14 hours ago, solarz said:

That's because before the advent of modern medicine, the biggest causes of death were infectious diseases, not cancer.

 

Tobacco use takes years to develop into cancer. In a world without any understanding of epidemiology or statistics, there is no way they can figure out the dangers of tabac. In any case, compared to the various kinds of infectious diseases, not to mention trollocs, the dangers of tabac use are very low in priority.

Exactly.  So, why do so many fans simply assume that tobac has no health risks?  

Also, in a world where healing with magic is possible, infectious diseases are less of a threat.   I am sure the Aes Sedai send yellow sisters to heal outbreaks.  

Also, you are assuming that they would have no understanding of epidemiology, and statistics, but I am thinking they probably do.  Keeping track of outbreak patterns seems to be something a Brown sisters would do, or even a Yellow sister, if she were interested in studying the causes of a disease in order to better understand it.  

The fact that lung cancer, and other smoking-based diseases are not common causes of death in the WOT world have lead to many fans to assume that tobac do not have the same daangers as it's real world counterpart, but this is just idiotic.  You have to remember that in that world that anyone who suffers from a deadly disease can simply request healing from the Aes Sedai.  The Aes Sedai get people coming to them in thousands to make such requests.  It is literally the job of the Yellow Ajah to heal people.   They likely heal their fair share of cancers.

On 5/16/2018 at 4:20 PM, Sabio said:

Moiraine saw a whole bunch of stuff that could of happened, she was even shocked by it.  The Wise Ones were tossing Avi at Rand because the companion confirms some of the Wise Ones knew of her vision of falling in Love with Rand.  You don't see many Aes Sedai running about seducing men to make them trust Aes Sedai.

You see them sleeping with men more than once in the books either to get information, or to gain trust.  Many of the Aes Sedai held by the Black Tower were sleeping with Asha'man, for example.

And I do remember more than one Aes Sedai at least hinting that they should have someone become Rand's lover in order to have access to him.  

Double post

You always see Aes Sedai using sex to get information, or to lure men into trusting them, but you never hear of them getting pregnant, not even with Green sisters and their Warders, whom I do not believe would really mind having children together in most cases.  

So, do you think there is a way to prevent pregnancy using the One Power?  That would be the easiest way to explain the lack of babies in a society which has no qualms screwing their way to power and influence.   

On 4/25/2018 at 11:37 AM, TheSociopath said:

yeah, I'm not really debating that someone should have done it, I'm simply curious about this line of thinking.

Also, if Lews did have access to female Aes Sedai, and they didn't use some store of power similar to the eye, then both halves would have been tainted, wouldn't they?

Yes RJ did say something about the females being right, and that LTT's plan being flawed.  He said that if the women had helped, then both sides of the OP would be tainted and all hope wold have been lost.

The reason for the imperfect seal was not that they were using only Saidin, but because the original prison was created using the literal power of the creation.   Humans can't match the power of a god, even with the One Power.

1 hour ago, shintemaster said:

There's another thing to keep in mind. All the people that tell us that a person blows the horn and is bound to it are Aes Sedai. Just because they believe it doesn't make it true.

Didn't the heros of the horn even say it?  Didn't they mention Mat's connection to the horn when they were called at Falme?

9 hours ago, TheSociopath said:

The one power is literally the power of the creator.

No, it's seperate.  The Power Rand was using could be used by either gender, like the True Power.  I think that Dark One and Creator both get their power from the True Source, but their own versions are wholly seperate than the One Power as the world knows it.  

Like I said, if the others are actually originally chosen during the age of legends, and Ishy is the only one who has served more than once, M'Hael could be Ishy's replacement.  Perhaps the DO is tired of failure, and plans on having M'Hael be the Chosen of Shadow now.  Perhaps that's why he was given the position among the Chosen.  

I always felt that Rand's new power was literally the power of the creator, just like Moridin literally uses the power of the Dark One.

There is plenty of evidence of Rand being able to literally create and alter realiity. 

1; Him restoring the DO's prison and fully sealing the bore

2; The apples in the apple tree in the prologue of TGS magically appearing even though the tree was dead and barren.  

So, he lost his ability to touch the One Power, but was given access to an even greater power.  Now he can just think of something and it becomes reality.

In the prologue, the fact that Ishamael states that he and LTT had fought over countless ages points to the fact that the surviving Chosen are reborn into the same role.  Do they live normal lives after death until then?  Or are they held somewhere by the Dark One between turnings.

And we know that they are not all originals.  Some of them were destroyed by balefire, so they can't be reborn, and Taim became one as M'Hael.  So how old do you think the Chosen actually were?  I am not talking how old they are in their current lifetimes, but how many lifetimes each of them had spent as Chosen.

Ishmael is likely the oldest overall, since he seems to be the central antithesis for the COL, according him, having faced him many times over many ages.  

So, I think it's safe to say that at least some of the others were also Chosen before as well, or perhaps Ishmael is the only one who is, and the others were chosen during the War of Power itself.  But what does M'Hael's rising to the ranks of the Chosen mean then?  Will he still be Chosen during his next rebirth? 

Do they all remember their past lives the way Ishmael did in the prologue?  Or perhaps Ishamael is special, and remembers his the way Rand remembers being LTT, and they are the only ones.  

If if Ishael is the only one who is really reborn everytime, and the others are chosen during the second age, then what does M'Hael's rising to Chosen mean?  Perhaps the DO is getting tired of Ishamael always failing him, and has chosen M'Hael to take his place ? 

Something tells me she didn't really care about Thom killing him.  We are talking about someone who almost destoryed Andor as she knew it, and probably would have weakened the Tower's power.  The reason that the Tower had such a control is because the Queens respected it, and trained in the Tower themselves.  A King wouldn't have had such respect.  As an  Aes Sedai, I am sure her loyalty is more to the Tower than her step brother, and to keeping Andor under the Tower's control was important.   

16 hours ago, Sabio said:

But that's the key, Mat did die.  Balefire reversed it but as Rand saw Mat was laying there dead.  So as soon as he died the link was gone.  Since the link needs someone to blow the horn, it can't simply be put back just because balefire reversed his death.  The pattern had no way to restore Mat's link to the Horn.  The same as if you built a house and then got balefired.  Just because the house is gone now, doesn't mean you really didn't build it.  Which is why other people will still remember that there was a house there.  The pattern wove that action in and then that action got yanked out.  So Mat being alive again doesn't mean he never died, his death was reversed or undone.  The fact people remember it shows that it happened.

 

 

 

For me if there is a big plot hole it's why did Moiraine tackling Lanfear through the door cut her warder bond?  Her going through the door in Tear didn't destroy the bond. So because the door was destroyed that cut the warder bond?

Except Mat wasn't simply "revived".  The very act that killed from was erased from existance.  It NEVER happened.  That's how balefire works.  It literally burns away sections of the pattern itself, and erases the past.  That's why it was banned.  Mat was never killed to begin with because Ravhin no longer existed to kill him. 

15 hours ago, solarz said:

 

Rand tried to drive Mat and Perrin away by acting like they were beneath him in TGH.

 

Mat doesn't hate nobles, he just didn't like being around them (with a few exceptions), and most of all he didn't like being thought of as one.

No, he hates plenty of nobles, especially the ones in Tear, who literally see common folk as sub-human.

Rand didn't really like to be treated like a noble at first, and he never placed himself above Mat.  I think Mat's dislike of nobles comes from his time in Tear mostly.  He didn't start to hate nobles as much as he did until then.  In Tear, the lordlings he gambled with openly talked about raping farmgirls like it was a game.  And you can tell how much it pissed Mat off because of the fact that most of the nobles he was "friends" with were careful of what they said and did around him because they though he, or Rand would kill them over it.

On 3/26/2018 at 11:44 AM, Sabio said:

The person is back, but the link can't simply be restored.  The warder bond would still be broken, once the link is severed the pattern can't weave that link back.  You have returned but anything resulting from your death like bonds being lost are gone.  It was hinted at earlier when the Aes Sedai considered letting Mat die so his connection to the horn would be severed.  Death breaks the bond.  The big key is even though it was reversed Mat still died and was dead for the duration of the Rand/Rahvin fight.  Balefire brought him back, but he still actually died, the pattern just weaved him back in.

 

Why would balefire hitting balefire kill the weavers?  The actual weaves never touched them.  

The way Jordan explained it me when I asked him about balefire at a book signing was that balefire literally burns a person from the pattern.  So, anything a person did in the time where they were burned out of ceases to be, as if it were never done to begin with.  By that definition, when Ravhin was destroyed by balefire, the act of him killing Mat was erased.  It was if he did not even exist, and Mat was never killed.  If balefire worked this way, then wouldn't all other results of Mat's death also be erased?  This is why I don't understand how the link would be broken, since Mat technically never died.  

Now, I would understand if they were going to give the horn of valere some special ability to be immune to the effects of balefire, so that the effects of Mat's death would still be in place, even if he were saved by balefire, but I would be nice if they actually said that and given some of the reasoning for why that is.  

On 3/24/2018 at 11:09 PM, Sabio said:

Because the hounds died not Mat.  Had Rand arrived and Mat was already dead it would be different.  But the hounds hadn't killed him yet.  The darkhounds never broke the link, because Mat never died.  He was going to die but at no time did he actually die.  Same with the hanging, he was really close to death, but hadn't died yet.

 

Mat actually died to the lightning, he wasn't saved before the lightning hit him.  So because he actually died the link was broken.  It doesn't matter that balefire reversed things, Mat was actually dead for a time.

Yes, but my point still stands.   Balefire is supposed to literally burn someone out if the pattern.  The reason Mat is alive after being skilled is because Rahvin literally was burned out of existance to a point before he killed him.  Rahvin did not even exist at the point where Mat died, and so Mat is alive, because he was never killed, because Rahvin did literally did not exist to kill him.   There is no reason given as to why or how the horn of valere is immune to these effects.  Why would the link still be broken even though the act that broke it was erased from time, and never even happened.  

This is the same reason why the pattern was forced to weave moridin and rand together and link them.  When their balefire was linked, it literally should have burned them both out of existance, but at the same time, since neither of them would have existed, it means that the balefire they used also wouldn't have existed, and so both should also still exist at the same time.  It created a paradox that could only be solved by the creation of a new entity, two people a linked soul.  

So, if balefire can directly alter the pattern itself, why would the horn of valere not be effected?  If Sanderson had at least given a clear, well though out reason why the link wasn't restored when Mat's death was undone, I would accept it, but he gave nothing.  

Yes, that's my point.   You can not be revived, but the very act that killed you can be erased from existance.  They never explained WHY the link to the horn isn't effected by changes to the timeline.  Mat was NEVER killed by the darkhounds because the darkhounds did not exist to kill him thanks to balefire.  However, according to Sanderson, the horn wasn't effected by this, and the link was still broken by his non-existent death.  Sanderson made it clear that it was being killed by the darkhounds that broke the link to the horn, but he never explained why the link wasn't restored when his death was erased from the timeline.

If the horn and it's link are not effected by changes to time caused by balefire, are they also immune to balefire directly?  Would the horn not be destroyed if directly struck by balefire?

If Sanderson at least had some logical reasons why the horn should be immune to changes to the timeline caused by balefire, that would be one thing, but no such reasons were ever given, and so, I think it simply makes more sense for his death in the Dragon Reborn to be the cause of the link being broken.  He WAS dead, and Rand revived him using the one power.  It makes far more sense, and there is no plot hole to worry about.    

This would only work if done on the scale of Game of Thrones, but Game of Thrones only worked because most of the character die.  

They would need to use mostly talented, but lesser known actors to save money, with a few key roles reserved for major names......

They would also need to blend much of the story together.

Here is how I would see it happening....

Season 1; Based solely on Eye of the World

Season 2; Based on The Great Hunt 

Season 3: Based on the Dragon Reborn

All three of these books have too much important details that I think they deserve their own seasons....

Season 4; Based on The Shadow Rising & The Fires of Heaven

Season 5: Based on The Lord of Chaos & A Crown of Swords

Season 6: Based on The Path of Daggers, Winters Heart, and Crossroads of Twilight, & Knife of Dreams

Season 7; Based on The Gathering Storm, Towers of Midnight & A Memory of Light

Season 8; Based on New Spring, but includes new storylines and scenes based around Tigraine, and Tam al'Thor

I think that the tie to the horn was broken when he was hanging from the tree.  He was dead.  He wasn't breathing, and Rand had to basically use the one power to get him breathing again.  So, I think that is when it happened.   It makes far more sense than it being the reversal of his other death using balefire.  That raises too many questions, such as, why is the horn immune to the effects of balefire.  Wouldn't his death being erased, and his death never happening mean the horn should still be bound to him?  Those questions were never answered, and it's far simpler to say that he died in The Shadow Rising, and was revived.  Makes perfect sense.  His being revived wouldn't erase his death, and so the horn wouldn't be relinked to him.

I think it bars full on war but not personal or one-on-one duels.  

Think of it as similar to the truce between the Muslims & Christians in the middle east between the second and third Crusades.  Personal disbutes and even small skirmished between lords was allowed, but anything that threatened the overall peace was illegal.  However, two lords or knights who fought over a personal issue did, but did not endanger the overall peace or threaten to cause a major war was legal.  

Well, you have to look at how polygamy is viewed in the series, primarily by the Aiel.  The Aiel see nothing wrong with a man being married to multiple women.  In fact, they see it as honorable for the women to put their friendship and love for each other above their love for the man, and to share him.  So, he was never going to choose one of them.  They each loved him, and he loved each of them, and, in the Aiel way, they chose to share him instead of fight over him.  

 

there were a number of scenes written by Robert Jordan. as far as I recall, there has been very little revealed on who wrote what.

Please, mb. According to Sanderson: RJ left 200 incoherent manuscript pages after himself. The longest/largest section was the prologue (which now is cutted into the prologues of the three books). The rest was most few lines long paragraphs, and many "X is here. X goes to there. X could die. X could live." type remarks.

 

That's it.

Androl's important role in the Black Tower leading to the Last Battle was BS's idea. The notes said mentioned that someone needed to have the role of leading the loyal Ashaman in taking out Taim's men, and putting an end to the Dreadlord control of the BT, but did not mention any specific character. BS chose Androl.

I would change how Rand and Moridin's battle ends.

Instead of having them literally switch bodies, I would have it sorta like the end of Harry Potter when what's his name destroys his own soul when he kills Harry.

Rand is killed, but instead of his own soul being destroyed, the part of him that is connected to Moridin is. He ends up losing his memories of his past life, as well as the ability to channel, establish that it's the soul that connects to the one power. This could also be used to explain why Dreamer channelors can channel in the world of dreams. Because part of their soul enters the dream, hence why injury received in the dream is real, because the soul is connected to the dream and the body at once.

Then I would have Rand revealed as the avatar of the Light. He would gain the ability to make small changes to reality. (This would explain apples magically appearing on a long dead tree). He would not be the creator, per say, but would be able to tap into a small amount of the creator's power.

He used this new power to recreate the original prison to seal the Dark One away.

This would explain why the Dark One's prison was intact before the Bore was formed. The CoL's duty is to recreate the prison.

Exactly, I doubt when anyone read "He will be of the ancient blood" thought Aiel before it happened not even sure after he was born if any of the Aes Sedai knew for sure it was an Aiel woman who gave birth to the Dragon.  Moraine even commented there were many places the old blood still run strong, the two rivers being so far from any place was probably an after thought to look.  I must say I still find it odd a woman 9 month pregnant is in any condition to be fighting in a battle.  Most by the stage struggle just to get out of bed let alone running into a fight.

She wasn't fit to fight, but she convinced Rand's father to allow her to.

But I doubt she did much fighting.  She was there because she knew she had to give birth to Rand on the mountain.