in isolation, as WOT has no equivalent of Silmarillion and was cut short by Jordan's passing, he is a character intimately bound with the land whose magical qualities have no place in the system built by the rest of the story. He's there, then he's gone, but he has always represented, in the story and beyond it, something bound to the land.

 

 The idea that Nakomi is Egwene is pretty cray, but im fond of it anyway. 

 

The Hiawatha cycle stuff is pretty cool too, but Tigraine doesnt sound right to me, unless she has become deified for some reason, as Holy Mother or something, and thereby connects with the land-based stuff. 

 

The Aiel more or less represent a deep rootedness with the land, a paradigm which always transcends society's (read:Randland's) battles between Good and Evil (even regardless of the actual History of the Aiel in the AoL). So it would make sense that a figure outside of history would take a special interest in them, rewarding them or encouraging them as special players in a cyclical drama.

 

 I would like it if Nakomi were one of the original AS in ghostly form or something. The liminal stuff surrounding TG and SG would allow for this, not to mention the freaky stuff happening at Rhuidean. Could the Dragon's special powers or the touch of an avendesora leaf have released an ancient AS soul from its cryogenic fugue in a ter'angreal? Find out next time on....oh wait the series is over. doh!

 

 I think the idea that she cant channel is kind of suspect because we know that people can mask that ability and wear the mask of mirrors so theres no reason she couldnt be a channeler of any background  in disguise as an Aiel (except that she seems to know and care about contemporary Aiel customs). But the synopsis above is more attractive to me; i.e. that she is working with something similar to Rand re: the pure one power.

 

If the current team isnt going to provide any answers, why dont we just elect a new Authorial Canon from within our ranks to round out and continue the narrative? It used to work that way once upon a time. That way we could build a story as confusing as the book of Genesis!

 

No offense Team Jordan...job WELL done as far as I'm concerned.  

 

 

 

 

We got very little in the way of hints about Nakomi in AMoL, but their location make this thread full-spoilers by necessity.

 

So, let's have it. Did anyone glean anything about Nakomi that we didn't know before AMoL?

 

PS

If you want another poll-option, let me know.

It seems to me that the powers she displays in ToM were akin to what Rand did in the end with his pipe, as well as how he made food taste good again. She seemed to have managed to add more coals to the fire, and make delicious food. Plus, the inspiration for her comes from deep in RJ's notes on Rand. All this suggests there is a connection to Rand. 

 

Another thing to note is that Nakomi's name is an obvious derivative of Nokomis, an Iroquois name meaning "Daughter of the Moon" as well as "Grandmother". These names can fit Lanfear very well, but even though I can imagine a situation where she wants the Aiel to survive, I can't see her helping Aviendha of all people, nor can she possibly have said anything to Rand when he came out of SG (she was dead by then).

 

The only other character that can be called Daughter of the Moon, and Grand Mother, is Egwene. I really resist this idea, because for Nakomi to be Egwene, we'd need to have time travel involved.

 

But consider these quotes:

 

 

>Startlingly, a smile bloomed on Sorilea's leathery face. Her multitude of bracelets clattered as she shifted her shawl in a satisfied manner. "You see? I told you she would understand. She could be Aiel."

 

 

 

If you take what you did to meet your toh and make it so it might as well never have happened, how have you met toh? Remember your Aiel heart, girl.

 

 

 

She wished her Aiel heart and her Two Rivers head could get together.

 

 

Its been constantly remarked that Egwene could easily be Aiel. She even considers that she has an Aiel heart... could she just be Aiel at heart?

 

And then there's the manner of her death. One way or another, her weave plays with time. Its supposed to freeze someone in time, but what if it does more? After all, there are ripple effects to balefire's burning of threads back in time. What if there are ripple effects to the Flame too? What if, instead of unspooling the Pattern, using the Flame does the opposite, and creates events in the past that allow the Pattern to be stabilized in the future? 

 

This is admittedly so far out as to be ridiculous. But perhaps by this or some other mechanism, Egwene was actually there for Aviendha and the Aiel, and is responsible for the remnant of the remnant (the heart of the Aiel?) surviving?

 

And her role with Rand in the end also would make sense. We had a lot of foreshadowing of Egwene "killing" Rand. Instead, she nudges him along the path that will "help him die" but not kill him.

 

So, my theory is this: Nakomi is an ancient name, referring to a soul that's a counterpart to the Dragon's. She complements his purpose (as did Egwene), and also has strong ties to the Aiel. Perhaps her last birth was as an Aiel Wise One, and this is the form she choses to take even after her death in this life. After the death of Egwene's body, perhaps because of the manner of her death, Nakomi was able to do several things. Firstly, as Egwene, she conversed with Rand about death. Then she saw to the Aiel. Then she returned one last time to nudge Rand towards his "death".

 

And a little bit more to hint at a connection:

 

 

"If you'll excuse me," Nakomi said. "I need to see to nature."

 

 

 

In that moment—maiming, destroying, bringing death upon the enemy— she felt as if she were one with the land itself. That she was doing the work it had longed for someone to do for so long. The Blight, and the Shadowspawn it grew, were a disease. An infection. Egwene—afire with the One Power, a blazing beacon of death and judgment—was the cauterizing flame that would bring healing to the land.

 

 

Egwene does seem to "see to nature" quite a bit in aMoL.

 

Anyway, this is admittedly a whacky theory. Feel free not to add Egwene to the voting list. But... thoughts?

 

I like it.  Very interesting, especially the part about it being a counterpart to balefire.  I bet you many of the answers we seek will be revealed when we see these issues in the light of Jordan's fundemental concept of this series, the idea of balance.  

One or the other alone doens't work well, but together things are as they should be.

 

Me too! have been very curious for a while but hadn't drawn that conclusion at all, I will take this as the truth of it unless a better theory pops up, cheers.xx.

 

have just read the above theory as well as the Egwqene one and i prefer the top one!

I loved it, been reading it for a very long time. I loved the pace, loved the fact that it was non stop action(which makes sense since, these final three books were supposed to be one book so this final book is like the final chapters of the whole).. I was going into the book thinking that at least one if not two of the three woman in rands life would die, also cadsuane, Lan, Galad and Rand would also die. So going into it thinking that it was pretty cool he didnt kill them off(dont always have to have the heros die, its nice to see them survive). On another note the ones who did die hit pretty close to my heart(hard not to when I have been reading for 15 years)..

 

On the othre side, am side it wasnt jordan who finished it(loved how sanderson did it so its not a knock), with it being this good with sanderson, just makes me wonder how good it would have been if jordan could have finished. I also am sad for the excitement of the books coming out, it always sucked waiting two years for each to come up, but thinking back on it, the excitement and happyness i always had when the books did come out will be missed.

 

So, this series will be missed, (of course ill probably still re-read it every year lol). 

Aaaaah, well said, there were some bits I wasn't into but overall I was so pleased someone was finishing it, and although it would have been better left in its creator's hands, I very much enjoyed it with BS on board, and the horror and sadness I felt when I heard that RJ was dying was appeased a little ( for the story's sake, obviously not for the people who knew and loved him) when I heard a while later that another was taking on the task

It's been a long time, hope it's been a good one for all of you.

 

Just wanted to share my joy with you. I LOVED the book. If you are reading this Brandon... Thank you very, very much for taking on this huge task and for leaving us with a great finish.

 

... alltough... did you really have to kill Egwene???!

Again, cheers and well done, xxxxxxx

 

 

We got very little in the way of hints about Nakomi in AMoL, but their location make this thread full-spoilers by necessity.

 

So, let's have it. Did anyone glean anything about Nakomi that we didn't know before AMoL?

 

PS

If you want another poll-option, let me know.

It seems to me that the powers she displays in ToM were akin to what Rand did in the end with his pipe, as well as how he made food taste good again. She seemed to have managed to add more coals to the fire, and make delicious food. Plus, the inspiration for her comes from deep in RJ's notes on Rand. All this suggests there is a connection to Rand. 

 

Another thing to note is that Nakomi's name is an obvious derivative of Nokomis, an Iroquois name meaning "Daughter of the Moon" as well as "Grandmother". These names can fit Lanfear very well, but even though I can imagine a situation where she wants the Aiel to survive, I can't see her helping Aviendha of all people, nor can she possibly have said anything to Rand when he came out of SG (she was dead by then).

 

The only other character that can be called Daughter of the Moon, and Grand Mother, is Egwene. I really resist this idea, because for Nakomi to be Egwene, we'd need to have time travel involved.

 

But consider these quotes:

 

 

>Startlingly, a smile bloomed on Sorilea's leathery face. Her multitude of bracelets clattered as she shifted her shawl in a satisfied manner. "You see? I told you she would understand. She could be Aiel."

 

 

 

If you take what you did to meet your toh and make it so it might as well never have happened, how have you met toh? Remember your Aiel heart, girl.

 

 

 

She wished her Aiel heart and her Two Rivers head could get together.

 

 

Its been constantly remarked that Egwene could easily be Aiel. She even considers that she has an Aiel heart... could she just be Aiel at heart?

 

And then there's the manner of her death. One way or another, her weave plays with time. Its supposed to freeze someone in time, but what if it does more? After all, there are ripple effects to balefire's burning of threads back in time. What if there are ripple effects to the Flame too? What if, instead of unspooling the Pattern, using the Flame does the opposite, and creates events in the past that allow the Pattern to be stabilized in the future? 

 

This is admittedly so far out as to be ridiculous. But perhaps by this or some other mechanism, Egwene was actually there for Aviendha and the Aiel, and is responsible for the remnant of the remnant (the heart of the Aiel?) surviving?

 

And her role with Rand in the end also would make sense. We had a lot of foreshadowing of Egwene "killing" Rand. Instead, she nudges him along the path that will "help him die" but not kill him.

 

So, my theory is this: Nakomi is an ancient name, referring to a soul that's a counterpart to the Dragon's. She complements his purpose (as did Egwene), and also has strong ties to the Aiel. Perhaps her last birth was as an Aiel Wise One, and this is the form she choses to take even after her death in this life. After the death of Egwene's body, perhaps because of the manner of her death, Nakomi was able to do several things. Firstly, as Egwene, she conversed with Rand about death. Then she saw to the Aiel. Then she returned one last time to nudge Rand towards his "death".

 

And a little bit more to hint at a connection:

 

 

"If you'll excuse me," Nakomi said. "I need to see to nature."

 

 

 

In that moment—maiming, destroying, bringing death upon the enemy— she felt as if she were one with the land itself. That she was doing the work it had longed for someone to do for so long. The Blight, and the Shadowspawn it grew, were a disease. An infection. Egwene—afire with the One Power, a blazing beacon of death and judgment—was the cauterizing flame that would bring healing to the land.

 

 

Egwene does seem to "see to nature" quite a bit in aMoL.

 

Anyway, this is admittedly a whacky theory. Feel free not to add Egwene to the voting list. But... thoughts?

 

I like it.  Very interesting, especially the part about it being a counterpart to balefire.  I bet you many of the answers we seek will be revealed when we see these issues in the light of Jordan's fundemental concept of this series, the idea of balance.  

One or the other alone doens't work well, but together things are as they should be.

 

Me too! have been very curious for a while but hadn't drawn that conclusion at all, I will take this as the truth of it unless a better theory pops up, cheers.xx.

 

 

Eh, Egwene was a hit and miss through the book.

 

Her death was heroic and truly fitting end to a great woman.

 

However, she was all over the place in the rest of the book, you couldn't determine what she was going to do or say, she was so inconsistent. Her research and words to Elayne about the Seals were totally thrown out the window in the Dragon's Farce.

 

Her and Rand both were so ridiculous in that scene, she changed completely and acted like a total idiot, all her development thrown out the window. First she goes in and intends to have the White Tower in control of the Last Battle (inconsistent in itself) then when Rand says the Amyrlin is no good to lead, she doesn't say a thing. Not to mention that bloody farce of a paragraph when she suggests Rand takes the "safe" option and gets saidin tainted again! Of course, she is not doing what Rand says, but there is no way I am buying Egwene would suggest that, no matter the reasons. Since when has she ever shirked from a difficult task. Rand's reaction to it was similarly ridiculous, but at least understandable in the slightest, it was so out of character that it almost seemed like a reasonable conclusion for Rand.

 

Her meeting with Tuon was good for her, but it made Tuon out to be a total idiot - which she is most definitely not, whatever else you may call her. Egwene was awesome, but unfortunately it required replacing Tuon with Mesaana.

 

I was angry that Gawyn did that too her, she deserved so much more, and while she did hold the world together, dying well, perhaps it was even needed to keep the world alive, it was annoying nonetheless, that Gawyn practically killed her.

 

Then the random flip with the Seals was ridiculous. It reminds me off the cliche of a villain "righting all their wrongs" on their deathbed. It was good that she came to the conclusion, but poorly done. She should have slowly changed her mind, seeing the horrors of the Last Battle, and the balefire, slowly realise that it was necessary.

 

So while I admire her heroic end, and her as a character, the inconsistencies really took away from her death, I SHOULD have felt more sorrow, but it was just so strange that I can only do it in hindsight.

Solid Barid. I should mention she has been veering wildly in ever since the meeting in the WT with Rand when it seemed as if she had split personalities with the constant contradictions however. The FoM seen was poorly done but unfortunately that doesn't stand out in the slightest at this point.

 

I thought she only got erratic after Gawyn first put on a Seanchan ring, so I thought she was being affected through the bond? 

 

I absolutely love Egwene, have enjoyed her thread in the pattern very much, and would have loved it if she hadn't died, I cried like a baby, my boyfriend thinks I'm mad. But I wanted to see how she did as Amyrlin on a more long term basis, and she didn't get to interact with her parents at all, as far as I can remember, unlike many of the other characters. Felt sorry for the Al Vere's.

 

Eh, Egwene was a hit and miss through the book.

 

Her death was heroic and truly fitting end to a great woman.

 

However, she was all over the place in the rest of the book, you couldn't determine what she was going to do or say, she was so inconsistent. Her research and words to Elayne about the Seals were totally thrown out the window in the Dragon's Farce.

 

Her and Rand both were so ridiculous in that scene, she changed completely and acted like a total idiot, all her development thrown out the window. First she goes in and intends to have the White Tower in control of the Last Battle (inconsistent in itself) then when Rand says the Amyrlin is no good to lead, she doesn't say a thing. Not to mention that bloody farce of a paragraph when she suggests Rand takes the "safe" option and gets saidin tainted again! Of course, she is not doing what Rand says, but there is no way I am buying Egwene would suggest that, no matter the reasons. Since when has she ever shirked from a difficult task. Rand's reaction to it was similarly ridiculous, but at least understandable in the slightest, it was so out of character that it almost seemed like a reasonable conclusion for Rand.

 

Her meeting with Tuon was good for her, but it made Tuon out to be a total idiot - which she is most definitely not, whatever else you may call her. Egwene was awesome, but unfortunately it required replacing Tuon with Mesaana.

 

I was angry that Gawyn did that too her, she deserved so much more, and while she did hold the world together, dying well, perhaps it was even needed to keep the world alive, it was annoying nonetheless, that Gawyn practically killed her.

 

Then the random flip with the Seals was ridiculous. It reminds me off the cliche of a villain "righting all their wrongs" on their deathbed. It was good that she came to the conclusion, but poorly done. She should have slowly changed her mind, seeing the horrors of the Last Battle, and the balefire, slowly realise that it was necessary.

 

So while I admire her heroic end, and her as a character, the inconsistencies really took away from her death, I SHOULD have felt more sorrow, but it was just so strange that I can only do it in hindsight.

Solid Barid. I should mention she has been veering wildly in ever since the meeting in the WT with Rand when it seemed as if she had split personalities with the constant contradictions however. The FoM seen was poorly done but unfortunately that doesn't stand out in the slightest at this point.

 

I thought she only got erratic after Gawyn first put on a Seanchan ring, so I thought she was being affected through the bond? 

Hello, my name is Emily and I started reading The Books about 8 years ago, the first few quite a few times over, some of the middle ones only once, and the last few twice each....safe to say I have been considerably less productive with my real life as a consequence, but I love all the characters much like I love my real friends, it is the most amazing story, and will stay with me forever. Also I expect I'll churn through the lot a few more times during my life, they are worth endlessly repeating, much like food, or walks in the country.

I am excited to have found this website, as although I know a couple of people who've read to the end, most of my mates are partway through or still being subjected to my efforts to make them begin reading them, and I want to talk a few things through with people who know the whole tale. Hurrah for internet geekdom! Love the fact that this exists. Thank you whoever made this page x