I'm going to agree with Gwenifer; Rand is pretty crazy. Whether it be from the pressure forced on him or his touching the taint on saidin, I'm not sure. But I do feel he was out of his mind in the last few books. Remember when he lashed out at Tam, his own father? That's crazy. Paranoia is a form of mental illness too, so...

Since we know certain Heroes are "bound" to the Horn for their acts of bravery and courage, I don't think any Darkheroes could exist. Typically, Darkfriends aren't very courageous.

The prophesies, according to Vandene, have no link between the Horn and the Dragon. She says, "Except for the fact that the Horn must be found before Tarmon Gai'don and that the Dragon Reborn is supposed to fight the Last Battle, there is no link between them at all" (The Great Hunt, Chapter 22, "Watchers") It never says Rand is supposed to be the one to sound it, Moiraine only thinks he will be. And, as I pointed out, Moiraine is often wrong. :)

The veins of gold in "Veins of Gold" is, in my opinion, a reference to the feeling of love received through the bond. When Elayne, Min, and Aviendha first bond Rand, Aviendha says, "The veins of gold. Oh, the veins of gold. You do love me, Rand" (Winter's Heart, Chapter 12, "A Lily in Winter"). Rand realizing he had a second chance, that he had love throughout the countless ages, is what brings him back to sanity. That's what I thought the chapter title referred to.

Good point! They do need to link in order to channel through the Myrddraal. So, only 12 men and 1 woman, or any mix with fewer men would work.

why not be the leader of a freakin amazing gigantic circle that can only be pushed to the limits with more and more aditions of male channelers?

That would be really cool to see an incredibly humongous circle. If all the Light-side characters link, they could easily take out Taim and his lackeys.

But what if Taim himself was turned via the 13x13 method?

That's what I'm implying. Since Bashere doesn't recognize him immediately, there must be something going on, besides the fact that he shaved his beard.

I think Taim is just Taim, turned by the 13x13 combo. As far as turning them back to the Light... I've heard theories that maybe the Ogier represent the Light the way Myrddraal represent the Shadow. 13 channelers and 13 Ogier? Maybe. Also, I think 13 male channelers would work just as well as women.

The royal line of Andor is Rand himself

I agree. I'm sure Elaida's Foretelling was referring to Rand. Doesn't that just make you grin?

Also, in reference to Luc going into the Blight, Dyelin says, "whispers said Gitara had convinced him [Luc] that his fame lay in the Blight, or his fate. Others said it was that he would find the Dragon Reborn there, or that the Last Battle depended on him going" (Lord of Chaos, Chapter 16, "Tellings of the Wheel"). So, there are only rumors that Gitara said things to Luc. We don't know for sure.

~Mashiara

This shows the conflict in the prophecies. The Seanchan prophecy says that "'He must kneel before the Crystal Throne before Tarmon Gai'don, or all is lost.' The Prophecies of the Dragon said so, clearly." (Winter's Heart, Chapter 14, "What a Veil Hides"). In Randland, it says, "he 'shall bind the nine moons to serve him.'" (The Dragon Reborn, Chapter 6, "The Hunt Begins") So, it's been speculated that Ishamael, during one of his free moments from the Bore, corrupted the Seanchan prophecy, making them believe the Dragon Reborn must kneel to the Empress. It's probably not true prophecy. In all likelihood, Rand will bind Tuon to him, even if it's through Mat, not the other way round.

Elaida's Foretelling about the Royal line of Andor says, "the Royal line of Andor would be the key to defeating the Dark One in the Last Battle. She had attached herself to Morgase as soon as it was clear Morgase would succeed to the throne..." (The Shadow Rising, Chapter 1, "Seeds of Shadow").

In my opinion, the Foretelling's choice of words is relevant to the time it was said. For example, look at Eliada's other Foretelling that says, "Rand al'Thor will face the Amyrlin Seat and know her anger" (A Crown of Swords, Prologue). She thinks it means her, the Amyrlin, but it refers to Egwene, because Egwene was already raised to the Amyrlin Seat by this point. So, when Elaida made the Foretelling about the Andoran Royal line, you need to look at who was actually the Royal line at that point in the story. Morgase had not been chosen yet, so it still referred to Tigraine and Luc. Which means that it's talking about Galad (Tigraine's son), Rand, or Luc/Luc's offspring (if he has any).

Since RJ said "It exists in our past and our future...The time in which the characters live is our future and our past," we know our time is a spoke on the Wheel. Because of this, we know humans lose the ability to channel, since we can't channel. That must mean channeling eventually disappears from the world, but will appear again sometime in our future.

As for theories of how this happens, I've heard several. One is that the world becomes similar to a Stedding, you can't even feel the Source. It's also been stated in the series that the ability has been "culled" (The Great Hunt, Chapter 24, "New Friends and Old Enemies") out of humanity. Perhaps there's some sort of disease that only affects channelers, so they all die. There's lots of different ways for the ability to be lost.

Mark, I think when Rand used the power in the Eye of the World, he was connected to with a thick strand of Light. That could be the connection to the Creator. He used up all the saidin in the Eye, but the connection could still remain. It was, after all, when he was using the Eye that the capitalized voice (most assume it was the Creator) spoke to him.

Peregrine, your painting is the most incredible WoT art I've ever seen! I love all the detail! Two unbroken seals, one that looks scuffed, and four broken. Beautiful! Also, the representation of the wolf for Perrin and the fox for Mat. There's even the Crown of Swords down there and an a'dam hanging from the branches by Egwene. It's perfect!

Brandon said during one of The Gathering Storm events, that "Nynaeve has said before, and believes, that everything can and should be able to be Healed, except for maybe death, and she certainly believes that it is possible. I'm not going to say whether or not it will happen." Note the "except for maybe death." Sounds like an Aes Sedai answer to me.

I don't think any of the characters will risk balefire at this point in the game. The Pattern's already so weak, it might not stand up to much more balefiring. Could it work? Probably. But since it was done to bring back Mat, Aviendha, and Asmodean, it seems unlikely to be used again.

I like the idea of Rand's body being put into stasis. I don't know how stasis boxes work, but there must be some weave used on the box to freeze time inside. Weave it around Rand and it could keep his dead soul inside his body.

It's possible that Lews Therin could fit that Foretelling, but there are still so many other instances where it's brought up. Like with the Aelfinn, Rand asked how he could win the Last Battle and survive. They replied, "To live, you must die." I don't think that could refer to Lews Therin because his question was too specific.

Like I said, there are a ton of different ways the story can end with Rand being "he who is dead yet lives." There are so many ways to interpret that. I'm for Nynaeve Healing him. She just hates being told she can't do something; it makes the most sense to me. But Terez's theory about being ripping out of Tel'aran'rhiod could just as easily work.

I also hadn't realized that no one believed the body-swap theory anymore. Shows how much I pay attention.

Thanks for posting this! It was cool to hear Brandon read it, but also to have the text.

The one of Mat and Rand is adorable! I love Mat's cheeky grin as he flips the coin. Very good!

I think that is one of the best Nynaeves I've ever seen. Wow!

Hahahaha. That exchange from the new prologue is hilarious! I bought "From the Two Rivers" when it first came out just so I could read the prologue. It's also neat to see artwork from their past and their present. Good job, Peregrine!

Hahahaha. Mat's inbox was hilarious! I love how the important ones (from Rand and Perrin, etc.) are still unopened. Great job finding that one, Peregrine!

Luckers, you're so cool!

I agree about Brandon's writing style. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Brandon's books; I have read all of them and own most of them. His writing style is just a bit... juvenile, I think. It works well in his books, but feels just a bit off in Wheel of Time. People seem to roll their eyes a lot in tGS and ToM (which isn't a common habit through the other books). Some scenes, though, were perfect. I loved Egwene's attack on the Black Ajah and then the defense of the Tower.

All I know is that I'm so grateful he is even completing the series.

Yay! I love NaNoWriMo! It's thanks to Dragonmount that I even heard about it two years ago. Thanks for that Dragonmount!

http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/participants/mashiara

~Mashiara

It's an odd thought, but from the exchange between Perrin and Tam in Knife of Dreams, it seems Tam doesn't have any clue that Rand is the Dragon Reborn until Taim goes to the Two Rivers to collect men who can channel.

P. 694 Paperback version

"Taim said Rand sent him. He said Rand is the Dragon Reborn." There was a touch of questioning in that, perhaps a hope for denial, perhaps a demand to know why Perrin had kept silent. ...

"Nothing to be done about it now, Tam." ...

Sadness entered Tam's scent, though he let nothing show on his face.

This sounds as if Tam had not even suspected that Rand would have been the Dragon, which seems odd. As said in the podcast, Tam is obviously a traveled and semi-cultured man. Finding a baby on the slopes of Dragonmount should have been a clear sign to him. I wonder why it wasn't.

~Mashiara

These are very good. Although I personally like the fairy tale-type theme, I agree that it's not particularly fitting for the Wheel of Time. Even so, the rest of the pictures are amazing! I love Fan Art Friday!

~Mashiara

The picture of Leane is stunning! It really shows her Domani side. Elaida also looks very good; I think it captured her meanness. Its funny to remember that Liandrin is a beautiful woman. The picture does a good job of reminding me. Very nice all around!

That's funny... in the smaller pic, it does look like a flame wolf, but in the larger a flame dragon. This representation of the forging of Mah'alleinir is very good. I particularly like the glow in Perrin's eyes. Is it from the fire or just his golden tint? I'm continually impressed by how many awesome WoT artists there are out there.