Joy Division Love will Tear us Apart for...?

Years for Fears Head over Heels for....?

Christine and the Queens Tilted for...?

Don't think he was naive/indoctrinated to the required degree to believe that a fight between children Vs darkfriends could only be won by the (light favoured) children.

But I don't think we got a G. Bornhald pov so no way of knowing I suppose.

I was thinking about the use of music in any upcoming screen version of the series.

When the Aiel lift their veils I think some old school techno seems appropriate...maybe The Prodigy?

I thought the reason the sitters had to be in the hall before the amyrlin arrives (she comes, she comes etc...)  and remained until she (the amyrlin) left again was to avoid exactly this type of hierarchical shenanigans.

Could it be decided, when necessary, by the order of the colours on the stole, or the chair?

Aiel individually are certainly less dangerous than an Aes Sedai, or a Warder. Why would the White Tower enlist bandits to accost Aes Sedai/Warders that were en route to the White Tower anyway?

And if they were heading elsewhere they would be powerless to divert them?

Sleete was not fully healed when he dismantled them completely.

Survivors would mainly consist of Aiel, whether channelers or not, usually highly dangerous; Aes Sedai, Warders, Asha'man, also all highly dangerous, enough so to deter bands of bandits rather than attract their attention.

As is evidenced when a single, wounded survivor kills or disperses the whole lot of them.

Just seems odd...?

Hi,

Currently rereading The Gathering Storm, and just encountered Sleete the Warder.

His story of his post Dumai's Wells journey refers to his being at risk of being sold, while injured, to a local band of bandits who had spread word they would pay for the handing over of any survivors of said battle.

After recovering enough to depart, Sleete ensures these bandits trouble the village no more, so they seem to be real.

Who were they, and why did they want to pay to secure any survivors of Dumai's Wells?

?

7 hours ago, Sabio said:

Well seeing someone briefly a couple of time in a dream and dressed differently is different then seeing them in person.  Also being a bit mad at the time probably didn't help.  My guess with everything he had going on that he had put it out of his mind.

 

 

He was pretty focused and determined in regards to brokering a peace with the Seanchan, and saw the Daughter of the Nine Moons as pivotal to said goal.

He saw her well enough in the visions to know it was the same small, dark skinned, short haired female in each different one.

Being mad, or a bit mad, didn't seem to affect his perception or memory in any similar way to mistaking or forgetting who people were.

Hi,

During several Rand/Mat Taveren visions, Rand saw a small dark woman with Matt.

The Seanchan accompanying Sermihage found her power-woven disguise believable.

Why didn't Rand realise Matt was with either the real Daughter of the Nine Moons or another imposter, at some point after seeing Sermihage's impersonation?

???

Question: what does Rand need?

Aswer: the White Tower.

4 hours ago, Matthew Garland said:

I don't know how this plays into it, but remember that the pattern used Rand to counterbalance the DO. As the seals on the DO's prison weakened and it was able to touch the world more directly, causing drought, famine, food spoilage, etc, the stronger its influence, the stronger Rand's positive influence was, as well. Food became unspoiled and sweet in his presence. Grass grew. A whole grove of apples grew and ripened. A grove of great trees grew. To me, that indicates that Rand is still within the Pattern, being used BY the Pattern. The DO is outside the Pattern, but can influence it itself.

Taking into account the positive influence on his surroundings Rand has,  post dragonmount epiphany, I certainly prefer the idea of any body/persona switch occurring entirely during the final consciousness duel. 

Well that's very different to Rand being the dark one the whole time.

By increments throughout the story and for the whole of aMoL? I certainly see theres a case to be made for it working that way.

To partially escape, but require Rand to come to Shayol Ghul to complete the transition maybe?

If the wheel theme of endless cycles is applied then the Dragon and the Dark One must swap places eventually.

I think that it's possible that during the final weave-off the current dark one remembered the desire to live and stopped wanting to impose desolation, but wanted to become part of it again.

He had a memory of light, eh?

Remember, no-one is so deep in the shadow they cannot walk again in the light.

And light a pipe.

By the time the bore was reopened Rand would be rather demented and in a very dark mood.

Could say he would be the Dark One.

Terrible and pitiful. Powerful and vengeful.

R.a.T. = Rand al Thor

T.a.R = Tel aran Rhiod.

Round in circles, back and forth. Turn and turn about?

6 minutes ago, Sabio said:

Wow that would suck if it meant Rand was trapped in the DO's prison now and only hope for escape was waiting for the bore to be drilled again.

Back in the box.

Rand being the Dark One the entire time would kind of negate the whole point of the story.

I only postulate a twist to the perception of the last scene, which is also one of the most contentious and unexplained.

Along with the mystery Aiel (Nakomi?) and a couple of others.

I had a Stephen King screen adaptation in mind too....think it was called Storm of the Century or something similar.

Ends with a boy turning to the camera with demonic eyes.

Or Micheal Chriton's Sphere, where the female survivor shows traits of still having reality altering powers gained by contact with a mysterious (and dark with firefly type things!) Entity.

There are myriad examples though.

The dark one is loose...?

How many horror movies end with a final shot that reveals the awful truth....that the antagonist lives; despite the general assumption by the characters in the story, and therefore by the viewers (or readers), that the evil entity has been vanquished.

So what if after lighting the pipe, we interpret 'Rand's' laugh as a maniacal cackle by an escaped Dark One?

He is loose, and has just confirmed to himself he still has the ability to remake or break the world as he desires.

Once you apply this hypothesis, a great deal of other pieces of foreshadowing and prediction/prophecy takes on a very different caste......a tremendous amount......?

Is this a new idea? I doubt it.

Is it a good idea?

I would say balance is provided quid pro quo, Faile is captured, but successfully rescued. Mat dies, but avoids death.

Mat must face the Gholam, but triumphs. Is poisoned and nearly dies, but recovers.

Etc.

I did wonder if anyone had, or does, use a zebra as a mount IRL?

Either way, I just decided it was a slightly bigger or more easily tamed type of Randland zebra....

Was the horse Mat gave Tuon a Razor?

I pictured a Zebra!

no it wasn't,the crown was just a crown.

Maybe.

We saw in book 3 that it drew him. The Dark One must have been blocked somehow by the ter angreal over stressing and it affected the true power in the process.

Maybe the laurel crown/of swords was a Terangreal, did any suitably talented channelers ever find themselves near it? Elayne or Avienda perhaps?

Sometime around Rand taking said crown Avi found the shadow blocking blunt dagger.....

 

Another thing........

Either very near the end of POD, or at the start of WH, Sorilea leads five or six Aes Sedai, who are also D'tsang, in to see Rand, and they are allowed to swear fealty to him.

It at least is presented as being an undecided outcome at the beginning, and should events have transpired differently some or all of the shamed ones may have been sanctioned to varying degrees, up to and including stilling/execution.

So who held their Shields?

Not the Power-weak Sorilea, on all of them, I'm sure.....

 

Well if the Aeil are really good at anything other than combat, its completely whipping people. Those Red sisters were the ones who tried to take Rand to the WT if I remember correctly, so the wise ones would have made their life a living hell for doing that to the Car'a'carn, and honestly would have broken them pretty easily. And there are multiple examples in the book of Aes Sedai waiting to even speak until they got approval from the wise ones who had taken them as apprentices, when Aes Sedai (especially Reds) think themselves above everybody, so their control over people is pretty absolute.

 

My point is, unless they specifically said they were shielded at the time, even if them swearing fealty was an unsure thing at first, they probably werent shielded at all. Im sure other wise ones than Sorilea shielded them during their punishments near the tents, but theres no way Sorilea would have brought them before the Car'a'carn unless they were broken down enough that they wouldnt even think of trying to channel in that room. Its not like they could kill Rand with their oaths, and it wasnt like they were going to be able to successfully smuggle him out of the castle a second time with just the 5 of them, so Rand really wasnt in any danger at all.

Oath breaking would have been a problem except for the one that was black ajah!

Think listening to the books being read gives a different perspective, and means different things become apparent.

During Rand's problematic use of Callandor at the end of POD, while attaching the Seanchan outside Ebou Dar, Rand calls out to Shai'tan, but without effect.

I know there are at least two directly observed instances of people doing this, one of them Rand.

And a general belief it being done elicits an effect, or response.

But is the Ebou Dar instance the only time we see it done, and nothing happens?

Another thing........

Either very near the end of POD, or at the start of WH, Sorilea leads five or six Aes Sedai, who are also D'tsang, in to see Rand, and they are allowed to swear fealty to him.

It at least is presented as being an undecided outcome at the beginning, and should events have transpired differently some or all of the shamed ones may have been sanctioned to varying degrees, up to and including stilling/execution.

So who held their Shields?

Not the Power-weak Sorilea, on all of them, I'm sure.....