16 hours ago, Harldin said:

Where is that?

In chapter 43, towards the end of the battle, Mat asks Hend the Striker if he's one of the heroes. Hend says flat out he isn't. He comments that Mat has been more than heroic enough to join them, he has not and isn't sure why. Mat says it might be because he would hate it.

1 hour ago, Harldin said:

I also have another theory concerning the Horn, that the next time it is blown that the company of Heroes will have 2 more members.

The Blacksmith and the Gambler.

Maybe the Blacksmith and the Falcon (If the horn does get a new set of heroes, perhaps they replace B&G?). Confirmed in MoL, Mat is not hornbound.

True, it can be destroyed, but that doesn't affect those bound to the wheel, as far as we know. And it's very durable, remember Mat threw it over a wall and it didn't cause a scratch. 

(edit:)

A thought I had on that, actually. Birgitte is actually more evidence that the heroes aren't lost when the horn is lost. She has more lives than she can count. Now, Moiraine said its been 300 generations since the breaking, and we know Birgitte and Gaidal were around for the founding of the white tower, which was not long after, and she knows she's lost FAR more than that. How many incarnations in those 300 generations could she possibly have had? Not many, assuming she lived long. I think this speaks to them being eternal, once added.

I've been re-re-re-re reading (well listening to) the series, and this is something I've been mulling over for some time. Verin was wrong. Or at least.. there is something off about the world. We're told the world endlessly loops and the same events happen over and over. Except that there is a single thing that does permanently change. She said to Eqwene there are 3 constants, the Dark One, the Creator, and TAR. But I think there is a 4th, and its one that, as far as we know, not actually constant. 

The Horn of Valere.

Granted, there is much information that the horn can be destroyed and reforged in a new form or the same, but what it means is more important. It summons heroic figures who have been bound to the wheel to be spun out again and again. It is confirmed by direct question and storylines that people join this group, and there is no known way to remove them. Perhaps death in the dream can, but that is unconfirmed. I think it is either not possible or incredibly difficult (afterall, when Moghedien attacked her, she threw her out of TAR instead of trying to kill her, perhaps knowing killing her wouldn't work).

The point I'm getting at, is that while the wheel turns and events happen again and again, the heroes bound to it seem to grow in number. Perhaps between 0 and 2 per age? (Must be 2, from Birgitte and Gaidal, but less too) I invite speculation on what this might mean? Does the turnings somehow reset the number of heros? Do they only stay bound for so many ages before dying or being released? Is there perhaps a critical mass of heroes some point in the future? What do you think?

3 hours ago, Sabio said:

There are only 180 Green sisters, if all of them went to the border the chances of them being in the right place for an attack are slim.  They would be spread out so maybe 1 or 2 sisters might be present for a raid, if it's a large raid even so few would make no difference.  

 

Ummm remember travel in Randland is slow so imagine the shape a trolloc body would be in by the time they got it to Tear or Illian.  No one is going to be happy if a week old decayed trolloc is dragged about their city,  I imagine you would get tossed out pretty quickly.

I do agree the body would be in a poor state, unless kept in ice, or pickled which could be done.

As for the sisters, don't forget Lord Agelmar talking to Moiraine, that she at the gap would be worth 'a thousand lances'. While she is high in power for a woman, that still gives some idea how much impact a channeler can have on the battlefield.

And let's not forget the lazy yellow ajah, who seems unable or unwilling to do ANYTHING about healing the sick anywhere unless they can limp to Tar Valon and beg for it. They could also give aid, after battles, since many shadowspawn weapons need aes sedai healing to not be fatal.

4 minutes ago, Bard29 said:

In which way are the borderlands society flawed ? It's not their fault that most of the people in Randland dosen't believe that Trollocs even exist. 

They could certainly do more to promote it if they had to. Parade the bodies about in major cities. Gruesome and a bit extreme? Yes. But it's hard to deny what's thrown into your lap.

It's fair that there aren't a lot, but surely there are enough to do some work, and its one thing to say 'I'm ready for the battle' and another to spend your life ACTUALLY practicing. No blademaster becomes a blademaster by just observing the forms, and not without practicing against someone. Given how empty much of the land seems to be, there should still be plenty green sisters to tend the border, not just enough to tell the rulers what to do. And surely it would make even more sense, that an aes sedai presence would help with recruitment of more. Even if they didn't wave signs offering training, seeing aes sedai all the time would really get it stuck in the heads of young girls that it's a thing they could maybe do.

But it's well established the White Tower has absolutely no idea how to recruit people, and really should be stripped of their name. It's hard to name a single time the 'servants of all' actually served someone for a reason that wasn't their own self interest. I find it rather appalling that nations just give them money. For what reason? They meddle in your affairs, demand more money for any service if they even decide to grant it, I just feel most people would tell them to do SOMETHING to earn such huge sums of money. Let's not forget that Moiraine could give away 6000 gold crowns and not feel the pinch. I think Elayne is probably the only ruler with any sense. She offers The Kin a home, in exchange for them offering travelling as needed, and free healing to any in the city. If the aes sedai weren't as full of arrogance as any forsaken, they'd be doing something similar. But it seems no one has any sense at all.

I suppose it is true that the borderlands would be the only ones hurt if they didn't stop every raid, but the southlands don't have to know that.

I don't mean this as a criticism of the books, merely that this society is fundamentally flawed and would have failed eventually, even if the DO did nothing actively.

I can't be the only one who takes issue with how suicidal the borderlands are. As far as I'm concerned, Ingtar was the only one who had a clear grasp of the situation, even if his method of dealing with it was flawed. In a sane world, the borderlands would be telling every southland nation 'Hey, we're dying by the hundreds every year to keep you safe. You need to give us tribute in materials, money or men, or some will slip through into YOUR lands. You don't want that, right?' And they would tell the white tower 'You know how important our duty is. Why are you not stationing Aes Sedai in every city and town we have to bolster our defense? You prattle on about our duty. Is it our duty to suffer exponentially  more casualties than we have to so you spoiled bittys can sit comfortably, scheming over things that don't actually matter if we slip?'

And most of the white tower knows this stuff. Why is the green ajah not constantly up near the blight, blasting it back? Sounds pretty lazy for 'the battle ajah' to not even get real practice.

So I'm new here, and a relatively new fan, only found the books a couple years ago. I was going through them again, and an idea just stuck into my head and I couldn't get it out, and it's blossomed into this fully formed, if speculative theory: Aiel are human-ogier hybrids, or at least were, though the blood has diluted significantly over the years. 

My evidence:
Aiel trend significantly taller than other ethnic groups.

Aiel have light eyes, and Ogier have light eyes (at least the ones we are told the color of).

Da'shain Aiel and Ogier could both sing to plants, though it is unknown if many modern Aiel can. It seems unlikely given the waste, and the blood may have thinned a lot.

Aiel and Ogier both take to peace solidly, and fiercely to battle.

Aiel call Ogier tree-brothers (A remnant of a memory that they are related????)

As far as we know, Da'shain Aiel could not channel, and could not for a long time, and Ogier cannot either, perhaps the blood needed enough thinning before they could.

I admit there is no solid proof, but it's unconfirmed if humans and ogier are even compatible in that way. Or perhaps Aginor, before turning to the shadow, or another Aes Sedai used their genetic manipulations to create them, and swore them to peace, knowing how fierce Ogier can be.