# w_theory

created: 2002-06-03 15:20:10
subject: Who is the Whitecloak the Shaido hold?
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<p>In WH, Galina tells Faile &amp; Company:<br /><br />&quot;There is a fellow here who used to be a Whitecloak.  He tried to escape nine times.  A hard man, but the last time they brought him back, he was begging and crying before they even began stripping him for punishment.&quot;<br /><br />Who would make so many attempts to escape against such impossible odds?  Even Faile &amp; Co. as stubborn as they are agreed at last that escape would be impossible.  <br />Who among the Whitecloaks has that much grit?  The only time Whitecloaks seem to be willing to be brave is when they clearly have the upper hand.  So who is this Whitecloak that would cause Galina (who was a Red before she went over to the Black) to comment on how 'hard' the man was?  <br /><br />Even Aiel (think of Amys' story about running away from the Wise Ones when she first had to abandon her Spear Sisters) would be brought to tears in punishment for running away.  Not that an Aiel would run from their obligation of gai'shain, but we're talking about a Wetlander.  A Whitecloak.  Running from the Aiel, knowing what the punishment would be for being caught, he still tried to escape NINE TIMES... so what if the man was in tears before they punished him the last time?  Aiel are notoriously hard people.  Who among the Wetlanders would have the grit to try running away that many times, knowing what could happen if they were caught?  Who always does the right thing, even if he ends up hurting himself?<br /><br />Galad.<br /><br />If you think about it, it makes sense.  This puts him in a place where he will finally meet Berelain.  Why is that so important?  Well, mainly because Min said of Berelain that she would fall head over heels for a man in white.  Galad is such a perfect specimen that every woman, including Nynaeve, has commented on how gorgeous he is.  It fits that Galad would be the one that Berelain finally falls for.  At the time Min made this announcement, I had figured that the 'man in white' was in reference to Galad being a Whitecloak.  It would work just as well for him to be in gai'shain white when Perrin &amp; Co. (including Berelain) finally catch up to the Shaido and rout them.  Faile's opinion was that Perrin would be outnumbered against the Shaido, but she didn't know the Prophet had brought his rabble in arms with him... and what better way for Perrin to dispose of them than to put them in front of the Shaido?  It'll be a hard fight, but I believe they'll send the Shaido packing, once again.<br /><br />So:  Battle won, Masema's side show whittled down a bit, captives recovered, Berelain meets Galad, Faile is relieved to have her off Perrin's back, everyone's happy. (Except those of us who can't stand Faile in the first place.)<br /><br />Interesting side note: If Galad IS that Whitecloak, how much longer will it be before Morgase's identity is revealed to Perrin &amp; Co.?<br /><br />This page was built by Ogier masons in 0.2031 seconds.  Quick buggers, aren't they?<br /><br /><br /></p><p><b>Burr says:</b> I have a hard time imagining Galad as being broken by anyone; but if he was, it seems odd that Jordan didn't consider the scene important enough to show from Sevanna's PoV.  On the other hand, mentioning it in a more offhanded way would preserve the secret longer.  Still, the Whitecloaks <i>are</i> soldiers; maybe Galad isn't the only one the man could be.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-06-05 12:21:18
subject: The Nature of the Bore
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<p>Thinking back on the nature of the Bore, I remembered that the Bore is not a place, it is a thinness in the Pattern, which just happens to be more strongly felt at Shayol Ghul.  In the Age of Legends the Bore was created by Mierin Sedai and her partner, whose name I forget but isn't really important.  Mierin, at the time of the drilling of the Bore, was in V'saine at the Collam Daan, the reasearch institution, where the Sharom, the great floating egg, cracked as the Bore was drilled.  However, we are told by one of the Forsaken that Shayol Ghul used to be an idyllic island where rich people went on vacation.  The Collam Daan was not on this island.  This leads to the conclusion that either the Bore moved during the Breaking, or the land moved and the Bore did not.<br /><br />Looking at the first theory, it seems at first not very likely.  The Bore is a place in the Pattern, a weakness, and the Pattern surely doesn't move.  However, the Bore cannot be a specific place in the Pattern, as the Pattern is constantly moving as it is woven by the Wheel.  And we know that the Bore is not a physical place where the Pattern is weaker, we were specifically told otheriwse.<br /><br />The second theory makes more sense, logically.  But, if it was the land that moved, then where in the Pattern is the Bore.  It cannot be in one place, as was previously discussed, because the Pattern is always winding.  Also, there seem to be other places where the effect of the Bore can be replicated.  Tear is such a place.  We are told by Moiraine in TDR that &quot;the Pattern can be torn [in Tear].&quot;  Perhaps the Bore was a physical location that was split in two by the Breaking, half in Tear, the remains of V'saine, and half on the island, which became Shayol Ghul.  V'saine, however, is never said to be a seaport, so how is it that the Bore became located on an island?<br /><br />My theory is that Shayol Ghul and the Bore are not linked.  The Dark One is the Bore, creating a whole in the Pattern.  As chaos, evil, in the form of the Dark One, abhors order.  The Pattern is the purest order, everyone's lives measured and woven.  Thus, the Dark One, as an embodiment of chaos, creates by his presence a thin spot in the Pattern.  This leads to the conclusion that other things are also embodiments of chaos.  The One Power, as a specific localized perversion of the natural order, is chaos.  Channelling goes against the way the world is, changing it chaotically.  Thus, the Great Holding at Tear creates a thin spot.  Rand, as ta'veren and the Lord of Chaos, also creates one.  A similar one should also be in Tar Valon, and any other concentration of the Power.<br /><br />But Rand's being ta'veren, which, according to Moiraine, may save him at the Last Battle, creates a polarizing effect on his personal spot in the Pattern.  The Dark One creates a thin spot, while Rand, weaving thousands of threads around his own, creates a thick spot.  This thickness is also a shift in the natural order, but is opposite to that of the Dark One's.  Thus, by going to Shayol Ghul, and more specifically, confronting the Dark One, Rand may overlap the thin spot and the thick spot and restore balance.<br /><br />The Pattern craves balance, as is shown by the nature of Rand's ta'veren twists of fate.  Thus, in destroying the Dark One's thin spot, Rand may have to lose his ta'veren effect, and maybe the presence of Lews Therin, in order to maintain balance.  This would also require the loss of the One Power worldwide, because the One Power creates chaos.<br /><br />This theory seems to have gotten long-winded and drifted form the point, so I'll wrap it up.  The Bore is that Pattern's reflection of the Dark One's chaos.  Ta'veren and the One Power also create foci for chaos.  The Pattern craves balance, and will therefore try to remove all chaos points.</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> Okay, you present an interesting idea, but I'm a bit confused when it comes to some of the details.  First you say that Rand, being the Lord of Chaos and ta'veren, creates a thin spot, but later you say that he will create a thick spot.  Later still, you simply refer all spots as chaos points.  So am I right in thinking that what you mean is that all spots, whether thin spots or thick spots, are points of chaos (if we are calling chaos a difference from the norm), but that the thin spots and thick spots can cancel each other out?  I suppose that makes some sense.  However, if this is so, then shouldn't there be a thick spot in Tear instead of a thin spot?<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-06-07 12:29:34
subject: Narishma Avatar
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<p>Sure, people have made plenty of theories about Narishma Asha'man and about mythological basis for our fave characters in WoT. I may have stumbled onto a mythological basis for Narishma. I say stumble because who can know the mind of RJ? We all are familiar with one of the Karaethon prophecies:<br /><br />&#8220;Into the heart he thrusts his sword,<br />into the heart, to hold their hearts.<br />Who draws it out shall follow after, <br />What hand can grasp that fearful blade?&#8221;<br />                      --TSR: 21, Into the Heart, 244<br /><br />We all know that Narishma drew Callandor out of the Stone of Tear for Rand and he may possibly replace Rand. Now onto the mythological basis for Narishma.<br />There's an Indian god named Lord Narasimha,or Nrsimha as he is sometimes called (note the similar spelling to Narishma). Narasimha appeared out of hiding to save the world after it was conquered by a demon god, Hiranyakapisu. The demon god was supposed to be invincible, but Narasimha found a loophole in the demon's invincibility and tore the demon apart. For this, the gods and the grateful people named Narasimha an Avatar. An Avatar is one who comes to destroy a world and make a whole new world. Rand the Dragon Reborn would be the one who breaks the world, with the help of other channelers and the Dark One, of course. But who would rebuild the world after Tarmon Gai'don? Certainly not just one single person, but perhaps one of the leaders of the remaking is Narishma, being an avatar like Narasimha.<br /><br />What do you think?<br /><br />Gaeran<br />Assistant Historian at the Court of the Sun <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/whitecloak.gif" border="0" /><br />One of Those Chosen to Bring the Light <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/flaminggrin.gif" border="0" /><br />Master of Graendal's Revels <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/biggrin.gif" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-06-07 13:42:57
subject: Logain's Promotion
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<p>Logain is one of the first minor characters that is introduced early in the series and goes on to become quite important later on.  After fleeing the rebel Aes Sedai in Salidar, he disappears for a while only to re-appear in POD (The Extra Bit) as a full Asha'man.  To top this off, he is leading a mixed group of Asha'man soldiers and Dedicated against the Aes Sedai led by Toveine.  There are two questions to be asked here: does Logain now occupy a high-ranking position in the Black Tower, and how did he gain promotion so fast?<br /><br />First, it definitely seems that Logain is a full Asha'man, one of the elite.  The majority of the men in the Black Tower are Soldiers, while the more experienced among them become Dedicated (sort of non commissioned officer); proportionally, there are not many Asha'man.  Second, while we do not know if Logain's group dealt with all five of the Aes Sedai parties assaulting the Black Tower, we know that he helped stop at least two such groups (he bonded another Aes Sedai before Toveine).  Anyone charged with handling the defense of the Black Tower and dealing with a group of Aes Sedai who have (for the most part) a good deal of experience facing male channelers would have to be a high ranking Asha'man.  This is not the sort of thing you leave to junior management.<br /><br />So if Logain is not just an average Asha'man, how did he rise so quickly?  He is, after all, a relative newcomer to the Black Tower.  The most obvious answer would be that he gained rank due to his strength in the One Power, his skill and his experience.  He is, after all, the second most experienced male Channeler in the Westland (excepting any remaining male Forsaken). He has been channeling longer than Rand.  He is also an experienced battle commander who led men in battle during his time as a false dragon.  So why would such a man <i>not</i> be given high rank?  Mazrim Taim is the reason.<br /><br />Regardless of who (or what) Taim really is, he has shown himself to be clever, intelligent and ruthless; he is not a man who suffers rivals.  He bristles every time Rand reminds him that he is in charge.  Taim is in charge of the day-to-day running of the Black Tower, and aside from the men assigned to Rand, it is Taim who organizes promotions.   He seems to reserve the rank of Asha'man for his own supporters; Dashiva is the only known exception to this and, as a forsaken, there is no doubt that he has people pulling strings for him.  <br /><br />In WH we are told that Logain is the only full Asha'man in the Black Tower who does not live in Taim's palace.  Would such a man promote a potential rival like Logain?  I don't think so.  At best he might make him a full Asha'man and then send him off recruiting somewhere (out of sight, out of mind).  He certainly would not give Logain a high profile job like defending the Black Tower.  I don't believe that he would assign Logain the job just to watch him fail, as this could mean losing too many troops and it might possibly even endanger the BT itself.  With the success of the mission under his belt Logain is now a potential rival for Taim's position.<br /><br />IN POD (The Extra Bit) Logain gives us a hint of Taim's attitude towards him.  &quot;...If the M'Hael had his way, I'd be hoeing turnips with the new boys.  Or buried under the field.&quot;  This clearly shows that Taim was not overjoyed when Logain showed up.  But since Taim is the 'head' of the Asha'man, how was Logain promoted?<br /><br />The only possible answer is that Rand, himself, promoted Logain. He is the only person who can overrule Taim.  Rand neither likes nor trusts Taim.  He does not know Logain enough to trust him, either, but we have often seen him use the rivalry between powerful nobles to keep them in line.  Rand may have made Logain second-in-command at the Black Tower in order to keep Taim on his toes.<br /><br />He needs some one experienced enough to handle the Aes Sedai, someone like Taim but more trustworthy.  Rand apparently wanted them alive, Logain said as much when he said no one was to harm the Aes Sedai, &quot;by order of the Lord Dragon.&quot;  Taim has proven himself to be overly-aggressive when dealing with Aes Sedai.  He would probably have wiped them out.  That only leaves Logain as an experienced channeler who has experience leading men in battle.  Also, Logain might possibly have more experience with Aes Sedai than anyone else, first fighting them and then living as their prisoner in Tar Valon (and Salidar).  Hence he is given the job and made deputy M'Hael.<br /><br />If Rand did promote Logain he may have inadvertently set in motion the chain of events that will lead to the Black Tower being rent in blood and fire; only time will tell.<br /></p><p><b>Lauriana Sedai says:</b> You're right about Taim jealously guarding his power. I can only imagine that if Rand didn't promote Logain, then Taim is the only other possibility. This might be what happened, though, especially if Taim had orders from one of his real bosses (a forsaken, high-ranking darkfriend, or even the Dark One, himself).  As much as Taim might hate it, setting up a schism within the Black Tower (Taim's troops vs. Logain's) might be exactly what the 'Dark Side' is hoping for.  As the Aes Sedai in Tar Valon demonstrate, a tower divided cannot remain standing for long.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-06-13 11:34:56
subject: Prophecy Shmophecy.
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<p>First, credit where credit is due:<br />1.  This theory is partly inspired and supported by Vashti's &quot;The DO Wants Rand To Succeed -- Sort of&quot; theory, which was posted on 5/3/2002.  Read it, it's great.<br />2.  Some of the information came from one of the two best (*cough* shameless plug for wotmania) sites devoted to the WOT.  The WOT Characters Index.<br /><br />And now, on with the theory...  To sum it up in one sentence: The DO wrote/inspired the prophecies of the Dragon.  <br /><br />Rand knows all the prophecies; he's working hard to figure them out.  If they're self-fulfilling, then he's screwed.  He'll tear the world apart and take the battle to Shayol Ghul, the heart of the DO's power, because he thinks it's the right thing to do.  Rand is just as bad as Galad, his half-brother, when it comes to doing the right thing, no matter what the cost.  <br /><br />Yes, I know some of the prophecies can't easily have been faked, like the stuff about Rand's birth.  But the smartest lies always have a grain of truth, and who should know this better than the Father of Lies?<br /><br />Take a look through the eight books of this series.  They all mention prophecies.  A number of them state the source of these prophecies.  Some examples:  Jeorad Manyard was high up in Artur Hawkwing's beaurocracy and translated &quot;The Prophecies of the Dragon&quot;.  Kyera Termendal was a poet who translated the Prophecies of the Dragon in approximately 700 to 800 FY.  N'Delia Basolaine was the First Madi and sword fast to Raidhen of Hol Cuchone.  She translated part of the Prophecy of the Dragon in circa 400AB.  Sereine dar Shamelle Motara wrote &quot;Commentaries on the Kareathon Cycle&quot; around 325 AB.<br /><br />Note how these are all very respectable people, from very diverse cultures and lives.  Note also how none of them actually wrote the prophecies, they just translated or commented on them.  So where did the prophecies come from?  As far as I know, the original sources aren't mentioned.  Maybe the original sources were a little less respectable and diverse, so the DO is carefully hiding the fact.<br /><br />Rosel of Essam was an author from about 200 years after the Breaking of the world, she wrote about a book that &quot;held secrets the world could not face.&quot;  The book is presumed to be about the forsaken.  Most of the book has been destroyed.  What about the Forsaken is so horrible that the world cannot face it, yet could be written about (and known) by a woman who is NOT a darkfriend?  A lot of stuff they've done is bad, but the information about it is still out there, if one looks hard enough for it.  The book is &quot;presumed&quot; to be about the forsaken, but that doesn't mean it definitely is.  What if the book simply suggested that the dragon would help the world by creating order, and that all these destructive-breaking-the-world ideas were simply self-fulfilling prophecies.<br /><br />Herid Fel, who was killed by the Gholam for knowing something he shouldn't have, once wrote a book called &quot;Reason and Unreason&quot;.  What if he unreasoned the prophecies that Rand had him looking at?  His last message was that &quot;Belief and order will give you strength.  Have to clear the rubble before you rebuild.&quot;  Yes, as many other people have suggested, this might refer to something specific (like the seals), but it also might mean that he had extrapolated to a more general idea of disregarding the guiding force of the dragon.  You have to clear the rubble of the prophecies before you rebuild belief and order.<br /><br />Until the end of Winter's Heart, the series takes place during the time of illusion, as we see from the scene on Tremalking.  Maybe it's the illusion of prophecy, because healing the taint was never part of it.<br /><br />To finish off, with a quote from my very favorite warder:  &quot;You can never know everything, and part of what you know is always wrong.  Perhaps even the most important part.  A portion of wisdom lies in knowing that.  A portion of courage lies in going on anyway.<br /><br /></p><p><b>Burr says:</b> Because we don't know all of the prophecies, we don't know that they say nothing about the healing of the taint.  On the other hand, it is odd that the origin of the prophecies is shrouded in mystery.  You'd think their creation would be much remarked on as a historical event.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-06-15 17:18:46
subject: Who Does Taim Report To?
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<p>I believe it&#8217;s common knowledge that Taim has his own agenda, and doesn&#8217;t walk in the Light anymore. Now a common explanation for this is that Taim either defected to the Dark or was turned to the Dark. Has anybody ever considered that maybe he isn&#8217;t working for the Dark either, but instead a third party? Is it possible that Taim is in fact taking orders from Fain and his new breed of evil. I&#8217;m not sure how much proof exists for this theory, but I&#8217;m suggesting it as at least a possibility.<br /><br />We heard of Taim&#8217;s escape from the Aes Sedai around the same time we heard of the Black Ajah&#8217;s plot to turn him (or at least an implied plot), so it seems pretty obvious to assume that this plot succeeded when he later turns out to be working against the Light. However, we don&#8217;t really have any proof that the plot did succeed. What do we know of Fain&#8217;s activities around the time Taim escaped? If I remember right he was somewhat out of the story for a little while around then. <br /><br />It&#8217;s been a little while since I&#8217;ve read the early books, but if I remember right Taim escaped just a little after the incident at Falme, while being transported from Saledam to the White Tower. Fain would have been fleeing Flame at this time and thus heading somewhat towards Taim. Isn&#8217;t it possible Fain had something to do with Taim&#8217;s escape or maybe Taim escaped on his own but then bumped into and was corrupted by Fain.<br /><br />What first made me think about this possibility is the letter Rand gets from Fain while in Far Madding. The letter basically says that the writer knew who Rand was, told him which two renegade Asha&#8217;man were dead and where the others were. The interesting thing is that the writer of the letter listed the four Asha&#8217;man by name, and seemed to know them in some way. Now you might say that writer also said he/she wished Rand well, but to leave Far Madding in peace and Fain wouldn&#8217;t wish Rand well or care about Far Madding. Which I would counter with the fact that Fain would say anything if he thought it would lead Rand into his hands. Rand, himself, also thinks the letter was from Fain. This is evident by Rand saying as much just before Fain shows up. <br /><br />As I mentioned before, the way the letter names the four Asha&#8217;man seems to imply a certain familiarity with them. The question is this: how could Fain have that familiarity with the Asha&#8217;man? This could easily be explained if Fain was giving orders to Taim. Consider for a moment that Fain can sense Rand is often shows up whenever Rand stays in one place for any amount of time. One exception, when Rand was ruling in Andor. What if it wasn&#8217;t an exception, but Fain was indeed near by hidden away in the Black Tower corrupting Taim. He could have gained the familiarity with the four Asha&#8217;man during this period, very possibly corrupting them at the same time.<br /><br />Well like I said, not much proof at the moment. I suppose this is more speculation than anything, but I thought it would be an interesting twist and that from what I&#8217;ve seen so far it&#8217;s at least possible (if not necessarily in the way I&#8217;ve laid it out). I&#8217;ll do some more looking in the books and see if I can find any additional evidence to support or discredit this.<br /></p><p><b>Burr says:</b> By corrupting Taim, Fain would not only hinder Rand, he would also be able to keep track of (and finally get rid of) the Darkfriend Asha'man.  I like it.  Of course, being corrupted by Fain does not restrict Taim from also being a Darkfriend.  We already know Fain will use Darkfriends just as easily as the good guys when it is to his advantage.  Fain is that way not only able to spy on Rand, but also on the Forsaken.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-06-16 21:24:25
subject: Logain and Min - two of a kind?
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<p>We all know that Min Farshaw can see the aura of a person and is sometimes able to interpret it and predict what is going to happen to them. Moiraine believed she was able to see pieces of the pattern. I'm thinking that Logain may have a similar Talent though maybe not as pronounced. Think back with me to something Logain said in LoC,Ch30.<br /><br />After healing Logain, Nynaeve shields him but he is so strong he can nearly break it, LoC,Ch30.  Elayne runs from the room to get Sheriam and Logain tells Nynaeve he will not cause trouble. He tells her of a time in Caemlyn when he saw another man with a glow that meant he would truly shake the world. Logain said he laughed at the thought.<br /><br />You may remember the incident in TEotW,Ch39. This was when Rand was watching him being taken into the Royal Palace. Logain comes into view on a wagon inside a large cage with iron bars. With two Aes Sedai at each corner shielding him, Logain throws his head back and laughs when he sees Rand on the hill.<br /><br />As Logain recounts his viewpoint to Nynaeve in LoC,Ch30 he apparently was able to see Rand's ta'veren &quot;glow.&quot; Like many, I just thought that Logain must have the Talent to see ta'veren.<br /><br />But as I re-read this account it occurs to me that it may be much more than that. Here is exactly what Logain said.<br /><br />&quot;You know, I saw a man once who will cause more trouble than I ever did. Maybe it was the Dragon Reborn; I don't know. It was when they took me through Caemlyn after I was captured. He was far away, but I saw a. . . a glow, and I <b>knew</b> he'd shake the world. Caged as I was, I couldn't help laughing.&quot;<br /><br />Logain <b>KNEW</b> what the glow <b>MEANT</b> - that Rand was going to shake the world. This sounds like much more than just being able to &quot;see the ta'vern glow&quot; ala Nicola Treehill (she sees a glow around Mat indicating that she has the Talent of seeing ta'veren Loc,Ch38.)<br /><br />In Logain's case, he not only saw the glow but also -- like Min -- he was able to interpret it and predict what it meant for Rand.<br /><br />Do Logain and Min share a similar talent? Perhaps they do, though Logain clearly  does to a much lesser extent than Min (at least in number of occurrences). What do you think?<br /><img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/gandalf.gif" border="0" /></p><p><b>Roonas says:</b> Possibly, but I still think it was merely Logain's interpretation based on the glow around Rand, not necessarily that he understood the meaning or possible detailed implications of what was to happen like Min does (for the most part).  I always thought of it like Logain getting a glimpse at how powerful Rands ta'veren powers were ... and making an observation as to who and what Rand was, and what he could possibly do, but not having any real outside source to back it up like Mins viewings give her intuitions. In the long run though, RJ hasn't given us a direct idea about the extent of Logain abilities, so this might be true ... but I guess we'll just have to keep Reading on for more answers ...<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-06-16 21:35:09
subject: Lanfear and a possible ending to the Last Battle
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<p>This theory is all based on very possible ending to the WoT: the balefire of Lanfear.  All the implications of this possible outcome will be discussed.<br /><br />With enough power, through the Choedan Kal, Rand and a female channeler could link and balefire Lanfear.<br /><br />With enough power, it would rip Lanfear from the pattern since before the drilling of the Bore.<br /><br />I would imagine that this female channeler might be Moiraine, since Lanfear and Moiraine have assumed a new feud between each other.  Plus, Min had the viewing that Rand almost certainly could not win without someone who was dead and gone.  In addition, Rand does not have it in him to kill Lanfear.  But perhaps Moiraine, linked with Rand, or Moiraine alone with one of the Choedan Kal could finish Lanfear.<br /><br />This kind of shock to the pattern might break the wheel itself, since that would effectively eliminate the record of the War of the Shadow, breaking, etc.<br /><br />What if the wheel was broken?  Could some new age be forged?  Perhaps an age of linearity?  Perhaps this would be an age, which gives new meaning to this story and new direction to Randland.  <br /><br />Since there would no longer be a wheel, there would be a new world that is much similar to our own (at least in its philosophical principles).  One of great gifts (or perhaps the worst gift) of Greek civilization was the gift of linear concept of time, and an idea of progress.<br /><br />This was further refined by the era of Christianity, and by the Renaissance period.  Effectively, an era of science and an Industrial age was created.<br /><br />In Randland, there already seems too much happening in that direction.  Rand has created schools, and the 1st products of an Industrial revolution are already being formed.<br /><br />An industrial period and the breaking of the wheel could be an intriguing ending to the WoT, because it adds a great deal more meaning to the overall story.  If the Last Battle just leads into another age of the Wheel, then why is this age even important?  Why did RJ choose to tell his story in this particular age?  Much of the significance (at least in theory) of the story is lost; because we begin see the story as just a bunch of ages that repeat again and again.<br /> <br />But with the breaking of the wheel, (or at least a great shock to the pattern that the wheel is greatly disrupted for an age) many new possibilities are presented.  The story might end with a whole set of new questions and possibilities, and many of these possibilities might echo those of our own world (Earth, for those who can't remember).<br /><br />I think one of the neatest endings might be where the wheel is so greatly disrupted (but not completely broken) that the wheel is completely forgotten by Randland. In a way, this is like our own world.  But it leaves Randland with the future possibility of a new wheel turning in the distant future.<br />This would be quite a cliffhanger, I think.  RJ did say he would leave us with a cliffhanger.<br /><br />Finally, I want to summarize with a few thoughts on a couple possible outcomes of the Last battle:<br /><br /><br />1.  An industrial age is begun, and the art of channeling is lost or forgotten.  The wheel is forgotten (but not completely lost) and people believe in the linearity of time.<br />However, the wheel may not be completely broken, and the wheel may spin once again once the disruption is rebalanced.  This possibility mirrors our own world in the year of 2,000.  Many people think that a new age is about to begin, whether they be Christians, Buddhists, cultists, or New Agers.<br /><br />2.  The balefire of Lanfear (Rand can't do it himself, cause he can't kill a woman, and that is why Moiraine is so important) leads into a new Age of Legends.  The balefire of Lanfear might completely change the pattern of time, and many of the contributions of the AoL may be instantly re-introduced.  So many things would change; it would be hard to predict what is what. Perhaps the song would be instantly remembered. This is kind of like a happily ever after ending, except it has threat of the shadow returning again.<br /><br />So, I think I have said enough and left you with enough to think about.  This is a lot of speculation, but I think it is based on sound reason. Flame away.<br /></p><p><b>Roonas says:</b> Somehow I doubt RJ will end the series by Balefiring anything ... it doesn't fit in with his love for continuity (as I see it) ... but, as with all things, it could be possible, so I'll leave it to the masses to see what they think ...<br /><br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-06-18 09:05:48
subject: Who is Demandred? I think I've figured it out...
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<p>In LoC, Chapter 6: <i>&quot;Threads woven in Shadow&quot;</i> (Orbit paperback, p.173), Sammael visits Graendal at her hideout.  She disguises herself as an old Domani woman, which implies that she is hiding somewhere in Arad Doman.  This is confirmed by a couple of other hints during the same chapter (e.g. mention of the fact that King Asalan rules &quot;this&quot; country).  Graendal tells Sammael that Demandred went to Shayol Ghul and she passes along the message that he brought back from the Dark One (&quot;Let the Lord Of Chaos Rule&quot; ).  But here is the passage that I literally stumbled over, and it makes me think that I&#8217;ve figured out either Demandred&#8217;s identity, or at least discovered a very powerful pawn under his control.<br /><br />This passage is from Sammael&#8217;s point of view:<br />&quot;You deliver a message to Demandred from me.  I know what he is up to.&quot; <br />Events to the south had Demandred's mark all over them.  Demandred always liked using proxies. <br />&quot;Tell him to be careful. I won't have him or his <i>friends</i> interfering in my plans.&quot;<br />Perhaps he could direct al'Thor's attention there; that would likely put an end to him. If other means did not work.  <br />&quot;So long as they steer clear of me, his lackeys can carve out what he wants, but they will steer clear of me or he will answer for it.&quot;   (LoC p. 183)<br /><br />&quot;To the South&quot; could mean one of two things.  Either this refers to an area to the south of Illian (Sammael&#8217;s head quarters), or, more likely, south of where he is at that moment: Arad Doman.<br /><br />I think he meant the latter, which gives us a nice array of countries to choose from: Tarabon, Amadicia, and Altara, for instance.  What do all of these countries have in common?  Well, for one thing, they&#8217;ve all been tormented by the Prophet and his roving bands of Dragonsworn.<br /><br />So here&#8217;s the crux of my theory:<br />We know that the Chosen were ordered to &quot;let the Lord of Chaos rule.&quot; <br />As stated in many other theories, order helps the Creator while chaos helps the Dark One. <br />In particular, if <i>Rand</i> were the one to spread the chaos, this would actually help the Dark One break free of his prison even quicker.<br /><br />In the Pit of Doom, Demandred says, &quot;Have I not done well, Great Lord?&quot; and the Great Lord laughs (LoC, Epilogue).  So how better for Demandred to fulfill these orders than to spread chaos while claiming to do it <i>in the name of the Dragon Reborn</i>?<br /><br />Personally, I think that Demandred replaced Masema.  Another possibility, though, could be that the Chosen is using Compulsion on Masema (this could explain Sammael&#8217;s comment that &quot;he always liked using proxies&quot; ).  Either way, I believe that Demandred is involved with the Dragonsworn, and not the Black Tower.  <br /><br /></p><p><b>Lauriana Sedai says:</b> I think that it would be awesome if Masema were Demandred, because I'd love to see Rand balefire him.  Or maybe Perrin will just cleave him with his axe during the next book, but either way I like the implications of your theory.  I, for one, hope you're right.  I'll throw it out to the hounds, though, and we'll see what they make of it...<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-06-19 16:41:57
subject: Fain's Creature
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<p>I don't think that Shaidar Haran has been around from the start, or that he just suddenly came into being.  It is my belief that he is the Myrddraal that Fain had chained up in The Shadow Rising, at the end of Assurances.  I am of the oppinion that the task Fain had for him was to become a trusted advisor to the Dark One, prolly to be in a position to cause serious problems to the DO's plans, and thus getting Fain his revenge.  This should be something that Fain would be able to instruct the Myrddraal on, seeing as he is an expert at playing off others desires to worm his way into a possition of trust.  It would also explain Shaidar Haran's increased size and power, gifts from the DO to befit his new station.<br /></p><p><b>StoneDogAiel says:</b> I like your theory. It has a refreshing originality. I see just one hole. Why would the DO want, need, have, an advisor? Let alone an advisor that is a Fade. The DO wouldn't do something like that. Keep thinking about it though.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-06-20 08:50:58
subject: &#8220;A woman dead and gone&#8221; is not Moiraine.
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<p>&#8220;What good to tell him [Rand] he would almost certainly fail without a woman who was dead and gone?&#8221;<br /><i>A Crown of Swords</i> (p. 543, hard cover) <br /><br />&#8220;Min sighed regretfully, but it was not as if she had really expected Moiraine to turn up alive. Moiraine was the only vision of hers that had ever failed.&#8221;<br /><i>A Crown of Swords</i> (p. 546 hard cover) <br /><br />&#8220;Darkness from light, from knowledge ignorance&#8221;.<br />Robert Browning, <i>A Death in the Desert</i><br /><br />Sometimes our positions of near-omniscience as readers can act as a blindfold to the truth. Having access to so many different characters&#8217; thoughts, it is easy to forget what the characters themselves know, and more importantly, <i>what they do not know</i>. The most significant thing that we know which the characters do not know is that Rand will win in the end. We know it because of writings from the Fourth Age, but first and foremost we know it because it is a literary convention. We know that Rand must win, although he may very well die, be reduced to beggary or lose his sight in the process. Min Fairshaw, on the other hand, the fictitious character in Robert Jordan&#8217;s books, does not know this. It has been stated repeatedly in the series that the Prophecies do <b>not</b> mean Rand has to live until Tarmon Gai&#8217;don; as far as any of the characters are concerned he might die at any time. This irrefutable but easily overseen fact is crucial to my theory.<br /><br />The two passages above, from Min&#8217;s thoughts in her points of view, are generally thought to be connected, and to refer to the same viewing. This belief necessitates Min having a viewing stating &#8220;Rand will fail unless he has Moiraine with him.&#8221;  Without this take on the viewing, this belief <i>does not stand</i>. But if she did indeed have such a viewing, then she could not say that the viewing had failed. With Moiraine dead, such a viewing would mean that Rand would fail. As far as Min is concerned, this is not impossibility, just an undesirable outcome, so the vision &#8220;Rand will fail unless he has Moiraine with him&#8221; would not have failed.<br /><br /><i>&#8220;Moiraine was the only vision of hers that had ever failed.&#8221;</i><br /><br />This could be any viewing at all concerning Moiraine, so long as her death means that it is a failed vision. Since Min cannot conclusively say that the first viewing failed, this failed viewing <i>cannot be the first one</i>. (By &#8220;the first viewing&#8221;, I mean the one about Rand needing a woman who was dead and gone, or so Min thought.) I think the &#8220;failed vision&#8221; is probably a viewing that Moiraine would marry Thom, as this ties in with other prophetic dreams and suggestions in the books, but it could be anything.<br /><br />This leaves us with a question: who, then, is the woman who is &#8220;dead and gone?&#8221;  There are four criteria that the person in question must meet:  1) she must be a woman; 2) she must be reasonably important in the series; 3) everyone (or, at least, Min) must think she is dead, but; 4) she is, in fact, alive. I am inclined to think it is Morgase. I cannot think of anyone else who fits all those criteria at the moment, although there may well be one (do tell me if you know of one). However, the important point is that the reason the woman Min refers to has to be alive is because <b>we</b> know Rand has to win, not because of anything that Min might know.<br /><br />If you require proof that too much knowledge can blind you to the truth, I would cite the blackboard comments following a theory I remember responding to: Had&#8217;s theory entitled &#8220;A Possible Way to Enter the Tower of Ghenjei&#8221; (Miscellaneous Theories). Put briefly, the theory suggested that Rand could make a gateway into the Tower for Thom, Mat, and someone else to go in and rescue Moiraine. The first person to respond on the blackboard said &#8220;Great idea. Unfortunately, half of the time the characters don't see what's under their noses.&#8221; I pointed out that it was not under the characters&#8217; noses; it was under <i>our</i> noses, because when Rand and Mat are introduced to the Tower of Ghenjei by Bayle Domon while traveling to Whitebridge down the Arinelle, Perrin was not there. When Perrin first learned of the place from Birgitte in the Wolf Dream, Rand and Mat were not there. Therefore, only the readers and RJ have the combined knowledge of what Perrin knows about the place and what Rand and Mat know. It&#8217;s difficult to explain without quoting half the original theory, but the person who said it was under their noses (chukka) must have been assuming that Rand knew about the Tower what Perrin knew, and/or vice versa. We as readers do know, but the characters  don&#8217;t.  This proves that when we know more than certain characters about something, we can forget that they do not also know it. Sometimes it is made obvious what someone doesn&#8217;t know, for example when Rand thinks in A Path of Daggers that the male channeller trying to kill him might be &#8220;Asmodean come back at last&#8221;, although <i>we</i> know he is gone for good. Sometimes, however, it is not so blatantly stated, and we can forget. I might have said this at the beginning of the theory to illustrate my point about knowledge, but it&#8217;s a bit too long and not essentially relevant to the theory itself, so I have put it here at the end in case you weren&#8217;t convinced by my assertion in the first paragraph.<br /><br />Yours, <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/myrddraal.gif" border="0" />.<br /></p><p><b>Lauriana Sedai says:</b> I had always assumed that the two quotes were connected, but they may not be; they are separated by a couple of pages, so.... Hopefully the other characters will figure out who Morgase really is in CoT, and then we'll find out whether you're right about this.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-06-20 09:09:59
subject: What happened to Hurin?
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<p>Hurin was a sniffer, and he was a mighty fine one, too. We all remember him from <i>The Great Hunt</i>, but then what happened to him after Falme? He just disappeared, perhaps scampering off to Shienar to tell them about the Lord Dragon. But what really happened to him? Many may ask, &quot;Who Cares?&quot; but I think he was important. Why would RJ spend so much time and effort on one character, just to have him vanish from the series after only one book?<br /><br />Let me make this clear, Hurin was an important character. He was almost exclusively responsible for Rand learning to deal with having authority over most of those around him. He molded that Rand we all know today.  He also inadvertently helped Perrin come to grips with being, well, a bit &quot;wolfy.&quot;  Mat liked him, as well.  He gambled with him and enjoyed his company, and he was one of the only people Hurin really would talk to. After all that, try and tell me Hurin was a minor character.<br /><br />It's obvious that Hurin never made it to Shienar, because the Shienarans didn't find out about Rand being the Dragon any sooner than the rest of the world did.  Here are a few possible fates that could have befallen Hurin:<br /><br />1) He may have been killed<br />2) He may have been sidetracked by something<br />3) He may have become a darkfriend<br />4) He may have been captured by a darkfriend <br /><br />Lets review these situations:<br /><br />1) He may have been killed.  This just isn't very likely. We would have heard of him being killed or something. Plus it just doesn't seem like RJ not to let us know that a relatively important character has died.<br /><br />2) He may have been  sidetracked by something.  This is the most feasible thing that may have happened. On the other hand, Hurin must have had something awfully important come up to stop him from reaching Shienar. He seemed very intent on making it to Shienar as soon as possible, as he lets us know in the following passage: <br /><br />Hurin shook his head emphatically. &#8220;I cannot waste a day, Verin Sedai. Not another hour. I must return to Shienar, to tell King Easar, and Lord Agelmar, the truth of what happened at Falme. I must tell them about &#8211;&#8220; He cut off abruptly and looked around. There was no one close enough to overhear, but he still lowered his voice and said only, &#8220;About Rand. That the Dragon is Reborn. There must be trading ships heading upriver, and I mean to be on the next to sail.&quot;  (TDR ch. 11, &#8216;Tar Valon.&#8217; )<br /><br />Yet even after this Shienar hears no word of the Dragon Reborn (at least not before the rest of the world, that is).<br /><br />3) He may have become a darkfriend.  It's possible, but I don't think so. I've got nothing to disprove this, but he was a good guy, and I can't see him being a darkfriend.<br /><br />4) He may have been captured by a darkfriend.  Now this is very possible. The DO would want information out of somebody that knew a lot about Rand. Hurin was close to him throughout his big rise to power in TGH. The DO obviously knew that Hurin had been around Rand for a long while since Selene/Lanfear saw them together a lot. <br /><br />So here is what I think. Hurin will come into play in the future. I believe he was captured by darkfriends and questioned about everything he knew of Rand 'al Thor. Then he was released a great time later, after Rand had been to Tear.  By this point, Hurin's news was obsolete and Shienar already knew about the Dragon Reborn. <br /><br />When will he come back? As soon as somebody needs his help. I mean, he can smell evil, and that is a pretty useful talent. Most likely he will help wherever fellow Shienarans appear, i. e., Gareth Bryne's Army, or Masema and his crew.  Plus he did say... <br /><br />&#8220;The Light illumine all of you,&#8221; he replied, gathering his reins. Yet he hesitated a moment,<br />then added, &#8220;If you need me - ever - send word to Fal Dara, and I&#8217;ll find a way to come.&#8221;<br /><br />Plus I really like the guy and I would really like to see him come back.</p><p><b>Lauriana Sedai says:</b> I liked Hurin, too.  And I agree that he didn't turn into a darkfriend.  If nothing else, he wouldn't be able to stand his own stench if he were to get involved with evil doings. <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/wink.gif" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-06-21 10:09:22
subject: Ta'veren serve the wheel, not the other way around
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<p>I have been reading theories regarding Ta&#8217;veren (and Dark Ta'veren) and I notice that there is a big misconception about them. Everyone seems to feel that Ta&#8217;veren are free to do whatever they want, that the pattern will just whip up around them and alter itself for the Ta&#8217;veren; anything to help them accomplish their goals. I believe that many of us are harboring misconceptions about the power that Ta&#8217;veren have, both over the world around them and their own lives. <br /><br />In The Great Hunt Loial has this to say about being Ta&#8217;veren:<br /><br />&#8221;For a time, the wheel will bend the pattern around you three, whatever you do. And whatever you do is more likely to be chosen by the wheel than by you. Ta'veren pull history along behind them and shape the pattern just by being, but the wheel weaves Ta'veren on a tighter line than other men. Wherever you go, whatever you do, until the wheel chooses otherwise you will-&quot;<br /><br />He was then cut off by Mat, but I think he was about to say that &#8216;until the wheel chooses otherwise you will have very little choice in what you do.&#8217; <br /><br />I guess you could call it Robert Jordan&#8217;s version of fate, but most of the paths followed by a Ta&#8217;veren through life are not determined by the Ta&#8217;veren himself. Instead, I believe that they are entirely determined by the wheel. <br /><br />When you think of our three Ta&#8217;veren at work, you generally think of the obvious scenes like negotiations with the Sea Folk, or when Rand is able make impossible political situations work (for instance, having Aes Sedai kneel to him to swear fealty). <br /><br />However, I think that there are just as many scenes where the Ta&#8217;veren seem to be forced into some situation by the wheel itself. Scenes such as when Rand tries to leave Fal Dara because the he doesn&#8217;t want to meet the Amyrlin Seat, or all of the things that happen to keep Mat in Ebou Dar until Tuon arrives. Even Perrin goes through this multiple times; all of the different things that occurred which led to Perrin meeting Elyas and learning of his &#8216;wolf senses&#8217; are good examples of what happens to a person&#8217;s life when he/she is a Ta&#8217;veren. The wheel and the pattern force them on a set course in order to make sure that it&#8217;s goals are accomplished. I think that in some ways this ties in to Min&#8217;s viewings; she says that if she knows what a viewing means, it WILL come true. This suggests to me that the pattern itself already knows what is going to happen, and nothing can change that once it is set on course. <br /><br />I think that the wheel is pushing them and guiding them in a very strict line in order to achieve its goals, and every other consideration is secondary. What the wheel wants, it will get. I used to think that the wheel released Ta&#8217;veren so that they could correct errors in the pattern by letting the pattern reweave itself around them correctly. I now think that if there is a problem in the pattern, the wheel releases a Ta&#8217;veren, and weaves the pattern around them so that they have no choice but to go and fix what ever the wheel needs fixed in the pattern. These two points of view may not seem all that different, but in the first version, aTa&#8217;veren would have some power to determine his own actions, and this could jeopardize the entire nature of the universe. <br /><br />Think of it this way. The wheel needs to move to the next age, but in the next age the Wheel will likely want some things about the world to be different. It seems to be leading the Aiel out the wastes, for instance, and perhaps the geographic make-up of the waste will change so that it is habitable again. It seems safe to assume that Saidin will stay clean, so there will be male Aes Sedai again. The ways may be cleansed (or destroyed), wolf-siblings may become common again, the Seanchan may rejoin the rest of the folks in Randland, and so on, and so on. So the Wheel releases Ta&#8217;veren in order to accomplish these tasks, and it reweaves the pattern around them so that everything that happens is moving them to these tasks or preparing them to accomplish them.<br /><br />Thus, if Mat does wind up betraying Rand (as some theorize), then this action must lead to some sort of consequence that will be helpful to Rand in the long run. The pattern would not let Mat do it unless it needed this to happen in order to help one or the both of them achieve the Wheel&#8217;s goals. <br /><br />I think the number of things that the individual MUST do, or MUST accomplish determines the strength of the Ta&#8217;veren. In the case of Rand, he is the strongest Ta&#8217;veren ever because of the enormous number of tasks that the Wheel has set aside for the Dragon Reborn to accomplish. <br /><br />Some of us have made mention that some of the other characters show ta&#8217;veren like abilities.  There is even the thee passage where Egwene is told that she could almost be a Ta&#8217;veren.  I think this is because the wheel, in order to control the Ta&#8217;veren uses those that are very close to, or who have an influence over the Ta&#8217;veren.  In fact it would use them much more than someone whom was a stranger.  I we will all agree that Egwene and the mini tower are going to end up helping Rand.  If the wheel did not make sure that Egewene did it, then Rand may fail.  Using people in this manner leads to the 2cd point.  <br /><br />It was said that Hawkwing was considered to be such a strong Ta&#8217;veren that you could feel the pattern changing around you when he was near. I know everyone is going to ask how I can explain how Ishamael managed to have so much influence over Hawkwing. I can give you 2 possible answers: <br /><br />1. Hawkwing had already accomplished his task(s) for the pattern and was effectively no long Ta&#8217;veren at the end. I don&#8217;t think this is correct.<br /><br />2. It is possible (and this is what I actually think happened) that the pattern used Ishmael to achieve it&#8217;s own end. If Ishmael was close to Halkwing then it is entirely possible that the pattern used Ishmael to cause the Hawkwing family to leave Randland and establish Seanchan. If the Seanchan were to ally with Rand (and most of us think they will), they would be a great help to him. If Ishmael hadn&#8217;t sent them across the ocean, they would be soft and weak like the rest of the continent. They are going to help Rand, and it is all because of Ishmael. <br /><br />In fact if you think about it, Ishmael started this whole thing by driving the Ta&#8217;veren to the Eye of the World. Moiraine wanted to go to Tar Valon, but then decided to take them to the Eye of the World because of the messages that Ishmael allowed the maiden of the spear and Jain Farstrider to escape with. That is what made Moiraine decide to take the three Ta&#8217;veren there. However, if this decision would have gotten the Dragon Reborn killed, would the wheel have allowed it? No. It wanted them there and it used Ishmael to drive them there. <br /><br />Here is a perfect example of Ta&#8217;veren working. In chapter 31 of The Great Hunt. Rand keeps getting invitations from various noble houses. He does not want them. He keeps getting invitations from higher and higher ranking houses. Rand burns all the invitations until he gets the invitation from Lord Barthanes; for some reason, he keeps this one. Much later the party needs a way into the Barthanes residence, and to everyone&#8217;s surprise they discover that Rand is carrying a party invitation in his pocket. Verin says, &#8221;the wheel of time weaves us all into the pattern as it wills, but sometimes it provides what we need before we know we need it.&#8221; <br /><br />And in TDR, at the beginning of Chap 4, Perrin is having a conversation with Ishmael about giving up his axe and just going back to being a blacksmith. Ishmael tells Perrin that he is a blacksmith and he wasn&#8217;t made for the axe.<br />Perrin replies, &#8220;I am Ta&#8217;veren&#8221; and Ishmael&#8217;s smile becomes a grimace. <br /><br />I close this theory with what is perhaps my favorite quote about this matter. It comes from TDR, chapter 2:<br />&#8220;All of us, all our lives effect the lives of others, Min. As the wheel of time weaves us into the pattern, the life-threads of each of us pulls and tugs at the life threads around us. Ta&#8217;veren are the same only much, much more so. They tug at the whole pattern - for a time at least &#8211; forcing it to shape around them. The closer you are to them, the more you are affected personally. It is said that if you were in the same room as Arthur Hawkwing, you could feel the pattern rearranging itself. I don&#8217;t know how true that was but I&#8217;ve read that it was. But it doesn&#8217;t only work one way. Ta&#8217;veren themselves are woven to a tighter line than the rest of us, with fewer choices.&#8221;<br /><br />Perrin grimaces and thinks &#8220;bloody few of the ones that matter.&#8221;<br /></p><p><b>Lauriana Sedai says:</b> Sounds good to me.  Let's see what the 'masses' have to say about this...<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-06-24 09:17:28
subject: Adaleas's killer revealed?
body:
<p>I believe I have pieced together enough clues to point the finger at Sareitha.  I will show you three quotes that suggest that Sareitha is the most likely suspect in Adeleas&#8217;s murder.  First, a quote from <i>Winter's Heart</i> (Chapter 8: Sea Folk and Kin).  This is a conversation between Vandene and Elayne concerning Kirstian and Zarya&#8217;s suspicions:<br /><br />&quot;They reasoned out that the killer must be Merilille, Sareitha, or Careane.  Good thinking on their part...&quot; (page 195, hardback)<br /><br />Piece one falls into place and the hunt for more significant passages begins. The next quote is also from <i>Winter's Heart</i> (Chapter 10: A Plan Succeeds).  This is a conversation between Marillin Gemalphin and Lady Shiaine.  Shiaine wants Marillin to infiltrate the palace, but the Aes Sedai suggests using a spy already within the royal household, instead:<br /><br />&quot;I wasn't lying about that,&quot; Marillin said slowly.  &quot;I really wouldn't get ten feet.  But there's a woman already in the Palace.  She can do what you need.  It may take some time to make contact, though.&quot;<br />&quot;Just make sure it&#8217;s not too long a time, Marillin.&quot;  So. One of the sisters in the Palace was Black Ajah, was she?  She would have to be Aes Sedai, not just a Darkfriend, to do what Shiaine needed. (page 248, hardback)<br /><br />The pieces of the puzzle begin to fall into place with the next quote, which gives new meaning to the previous quotes.  This, again,  is from <i>Winter's Heart</i> (Chapter 11: Ideas of Importance).  This is the scene in which Nynaeve and Talaan demonstrate the art of shielding another woman:<br /><br />&quot;Sareitha was supposed to be here, not her [Nynaeve], but the Brown had slipped out of the Palace leaving a note about an urgent errand in the city.&quot; (page 257, hardback)<br /><br />We know that either Sareitha, Merilille, or Careane is Black Ajah.  This is confirmed by the POV of a Darkfriend who is obviously high in standing, for she controls a Black Ajah member of her own.  We also know that soon after Lady Shiaine ordered Marillin to contact the sister who is Black Ajah in the Palace, Sareitha had to shirk her responsibility to teach the Sea Folk and head out into the city.  I believe RJ will throw out a few more clues, but at this point I suspect that they will certainly point to Sareitha.</p><p><b>Lauriana Sedai says:</b> I'm just finishing <i>Winter's Heart</i> again, and I came to the same conclusion that you did.  The quotes all seem to point us to that conclusion, but then we know how tricky RJ can be when he wants to.  I'm in agreement with you, though; nice work. <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/read.gif" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-06-24 12:34:25
subject: Flinn and Narishma's Roles
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<p>There seems to be more and more talk about the Asha'man lately, most notably concerning Taim, Logain and my favorite Asha'man, Narishma. It's obvious that Logain and Taim will have a power struggle in the Black Tower, and that should involve everyone in the Black Tower.  But what about Rand's Asha'man?  Damer Flinn and Jahar Narishma are listed as deserters. What is the relevance of this?  Narishma drew Callandor from the Heart of the Stone after Rand put it there, and is now prophesized to 'follow after' Rand. It all has to tie together somehow. My opinion is that it will all tie together at the Black Tower battle.<br /><br />No one seems to think that Rand or his Asha'man will take part in the war between the different factions within the Black Tower. While Rand is definitely too busy to take care of Black Tower affairs and too important to risk in the battle, Narishma and Flinn could very well join Logain's side against Taim.  Flinn's Healing would help Logain's side tremendously, and Narishma could bring Callandor into the battle. If Narishma used Callandor in that battle, linked with his Aes Sedai and another, (possibly Eben's Aes Sedai, Daigian, seeing as how Eben is dead) Logain's faction could drive Taim and his men out of the Tower.<br /><br />I know that neither Flinn nor Narishma is aware of the Black Tower factions, but this is where their status as deserters comes into play. If they go the Black Tower, probably to gain a report from Taim, they'd be imprisoned and executed, and their heads would be added to the traitor&#8217;s tree. But what if Logain and his faction came across them before Taim did? Logain is a good guy, and he'd probably listen to what Flinn and Narishma had to say. Also, Logain seems like the kind of person that would disregard Taim's orders just for the simple fact that they came from Taim, so he might not even consider turning them in to Taim. Once they find out that Taim named them 'deserters,' they'll know for a fact that Taim is against Rand, and against them. That's more than enough excuse for Flinn, Narishma, and Logain's faction to attack Taim.<br /><br />RJ hasn't built up Flinn and Narishma's characters just for them to stay at Rand's coat tails the entire time. Narishma and Flinn could play a big part in the battle at the Black Tower.<br /></p><p><b>Lauriana Sedai says:</b> I've been wondering how Rand's now-bonded Asha'man would be received if/when they returned to the Black Tower.  I figured that they might be too ticked off (or afraid) to return after being named traitors, but I'd love to see them get their revenge on Taim.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-06-25 18:30:28
subject: Why the Dark One Won't &quot;End&quot; Time
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<p>Many people think that if the DO wins, he will actually <i>end</i> time itself and remake the world anew in his own image. This theory, while it may be difficult to accept, is not all that complex.<br /><br />First, I'll discuss why the DO <i>can't</i> end time:<br /><br />If you think about it, the term &quot;end&quot; cannot be applied to the whole of time. &quot;End&quot; is a function of time continuity. By definition, the end of something means the beginning of something else, even if that something else is just another period which lacks whatever it was that ended. <br /><br />The closest thing to ending time would be the total destruction of everything that exists at any particular moment. After that, there would be no more change; change is, by nature, the measure of time. But this would prove futile anyway, as I will show in the following paragraph.<br /><br />If the DO wanted to actually end time, he himself would have to cease to exist along with everything else; otherwise time would continue on simply because of the Cartesian necessity of thought-based self-awareness of existence. As long as the DO existed, he would have to, at the very least, think. Therefore, if he &quot;ended time&quot; and then continued to exist, he would be thinking. And therein you find the reason that time cannot be ended. If you ARE thinking, then you ARE being, and even though it may only go on for an instant, time is still there. And then if you think a second thought, you necessarily must apply the terms &quot;before&quot; and &quot;after&quot;--which you can't do if time doesn't exist. Therefore, &quot;ending time,&quot; and then creating the world anew outside of time, is simply not possible.<br /><br />All that the DO wants to do is to break the cyclical nature of time. Here's why:<br /><br />Supposing that the DO actually <i>could</i> END time, what then would be the point of recreating the world in his image? It wouldn't even exist for an instant--there wouldn't be an instant during which it <i>could</i> exist. Nothing would change, nothing would live or die, there would be an infinite quantity of naught. If the DO ended time, he would then lack the time it took to remake the world. He would gain nothing by it. By ending time, he would reduce his own power and everything else to absolute nil.<br /><br />So, as we can see, this is not what the DO would do if he somehow managed to win out in the end. (No pun intended.)<br /></p><p><b>Lauriana Sedai says:</b> OK, well, this should open up some interesting discussion about philosophy, as well as some angry murmurs from people who will no doubt find this to be too un-WoT-ish to be posted.  Have at it! <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/devil.gif" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-06-26 09:01:36
subject: Demandred's Location Revealed
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<p>So we're all wondering about Demandred; Taim is Demandred, or Demandred is using a proxie, or Demandred is in drag and has appeared as a tavern maid, etc.  I think I know where  he really is.  First, I believe that during  <i>Lord of Chaos</i>, Demandred was involved with the Prophet, but after helping him stir up trouble he moved his operations.  Maybe this is why at the end of LoC we see Demandred asking if he has &quot;done well&quot; and the Dark One laughs.  <br /><br />Sammael knows where he is, and Demandred doesn't want anybody to know what hes doing.  So..where is Demandred? Simple: he's with the armies of the Borderlands.  Think about it:  each ruler has brought roughly fifty THOUSAND men south to find Rand.  During the meeting of the Forsaken in <i>Winter's Heart</i>, Graendal accuses Demandred of 'hoping to blunder into Rand,' which is basically what the Borderland rulers are trying to do.  They are trying to find Rand by wandering around asking people.  Also, if Demmy compulses or advises the rulers to move south, doesn't that leave the borderlands free to be ravaged by the trollocs? RJ himself has hinted that the Trollocs are coming, and I believe <i>Crossroads of Twilight</i>  will show us a huge invasion of the Trollocs by book's ending, so what better way to help the Dark One than by leaving his staunchest enemies ripe for the picking?  <br /><br />We know Graendal is in Arad Doman stirring up chaos, Semirhage is very likely Anath (it just makes too much sense), Mesaana is in the White Tower, Dashiva was Osan'gar,  and Aran'gar is with Egwene.   That leaves us with Moridin, Cyndane, Moghedien, and Demandred left unaccounted for.  I believe that there is definitely a Chosen with the Borderland army, and Demandred just makes the most sense.  Hes a brilliant general (or at least he thinks so), and if he can somehow mess up things and help out the trollocs, he'll be helping the Dark One a lot.  <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/devil.gif" border="0" /><br /><br />In conclusion, I'm not sure WHO Demandred is, but I'm sure he's someone important in one of the Borderland armies.  Perhaps a general, or even one of the rulers or their advisors.  I do expect Demandred's plans to be revealed in COT though, so here's hoping I'm right, now you guys go ahead and devour my precious theory. <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/biggrin.gif" border="0" /></p><p><b>Lauriana Sedai says:</b> I like it. I have to be honest; I was mocked a number of months ago for suggesting the same thing. The person who was deriding my intelligence for making this guess insisted that Demandred was with the Children of the Light, end of story. I went away feeling stupid, but now that someone else has seen it I feel better! <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/biggrin.gif" border="0" />  I don't know who's right.  I have a case of Post-Taimandred Stress disorder, so I'm too fed up with the whole thing to be certain anymore.  I hope you're right, though, and I think that it goes a long way towards explaining what Graendal meant with her cryptic (and catty) remark. Thumbs up! <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/read.gif" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-06-27 13:01:07
subject: Seanchan and Foretelling
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<p>I am afraid of stating the obvious here, but I looked around the theory post and I couldn't find anything on this, and so I though &quot;the obvious has been stated plenty times before, so this will not be a first&quot;. <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/wink.gif" border="0" /><br /><br />Seanchan has been separated from our world ever since the Breaking, and channeling there has obviously taken its own course. The only contact they have had with the Westlands (I do not know which is worse, Westlands or Randland), except Luthar Paendrag and his people who changed way of life for channelers completely (making them <i>damane</i>), but whom I doubt had much influence on the Talents of the Seanchan channelers.<br /><br />We know that Seanchan do things differently from the mainland Aes Sedai, their priorities for using Saidar are different. <i>Damane</i> are used either to please the Blood (by making somthing similar to Fireworks) or to help the Empire (fighting, finding ores etc)<br /><br />Now, I am a little unclear on whether Foretelling is a special Aes Sedai trait, but even if it is not, it does seem to show up more often with channelers than with those who cannot channel.<br /><br />Now, as for what I am getting at:<br />Seanchan <i>damane</i> have learnt to control the Talent or ability of Foretelling. This might be something they have carried with them down since the Breaking, or it could be something new, much like the Westland Aes Seadi came up with bonding.<br /><br />In WH, (chapter 14, What a veil hides), Tuon sees a <i>damane</i>, Lidya, tearstained, and thinks to herself: &quot;She had commanded the <i>damane</i> to read her fortune, and she should not have ordered her caned because she disliked what she heard.&quot;<br /><br />Now, I think most agree that the fortune telling was Tuon's first notice that she would marry Mat, but that is beside the point. Lidya could of course have read Taron or tealeaves, but why would anyone want to use a <i>damane</i> for that? Any slave would do as well.<br /><br />No, I think the Seanchan have found a way to rein in this ability and control it. It would be just the thing to entertain the Seanchan High Blood. Perfect for the decadent nobility wouldn't you agree?<br /><br />It could be interesting to see how this could come into play later on.</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> It's a good observation, but we don't truly have proof that the <i>damane</i> can offer Foretellings <i>on demand</i>.  Maybe the <i>damane</i> in question is unreliable - just a bag of party tricks most of the time, but sometimes unintentionally coming forth with a true Fortelling.  Maybe the Foretelling - if that's what it was - came this time simply because it was the best opportunity for the Pattern to offer it.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-06-28 11:45:38
subject: Fain manifests mini-Mashadar
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<p>In ACOS, at the rebels' camp outside of Cairhien, Rand and Min encounter Padan Fain, calling himself Jeraal.  While Rand engages Toram in swordfighting, the camp is enveloped by a destructive fog that attacks and kills people.<br /><br /> This has been discussed on the Message Board, and many people believed it to be a bubble of evil (BOE), but it does not share the characteristics that were common of other such BOE&#8217;s.  Other BOE's have been characterized by animating normally harmless objects and making them attack and kill.  This first happened to the three ta'veren in Tear, when Rand's reflection, Perrin's axe and figures from Mat's playing cards became animated; then in Rhuidean when the dust storms attacked Rand &amp; Mat, and finally in Salidar where furniture, weapons and such-the-like turned evil and attacked.  <br /><br /> The death-dealing fog in Cairhien was subtly different from these BOE's.  For a start, the fog arose out of nothing, in the middle of the day.  It was not simply 'normal' fog which turned bad because of a BOE.  <br /><br /> This fog also seemed to allow Fain freedom of movement within its confines, and this, I believe holds the key to the origin of this phenomenon.<br /><br /> The fog seems to have many characteristics in common with Mashadar, and is, IMO, a watered-down version of that creature which Fain caused to appear so as to distract Rand, and make it easier for him (Fain) to attack.  <br /><br />As we know from WH, Fain's abilities seem to be growing and changing, as evidenced by his creating the illusion of the two Asha'man in an attempt to fool Rand.  The fog seemed to be a great deal like Mashadar, except it could not kill at a touch, as Mashadar could.  It was also prone to being sliced up by normal weapons, although it then reformed quite quickly.  Only the OP was adequate to stop its' onslaught (another difference between this and a BOE, which <i>can</i> be stopped by conventional means.)<br /><br />The evil in Shadar Logoth was caused by Mordeth, it seems, and led to the existence of Mashadar, so there does seem to be a connection between the two.  It is my theory that Fain caused that fog through some effort of will, using it as a screen from which to attack Rand.  The similarity between it and Mashadar, combined with Fain's usage of it as cover, are coincidences too strong to ignore.</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> Prior to WH, I probably would have argued that the creatures attacking from within the fog point to it being a bubble of evil, as we had never before seen Fain create such beings.  In fact, that <i>is</i> what many people argued, some conceding that maybe Fain supplemented the BOE with the fog.  However, looking back on how Fain created the false asha'man in WH, I'm no longer sure that he couldn't have created the creatures as well.  And you make a good point in that all the other bubbles of evil acted in a predictable manner unlike what we saw in CoS.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-06-28 11:54:10
subject: Dragonmount Erupts
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<p>Ok, I've been reading all these theories about the last battle and just had to add my own, so here goes.<br /><br />Most of you by now are familiar with the &quot;Twice dawns the day&quot; prophecy, and I have seen many good ideas for what that could mean, but I have a different one.<br /><br />I believe that Dragonmount is a volcano, and will erupt at the time of the last Battle, producing a cloud of ash that will temporarily blot out the sun.<br /><br />What makes me think that? <br /><br />First, and most obvious, is the method of the mountain's creation; I mean, it was created by lava fountaining into the air, sounds volcano-like to me.  <br /><br />Second are the words of the Shienaran welcome; <br />&quot;'Against what do we guard?'<br />'The shadow at noon'&quot; (The Great Hunt, Ch.2 The Welcome) <br />What could be more shadowy than a cloud of ash?  <br /><br />Third is what Vandene says to Moiraine later, refering to Lan: &quot;The man is rumbling inside worse than Dragonmount.&quot;(The Great Hunt, Ch.22 Watchers) A few paragraphs later Moiraine thinks that there had been something important in what Vandene had said: &quot;An answer, or a hint to an answer, to a question she had not asked - but she could not bring the question to mind, either.&quot; Nothing else in what Vandene said seems to have the mysterious significance needed to fit this.<br /><br />Lastly is that when the Salidar army travels to Tar Valon, Dragonmount is described as being &quot;Black and smoking against a white sky.&quot;(The Path of Daggers, Ch.30 Beginnings) Smoking, hmmmmm, sounds like a volcano.<br /><br />Now, as to whether this could block the sun at Shayol Ghul all the way from Tar Valon.  Dragonmount is over a mile high, such a volcano could easily block the sun for a few thousand miles around given time, and even farther with the right winds.<br /><br />So, there is my theory, feel free to rip, tear, or even agree with it. <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/read.gif" border="0" /></p><p><b>Burr says:</b> What a great idea! <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/smile.gif" border="0" />  OTOH, I think the &quot;shadow at noon&quot; comment is a stretch.  That more probably refers to the Shadow, i.e., the Dark One and his minions.  The Shienarans gaurd against the Shadow, not against the volcano, nor even the prophecies.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-06-29 18:33:47
subject: Channelling must end at some point
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<p>This theory was inspired by the quickpoll on the 28th of June, 2002.<br /><br />Many people are stuck with viewpoints on whether or not channelling is an eternal factor.  Some argue that the wheel is cyclic, and so since the people of today are descended from the people of tomorrow, channelling must be eternal.  Others say that the wheel's cyclic nature will end on this iteration of the last battle, and the one power will disperse.  Still others have no evidence at all, and cling to their beliefs.<br /><br />Well, lo and behold, there is an answer.<br /><br />I take as the basis of the theory the following points as assumed infallibilities:<br /><br />The wheel of time is, and has always been, cyclic.  Probably, it shall forever continue to be this way.  (My argument still stands if it doesn't.)<br /><br />The wolves can smell a channellers pheromones.  We have seen evidence of this many times through the books.<br /><br />The wolves, as long as they are not actually destroyed in Tel'Aran'Rhiod, are essentially immortal.  Combined with the above Assumption, this means that wolves have a strong sense of the history of channelling.<br /><br />It was stated at one point in the books (The Eye of the World I believe, but I'm not certain) that people ran with wolves even before they could channel.  A TIME WHEN PEOPLE COULDN'T CHANNEL?  Holy Cow.<br /><br />Since the wheel is cyclic in nature, anything that happenned in the past must also happen in the future.  Therefore, for there to be channellers in the present, and at some point in the past channelling BEGAN, then at some point in the future channelling must END.<br /><br />The only real argument I can see against this is that if the wheel's cyclic nature ends, then perhaps channelling can continue on forever.  However, if that happens, then something must have fundamentally changed about the nature of the wheel and the Power the turns it, so the results are pretty unpredictable.<br /><br />This inexorably leads us to one of three conclusions:<br /><br />The wheel of time is eternally cyclic, and channelling must at some point end.<br /><br />The wheel of time's cyclic nature will break, and all hell breaks loose and nobody knows what's going on.  Perhaps Kangaroo-Elephants that can fly?  Who knows?<br /><br />Wolves are compulsive pathological liers.<br /><br />I think the last is very improbable, and while I'm tempted by the thought of flying Kangaroo-Elephants, I think the first conclusion is by far the most likely.</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> Looking over past theories on the subject, I think that the debate focuses on whether or not channelling will end during the Fourth Age, not if it will end at all.  As your theory shows, channeling probably will end eventually ... unless, of course, one of the linear time theories turns out to be true.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-06-30 16:46:34
subject: The many peculiarities of Jain Farstrider
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<p><b>This theory outlines some history about Jain Farstrider/Noal Charin and explains where he might have gone during his disappearance.  The theory also shows why Charin may be unwittingly involved with a Forsaken.  It is long, but well-stocked with quotes for support.</b> <br /><br /><b> My main question is:  How did Jain Farstrider get out of Shara? </b><br /><br />Shara is very, very difficult for an outsider to escape.  Here is what Thom has to say about Shara (from TSR, Winds Rising): <br /><br /><i>They (the Atha'an Miere) see no more of the lands beyond the Aiel Waste than a few miles around the handful of harbors where they are permitted to land.  Those places are walled high, and the walls guarded so they cannot even climb up to see what is on the other side. </i><br /><br />So we see that Shara is extremely protective, and it is not an easy place to breach.<br /><br /><i>&quot;If one of their ships makes landfall anywhere else- or any ship not theirs; only the Sea Folk are allowed to come there-that ship and its crew are never seen again.  And that is almost as much as I can tell you after more years of asking than I like to think of.&quot;</i><br /><br />We see that Thom has been thinking about Shara for a long time, and he still has not been able to learn much.  Thom is usually very skilled at ferreting information, but in Shara's case, Thom has learned virtually nothing.  This gives extra meaning to the fact that Shara is secretive.<br /><br />The important thing from this particular quote is that people who managed to enter, or came to the wrong part of Shara were never seen again.  This may have important implications with Noal Charin.<br /><br /><i> &quot;From what I have been able to learn, the Cairhienin were treated the same, when they still had the right to travel the Silk Path, across the Waste.  Cairhienin traders never saw anything but one walled town, and those who wandered from it vanished.&quot;</i> <br /><br />Thom should be a valid source of information from this quote because he has lived in Cairhienin and had the opportunity to hear many stories.  But the important point here is that the traders who wandered from the walled town were never seen again.  We don't even know if the traders were allowed to enter the town.<br /><br />So in the case of both the Sea Folk and the Cairhienin, the Shara people are very secretive.  Those who strayed from the walled town, vanished, never to be seen again.<br /><br />So how did Noal Charin escape Shara?  <br /><br />Noal may have found a way to enter Shara, and the Sharans may have let him live.  They might have been amused and entertained by Noal's stories and adventures (Noal is a good storyteller).  However, I think the Sharans would be loathe to let Noal leave.  We have seen how secretive the Sharan people are.  I doubt that Shara would let Noal leave.  If they have secrets to keep, letting Noal leave would be foolish.<br /><br />There are only two other viable options as to how Noal escaped.  The first is that Ishmael helped him get out.  If Noal really turns out to be Jain Farstrider, then we know for a fact that Ishmael had previous involvement with Noal Charin.  Ishmael could be an option, but we have seen no evidence of Ishamel/Moridin being involved with Shara. <br /><br />The other option is that Noal Charin found a way to escape.  This would have been extremely difficult given the great distances involved  <br /><br />The glossary in The Dragon Reborn notes that &quot;The Travels of Jain Farstrider&quot; was first published in 968 NE, and has been in constant print ever since.<br /><br />The glossary also states that Jain Farstrider disappeared shortly after the Aiel War and is generally believed to be dead.<br /><br />For all those who are interested, the Aiel War was from 976-978.  Thus, Farstrider disappeared sometime after his book was published.  Farstrider had already been to Shara before his book was even published.  <br /><br />From Loial we know that Farstrider reappeared with the Aiel sometime around the Aiel War. <br /><br /><i>&quot;There was a man came to Stedding Shangtai a little while back--what you humans call the Aiel War. He was at the point of death, although there was no wound or mark on him. The Elders thought it might be something Aes Sedai had done, since as soon as he was within the stedding he quickly got well. A few months. One night he left without a word to anyone, simply sneaked away when the moon was down. Before he left, he told a curious tale which he said he meant to carry to Tar Valon. He said the Dark One intended to blind the Eye of the World, and slay the Great Serpent, kill time itself&quot; </i><br /><br />Later, we hear Ishmael say something similiar:<br /><br /><i>&quot;I began the setting of your path the day you were born, a path to lead you to your grave, or here [at the Eye of the World]... Jain Farstrider, a hero... whom I painted like a fool and sent to the Ogier thinking he was free of me&quot;</i><br /><br />So, I have finally laid all the background material.  Now we can start asking the important questions.  <br /><br /><b>How did Farstrider originally leave Shara?  And second, where did Farstrider go in his time between his disappearance, and his reapparance as Noal Charin?</b> <br /><br />There isn't a very good answer to as how Jain Farstrider escaped Shara originally.  But somehow he did.  Who would have been more capable of it than Jain Farstrider?<br /><br />So, somehow he escaped and his Travels were published.  But later, he encountered Ishmael around the time of the Aiel War.  This is also the same time he almost died, and it also the same time that he disappeared.  <br /><br />What I really want to know is, where did he go?  Since Ishmael was trying to manipulate Farstrider into thinking that Farstrider was rid of him, I doubt that Ishmael had any more conscious involvement with him. Unless, of course, Ismael took Farstrider to Shayol Ghol.  <br /><br />My only other real thought, is that Farstrider was frightened after he almost died, and after he had encountered Ishmael.  Perhaps he wanted to go to a place where he thought he could be the most hidden from Ishmael, a place where it is difficult for outsiders to enter.  And what place would be better than Shara?  <br /><br />This is the most speculative part of my theory, but I think that Farstrider went back to Shara to hide from Ishmael, to avoid being found.  The only other possibility I can think of is that he was taken as a prisoner to Shayol Ghul.  But Shara seems more likely.  If he went to Shayol Ghul, Charin might either have died, been eaten, or have been seen earlier in the story, because another Forsaken may have gotten hold of him.  It also seems unlikely, since Ishmael was trying to leave Farstrider with the impression that he had escaped the DO with important information about the Eye of the World.  Farstrider would have been more useful, out in the world, believing he was free of Ishmael.<br /><br />So, if he went back to Shara, and he had already managed to escape once, do you think that he would be allowed to leave again?  No.  And Farstrider probably wouldn't want to leave again, for fear of being discovered by Ishmael.<br /><br />So fast-forward the picture about 20 years.  Noal Charin is suddenly in Ebou Dar, and he is behaving strangely.  He has memory problems, and he is spying on darkfriends and all the Aes Sedai who just happen to be looking for the ter'angreal stash.<br /><br /><b> Are Noal Charin's memory problems due to compulsion?</b><br /><br />This is a fascinating question.  To answer, I want to compare some of Noal's thoughts with some of Morgase's.<br /><br />This comes from Noal in The Triumph of Logic, ACOS:<br /><br />&quot;<i> Suddenly he realized he was touching his head again. He did not have a headache, but his head felt peculiar sometimes. Most often he thought of what he could not remember once again he pulled his hand down from his head. Sooner or later, he would remember. He did not have much time left, but it was all he did have. He remembered that much.</i>&quot;<br /><br />Next we have a few thoughts from Morgase in Memories, FOH:<br /><br /><i>&quot;It would be noon before much longer, and she had not stirred from the room.  That was unlike her; she could not remember why she had decided to laze the morning away with a book...  The red-coated young officer of her Guards, kneeling with one fist pressed to the red-and-gold carpet, looked vaguely familiar.  Once she had known the name of every Guard assigned to the Palace.  Perhaps it was all the new faces... She had no doubt that she would forgive him everything.  Forget everything, maybe, based on how fuzzy and incomplete her memories were.&quot;</i><br /><br />So we see some similarities in the cases of both Morgase and Noal.  Both have fuzzy memories, and they know something is happening, but they can't quite place their fingers on it.  Morgase was compelled by Rahvin.  Noal's case is a little more complex.  We know that Noal was once caught and possibly compelled by Ishmael.  However, that was a long time ago, and compulsion appears to wear off after time and with death. (As in the case of Morgase escaping Rahvin.  And in the case of Rahvin dying).  We know that Ishmael died in TDR, therefore it seems likely, that his original compulsion would have at least worn off at that time.<br /><br />As we progress through this theory, I will name who I think is currently compelling Noal.    <br /><br /><b> Noal Charin and the Ebou Dar ter'angreal stash </b><br /><br />Curiously, the only Forsaken who knew about this stash were Sammael, Moghedien, and Ishmael/Moridin (who knew about it because he had captured Moghedien).  Sammael was using Carridin to help him find the stash.  But Moridin stated he had no real interest in this stash, and that Sammael was insane to risk so much looking for it. Also, Moridin has no reason to use a spy on the Aes Sedai, because he could have done the job himself.<br /><br />Graendal, however, is a different story.  In To Understand a Message (Lord of Chaos), Sammael said to Graendal, &quot;I all but have my hands on a cache of angreal and who can say what else.&quot;  Therefore, Graendal knew of this cache and most likely sent spies with instructions to watch Sammael's agents and to find out more about the cache. It is highly possible that Charin was one of Graendal's spies sent to learn about the cache.<br /><br />Please note that I am not neccesarily suggesting that Charin is a darkfriend. Most of Graendal's pets are not darkfriends, they are merely under heavy compulsion. Obviously, Charin has a flair for adventure (who else would go to Shara) and some talent at being in the right place at the right time (helping Mat with the gholam, kidnapping Tuon, etc.) Graendal knew of Charin's talents, and she used them accordingly.<br /><br />Therefore, I believe it was Graendal that was using Charin as her agent.  She was using him to help her find the ter'angreal stash.  Please note again that Noal was seen spying on both Carridin and on Falion and Ispan.  Both of these parties were independently looking for the stash. There are not many other explanations to as why Noal Charin was spying on the darkfriends and Aes Sedai who were looking for the bowl.  Therefore, I believe Graendal sent him, and under heavy compulsion.<br /><br /><b>  Charin's disappearance back to Shara </b><br /><br />So let's backtrack a little bit.  We know that Graendal has had previous involvement with Shara. (This is all outlined in previous my theory in theory post).  We also know that Charin had previously been to Shara.  Earlier in this theory, I stated that I thought that Charin went back to Shara to escape Ishmael's influence.<br /><br />Basically, what I think happened is that Graendal went to Shara, and brought Farstrider back with her.  (This explains the wrinkled old man in her palace.)  This is how I think that Farstrider reappeared into the world.  I also think that Graendal is the one responsible for his memory problems, as she is a master of compulsion.  <br /><br />So that should wrap up a very long theory.  I think the evidence that Charin is involved with a Forsaken is very strong, especially given the similarities between his memory problems and Morgase's.  The fact that Charin was spying on both Carridin and the Aes Sedai was highly suspicious.  Basically, my conclusion is that Graendal got ahold of Farstrider when she was meddling with affairs in Shara.  Since Shara is so difficult to escape, it was Graendal who brought Charin back to the Westlands. <br /><br />Flame away.</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> Your theory makes me wonder: if Master Farstrider has returned to Shara once, will he do so again?  Could he provide a place in Shara for surviving main characters to settle down after the Last Battle?<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-07-02 11:32:46
subject: Mat Will Rescue Moiraine Using the Portal Stones
body:
<p>There are many almost identical theories about Mat going through the Tower of Ghenjei to rescue Moiraine. Some even address the problems of Mat not being remotely close to the Tower, and the fact that there is no way in. I really wasn't totally convinced but had no other ideas until I reread Lord of Chaos.<br /><br />In the Chapter <i>Courage to Strengthen</i> (already a phase connected to the Aelfinn and Eelfinn) Mat and Olver are playing Snakes and Foxes. It is generally considered that the game represents the Aelfinn (Snakes that gives answers) and the Eelfinn (Foxes that tend to your 'needs'). While Olver and Mat go through the beginning of the game that includes the infamous rhyme about courage, fire, music and iron that they also had made a sign in the air of a wavy line through a triangle. The triangle represents the foxes and is on the playing pieces of the foxes, while the same is true of the wavy line and the snakes.<br /><br />I then realized that I'd heard of similar symbols before on the Portal Stones that lead to other worlds. The land of the Aelfinn and Eelfinn is said to be another world, so theoretically, it can be reached through the Portal Stones, and the wavy line through the triangle is what represents it.<br /><br />This is too much of coincidence for Robert Jordan to have put in accidentally. I think that instead of entering the land of the 'finns through the tower of Ghenjei, he will enter using a portal stone (well, he'll have a channeller <i>use</i> it), rescue Moiraine, and then escape through the Tower of Ghenjei.<br /><br />This will not only rescue Moiraine, but will also move Mat's gang along geographically, which needs to happen soon lest every wotmaniac in the world die from waiting for more Mat action scenes, <i>and</i> it will finally lay to rest all of the speculation about Moiraine, the Tower of Ghenjei and of Snakes and Foxes.</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> True, it would solve several logistics problems, while still solving the set of problems that the ToG theories tend to use as their basis.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-07-06 19:55:11
subject: Possible marriage loophole
body:
<p>Well, everyone knows about Mat's fate concerning the Daughter of nine moons.  Duh.  However, I have been thinking about a possible loophole in the words of the Aelfinn. <br /><br />Just for reminder's sake, let's ponder the words of the Aelfinn that talked to mat.  The Aelfinn told Mat, &quot;...You shall marry the Daughter of Nine Moons.&quot;  Okay.  cut and dried, right? Mat's shall become the husband of the Daughter of Nine Moons, right? wrong.  There is a world of difference contained in one tiny word.  Let's review the words of the Aelfinn again:  The prophesy said &quot;<i>marry</i> the Do9M,&quot; NOT &quot; <i>be married <b>to</b></i> the Do9M.&quot;  To flesh out the difference, I shall now consult the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.  Ahem...<br /><br /><b>Marry</b>:  1a-To become united in matrimony<br />1b-To take as a husband or wife<br />1c- To give in marriage<br />***2- To perform the marriage ceremony for.<br /><br />Ah-hah! Not the same at all!  Of course, I know as well as you do that Mat has as much chance becoming a priest as he does of enjoying a marriage with Tuon.  However, think for a second.  In all of Randland, no religious institutions can be found.  In Emond's Field, the Women's council performs marriage ceremonies.  So, in Seanchan, it is entirely feasible that anyone so trained can perform someone's marriage ceremony. For instance, let's say Tuon catches Mat, and meets her true love with him; say, for the sake of example, Talmanes.  So, Tuon teaches Mat an abbreviated marriage ceremony and he <i>marries</i> the Daughter of Nine Moons.  Easy a pie.  I know this is a long shot, but there's always that little chance...<br /><br /></p><p><b>Burr says:</b> I suppose such word games are often important when prophecies are concerned, so you could be right.  I'd personally match her with Vanin rather than Talmanes, but maybe that's just cause Vanin is cooler.  Either way, as their military commander, Mat would probably  be the one to approach for marriage in both Seanchan and Westlands culture.  ...And it would free Mat up for Egwene.  Woohoo! <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/smile.gif" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-07-07 13:47:41
subject: Moridin = Taim
body:
<p>The evidence provided in LOC suggesting Taim is more than what he seems to be is substantial, and gave rise to much debate about 'Taimandred'; that he was Demandred in disguise.  Most people agree that this has been disproved in WH, and seem to accept the idea that Taim is simply receiving training from one of the Chosen, most probably Demmy.<br /><br />  I believe there is sufficient evidence given to suggest strongly that this is not the case, and that Moridin has assumed the identity of Taim.  <br /><br />  The first major point which needs to be addressed here is that Moridin is not introduced until ACOS, one whole book later than Taim's involvement in the main storyline, in LOC.<br /><br />  The introduction to LOC provides us with the evidence that the DO can resurrect his Chosen, granted they have not been done away with balefire, and give them new bodies to inhabit.  The two Chosen we see as having been returned to active status at this time are Aran'gar (Balthamel) and Osan'gar (Aginor). <br /><br />  This provides us the information that such a return is possible.  By no means should this scene be regarded as being evidence that <font size="-1"><b>ONLY</b></font> these two have returned.  They are simply the only ones we see.<br /><br />  Secondly, the manner of Moridin's introduction suggests his hidden presence prior to that which we are privy to.  In Ch20 of ACOS, the watcher shadowing Sammael and Graendal is, I believe, the first appearance of Moridin, who is almost certainly Ishamael resurrected.  He uses AoL terms, is familiar with other members of the Chosen, and has access to the TP.  Shortly afterward, in Ch25, we are introduced to Moridin, who shares the same attributes.  It seems he has been returned to observe the remaining Chosen unseen, and to coordinate their efforts.<br /><br />  The very nature of his introduction, skulking around unseen and unnamed, following Sammael and Graendal, suggests that he may have been present, unseen and unknown, for some time.  His goal is to bring about increases in chaos, in accordance with the DO's order, and this is the most probable reason that he helped Rand in Shadar Logoth.<br /><br />  Now to Mazrim Taim.  His appearance in LOC is full of strange references and occurrences.  Here's a chronological list, with quotes included where necessary:<br /><br />  1. LTT goes mad whenever Taim is around.  Although this is later seen to happen around other Asha'man, it seems particularly strong around Taim.<br /><br />  2. Bashere does not recognize him.  Taim claims he shaved because of the heat, yet he does not sweat, and later teaches Rand the trick of ignoring heat.<br /><br />  3.  Taim, in trying to prove his identity to Bashere, speaks of himself in the third person: <font size="-1"><b>&quot;What does everyone not know, that you and Mazrim Taim will?&quot;</b></font><br /><br />  4.  He then recounts his own use of strong compulsion, something only the Forsaken have been seen to know up to this point.<br /><br />  5.  He knew what the Seal that he gave to Rand was; not something which was exactly common knowledge.<br /><br />  6.  His knowledge of testing suggests great familiarity with the subject: <font size="-1"><b>&quot;The more power that's used the easier it is to detect the resonance.  On the other hand, too big a resonance could do unpleasant things to your mind, maybe kill you, so I'll start small.&quot; </b></font><br /><br />  7.  He expresses an opinion on Rand's intention to cleanse saidin, his answer suggesting he regards it as being possible, but requiring a great deal of power: <font size="-1"><b>&quot;Cleanse saidin,&quot; Taim said softly.  &quot; I think that would take more power than you can imagine.&quot;  His eyes lidded thoughtfully.  &quot; I have heard of things called sa'angreal.&quot;  </b></font> <br /><br />  8.  Taim seems nearly as strong as Rand.<br /><br />  9.  Taim sees the Gray Man approaching Rand, supposedly without any idea that it was there.  Rand, having deduced the presence of the GM from what he could smell, and having seen the door open and shut without anyone apparently entering, still had trouble seeing it.  <br /><br /> 10.  Rand accuses Taim of 'sneaking in' through his bedroom, which should not have been possible if Taim had Travelled using saidin.  Rand should have sensed the gateway.<br /><br /> 11.  Taim refers to the GM as &quot;the soulless.&quot;<br /><br /> 12.  Taim wants to know specifically who sent the GM: <font size="-1"><b>&quot;I would give a great deal to be sure. &quot;</b></font> (That is, he wants to be sure if it was sent by Sammael.)<br /><br /> 13.  Taim knows about wards.<br /><br /> 14.  Taim knows healing.<br /><br /> 15.  When Rand threatens Taim into not harming any AS in Caemlyn, and says that if he feels any man channeling in Caemlyn that he will come for Taim, Taim makes an interesting reply:<font size="-1"><b>&quot;If Sammael or Demandred decides to taunt you with a few dead AS on your doorstep, my veins are opened?&quot;</b></font>  Here, Taim names the only two surviving male forsaken, not counting those resurrected.  He doesn't just say 'male forsaken' which might have actually been just as quick.  He seems to have specific knowledge about which Forsaken Rand thinks are dead, and which live.<br /><br /> All these points, with the exception of his possible use of the True Power in the episode concerning the Gray Man (LOC Ch28 ), could simply be interpreted as being evidence that Taim is being tutored by one of the Forsaken.  If this is the case, he would have to be madly insane, or just plain stupid to use so many terms from the AoL so often and so freely in front of Rand.  <br /><br />  It seems more likely that his use of such terms comes about simply because he is using the terms he is most familiar with, after long use.  Howver, there is better evidence to support the idea that Taim comes from the AoL.<br /><br />  In Ch11 of LoC Taim uses a phrase of speech which would only be used by someone from the AoL: <font size="-1"><b>&quot;And who can know what these so-called Aiel will do.&quot;</b></font> After making this statement, he stops to look at Rand, almost as though he realises he may have made a mistake with this utterance.  The only other place that phrase &quot;so-called Aiel&quot; is used in all the books (according to Wotmania's WOT search) just happens to be Ch20 of ACOS, in a private thought of the watcher following Graendal and Sammael.  Such an attitude regarding the Aiel simply would not be present in someone from the present day being tutored in the use of the OP by one of the Chosen.  Taim's use of this phrase is strong evidence that he comes from the AoL.  If that is the case, he must be Moridin, using the Mask of Mirrors to subtly alter his appearance, hiding the <i>saa</i>.<br /><br />  This would go a long way toward explaining Taim's apparent disregard of danger when faced by Rand full of the OP.  In the incident involving the GM in Rand's chambers, Rand is furious with Taim, and full of the OP to boot, and yet Rand feels the power leave him.  Taim may as well have replaced the OP with the TP, and is fully confident of his ability to defend himself regardless of what happens.<br /><br />  All in all, this provides an explanation for all of Taim's strange behavior, not just his broad knowledge of the use of the OP and his constant usage of AoL terms, but his fearlessness in the face of obvious danger, as well.<br /><br /> The two are physically similar, both being tall - Taim described as being nearly as tall as Rand, and Moridin as being about the same height as Rand- and both have jet-black hair.  It would not be difficult for the Mask of Mirrors to account for the few differences seen.<br /><br />  A related question is what happened to the real Mazrim Taim, and this may also be a red herring.  Taim was not mentioned until book 2, when all the Forsaken were already free.  Maybe Ishy was pretending to be Taim right from the beginning!  He should still have been able to channel the TP, even if shielded from the OP, I assume, and so would have had nothing to fear from the AS who captured him.  I'm just not sure how that fits into the chronology of Taim's 'escape'.<br /><br />  Finally, Kisman's thoughts regarding the orders given him by various people in the end of WH do not contradict this idea.  Careful reading of that passage suggest to me that he is thinking of Taim's orders in regard to Cairhien, then Demandred following that, and then Moridin still later.  This should not be taken as evidence that Taim and Moridin are different people, just that the orders Kisman was given were given at different times and under different circumstances.</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> As you say, most of the evidence presented numerically suggests only that Taim is either a Forsaken <i>or</i> was tutored by one.  That is because such evidence relies on his having knowledge an untutored Taim would not have.  In that case, I don't see how the statement about Aiel is any different.  Taim learns from a Forsaken about resonance; he speaks of resonance.  Taim learns from a Forsaken of so-called Aiel; he speaks of so-called Aiel.  We all repeat things said by those who taught us.<br /><br />To move on, let's accept the idea that Taim is either Forsaken or tutored by one as a given.  From there, your evidence that Taim was <i>not</i> merely tutored by a Forsaken seems to be the following:<br /><br />1) He said shaved his beard &quot;because of the heat,&quot; when he knows how not to feel the heat.<br />2) He spoke of himself in third person.<br /><br />The bit about speaking in third person is rather weak evidence I think.  Considering that Taim was at the time trying to prove he <i>was</i> Taim, this merely shows that he is an eloquent speaker.  Under the circumstances, it wouldn't have been proper for Taim to have spoken in first person.<br /><br />What we have left is the comment about the beard - a good sign that <i>something</i> is amiss - and any similarities between Moridin's and Taim's appearances, such as their black hair.<br /><br />One piece of evidence I would like to add is SH's comment that Osan'gar's and Aran'gar's bodies were the best to be had in the Borderlands.  Certainly the same would be true of Moridin's body, and wouldn't Taim have been among the best?<br /><br />Well, this is the longest comment I've made in some time.  Maybe I should shut up now and let the real discussion begin <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/wink.gif" border="0" />...<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-07-10 16:55:07
subject: Shaidar Haran Unplugged
body:
<p>The Hand of the Shadow is a character I am sure we have all obsessed about as he/it is a most curious villain.  We know that the Dark One trusts him nearly completely as shown by the Forsaken brought to the Pit of Doom as both Moghedien and Demandred note that the cave reaches feet above the Myrddraal&#8217;s head. <br /><br />What do we know about the myrddraal?  Unfortunately not too much.  I will start with abilities then move on and list his traits as observed.  It appears to have the standard bag of Fade tricks (i.e. shadow hopping, gaze of fear, etc), the important thing here is it can use the True Power.  We have seen it use the TP several times, both to intimidate the Forsaken and to &#8220;vent&#8221; its frustrations. In addition the Fetch is also able to see and &#8216;smell&#8217; the OP.  The encounter with Moghedien is in AcoS ch25 Mindtrap, the destruction of the spear using the TP is in AcoS ch40 Spears as is his awareness of the OP.  Emotionally the Halfman is an exception among the Eyeless.  It has a sense of humor, more than just relishing and enjoying the brutality as the others do, Shaidar Haran is witty if sarcastic, the sadistic tendencies are on par for the Myrddral but the arrogance seems a bit thick, we don&#8217;t have much in the way of info on the mind of a Fade but the Chosen seem to acknowledge how different Shaidar Haran is from the rest of the flock.  <br /><br />In order to understand what Shaidar Haran is we must look at why the Dark One would want him, what purpose does the DO have for him?  Obviously, there are some VERY strong ties between the two.  Some people debate this based on a quote from the end of Ch 40 in AcoS,  &#8220;A sudden ache climbed the back of its neck; a faint weakness washed along its limbs. Too long away from Shayol Ghul. That tie had to severed somehow. With a snarl, it turned to find the edge of shadow that it needed.  The day was coming. It would come.&#8221;  Some people view this as meaning that SH wants to sever its tie to the DO.  I see it completely differently.  Shaidar Haran was just spying on Sammael and Graendal, and then suddenly it has a weak spell.  I don&#8217;t know about you but when I suddenly get weak I tend to get a bit frustrated especially if I know the cause.  The fact is it wants to be as powerful as possible, and it can&#8217;t do that is it has to stick around Shayol Ghul.  Now I propose that the DO created a completely loyal servant/proxy, one who will obey in all things and who is endowed with some pretty intense abilities.  Why would he need such a proxy?  What specific purpose does he serve?  I submit that his place is to keep Moridin in check, to keep him honest.  Seeing Moridin/Ishy&#8217;s track record for sanity and success he is a very useful tool but one that could easily bite you in the foot.  So the DO decides to drop SH into the mix as a check against Moridin.  What I think the Dark One did was bind Shaidar Haran and Moridin together the same way that Luc and Isam are bound.  I know this sounds outrageous but there are some things that point toward this.  <br /><br />Looking at Moghedien&#8217;s trip to Shayol Ghul in AcoS, Ch 25: Mindtrap, we see several things of importance.  Breaking it down we have, Moghedien pointing out that the DO must trust SH because the roof of the tunnel is hands above his head.  Another key fact is that Moghedien stresses that many things can be done in the Pit of Doom that cannot be done elsewhere, things other than making a mindtrap.  Some examples would be the distilling that Fain went through or the &#8216;binding&#8217; that Luc/Isam/Slayer went through.  After we see Moghedien leaving the vacuole but being told to keep her eyes shut, she ends up in Moridin&#8217;s company.  Seems perfectly legit until we examine it more closely.  Having expected to run face first into the wall Moghedien is curious about her surroundings and is straining her senses noting everything from the smell of smoke to the timbre of the stranger&#8217;s voice.  In this nothing is mentioned of SH passing on the mindtrap to Moridin, though Moghedien does say that the Myrddral displays it to her.  Now granted the Fetch may have tossed it to Moridin, but with something that valuable I think better care would be taken, in addition no words are exchanged between SH and Moridin, odd behavior for two associates who share ownership of a person.  Another thing is that Moridin says he saw her come the day before last, while when Moghedien is reliving her experience she makes no mention of anyone other than the Fade, this can be explained away though as him lying or hiding or plain inattentiveness on Moghedien&#8217;s part.  I think this goes to show that not only are SH and Moridin one being but that they want to hide the fact so the Forsaken remain worried about two pairs of eyes instead of one.<br /><br />A few other things strike me as being odd, one is that Moridin doesn&#8217;t seem to travel very much and when he does it isn&#8217;t terribly far south, or for long pairs of time.  I think that he shares SH&#8217;s tie to Shayol Ghul.  Also I think that this explains why Shaidar Haran hasn&#8217;t been around till now in his current form, I suspect that Shaidar Haran was a normal Myrddraal until it&#8217;s binding with Moridin, and that it gained its special powers in that combining.  This explains why Aginor was so surprised when he was resurrected, is that for all he knew about the Fades he has never thought to try to combine one with a man.  <br /><br />So in conclusion, it seems as though Moridin and Shaidar Haran are one being who was made so the DO could have a VERY powerful proxy who is completely loyal and obedient.  The Fetch was bound to Moridin so that the DO could imbue it with the extra abilities we have seen such as the TP and the ability to see the OP.  By combining the two the DO has made a servant who can by one means or the other channel saidin and the TP, see both saidin and saidar if not the individual flows, can use the tricks of a myrddraal, intimidate the Forsaken, and who is COMPLETELY loyal.  Sounds like the ultimate ace in the hole to me.</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> If Shaidar Haran is the Watcher, then we've had point of views from both he and Moridin.  It seems odd, then, that we haven't seen more obvious clues pointing to a dual nature, such as we did when finally getting a Slayer point of view.  But maybe that's just because we've never experienced a change of shift from Moridin's or Shaidar Haran's point of view(s)...<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-07-11 12:31:44
subject: Voices
body:
<p>The defensive ter'angreal of Far Madding are designed to do three things.  Locate channelers in and around the city, prevent men from channeling inside the city and prevent women from channeling inside the city.  Because of the various ranges of each of these defenses it is believed, by some, that three separate ter'angreal are being used.<br /><br />&quot;&#8230;the city possesses a ter'angreal.  Or perhaps it is three ter'angreal.&quot; (WH, Ch. 23)<br /><br />If it is only one, it is obviously one of the great works of the power and, therefore, must have been made with both men and women channeling the power. But, why would they include the restrictions on women channeling?  What kind of an Aes Sedai would link with a madman to create such a thing?  If it is three separate ter'angreal, men were still probably used to make it.  And the question still remains.  Why prohibit women from channeling?  What were they thinking?<br /><br />I believe they were trying to hide something. Something they thought would scare people so badly, the only way to keep it safe would be to hide it.  Hide it so that nobody would find it even if they could channel.  I believe they were hiding another ter'angreal.<br /><br />&quot;Who knows what else it might be able to do beside what we already know.&quot; (WH, Ch. 24)<br /><br />We know that the most feared creature during the Breaking was the male channeler.  Angreal, sa'angreal and ter'angreal, which could be used by men, where given to the Aiel to prevent them from falling into the hands of male channelers, except for a few, which would be needed by the Dragon Reborn.  We also know that early in the Breaking, when these items for the DR were being readied, put in place and warded, there was already a concern about lack of experience among the few male channelers still sane enough to be used in the preparations. We also know that aiding the DR was their highest priority.<br /><br />&quot;They are young and inexperienced, but barely touched by the taint, and....And we have no choice.&quot; (TSR, Ch. 26) <br /><br />&quot;The world rests on this!  The future!  The Wheel itself!&quot; (TSR, Ch. 26)<br /><br />With the notable lack of experience so soon after the beginning of the breaking, and realizing it would only get worse, it is logical that the Aes Sedai would have taken action in order to give the future Dragon (Rand) and the other male channelers who would be fighting in the last battle any and all knowledge that they could.  They did this by creating a ter'angreal that would place the &quot;Voices&quot; (and knowledge/experience) in the minds of all future male channelers.  Then they created the ter'angreal(s) that would defend and hide it.<br /><br />If a man (who could channel) learned about it, he would have done his best to destroy it, believing it caused (or at least increased) his madness.  If a woman discovered it she also would have tried to destroy it.  Anything which aided men who could channel, made them harder to kill or gentle, would have been a primary target for any sister that did not know why it was made or did not care.  For this reason a human guardian was most likely also placed in the city with the ability to help defend the ter'angreal.<br /><br />Cadsuane Sedai has spent a lot of time in Far Madding, a city that is avoided by sisters.  She has an intimate knowledge of the Dome and the warren of passageways leading to it.  (RJ spent over a paragraph describing their walk to the Dome in Chapter 24 of Winter&#8217;s Heart.)<br /><br />But what is most intriguing are the ter'angreal she possesses: miniature versions of the larger ter'angreal of the city and a well to draw from.  They are perfectly suited for a woman defending Far Madding.  Whether Cadsuane simply found these ter'angreal in Far Madding or is the current &quot;secret&quot; defender in a long line of Aes Sedai, I can only guess.<br /><br />&quot;We do not speak of Far Madding often...&quot; (WH, Ch. 23)<br /><br />One thing is certain: Cadsuane has knowledge of the voices.  Although she has captured more men than any other sister it is doubtful that she learned of it from them.  The Asha'man have never spoken of it, even amongst themselves.  So, she must have learned of it at the source, at Far Madding.</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> Well, it's certainly original, and you did a good job tying things together to make it sound plausible; but it's still a stretch, in my mind.  Especially the bit about a line of secret defenders.  Of course, I suppose that part isn't essential to the core of the theory.  Even if the Asha'man never talk about the voices amongst themselves, however, I still think Cadsuane could have gotten the information from the male channelers she captured.  The Asha'man aren't working in a very open cultural environment; it would seem little help to talk about something they all already know and feel uncomfortable thinking about; and they don't have a woman like Cadsuane with them every second of the day like the channelers she captured did.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-07-14 22:43:25
subject: Berelain's going to be a bloody 'Blood'
body:
<p>I noticed two interesting quotes about Berelain on my re-read of Wheel of Time.   The quotes are both references towards Berelain shaving her head.  In this theory, I will elaborate on Berelain&#8217;s claim to the Seanchan nobility using the 2 quotes as well as using new information from the Wheel of Time RPG.  In addition, there is a quote in WH that specifically says that special people can be adopted into the Royal family.  That said, let&#8217;s look at Berelain.<br /><br /><br />&#8220;Egwene would not mind shaming Berelain till her hair fell out.&#8221;<br /> <br />  Egwene&#8217;s POV- Chpt. 24, LoC<br /><br />&#8220;I will shave your head as bald as an egg.&#8221;<br /><br />Faile- Chp. 14, TSR<br /><br />All these references towards Berelain getting her head shaved are quite notable.  Could RJ be hinting at something?  From the Guide we know that members of the Seanchan Imperial family &#8220;shave their heads completely.&#8221;  Will Berelain, with her claims of being a Paendrag descendent, be raised to the Imperial family?  This question is especially enticing due to Berelain&#8217;s current proximity to the Seanchan forces in Amadicia. A Seanchan alliance through Berelain could have major ramifications in Crossroads of Twilight.<br /><br />Here, I have included a brief excerpt in order to expand on where Berelain&#8217;s claims originate.  The quote comes from an online addition to the Wheel of Time RPG.  The text is about Tyrn sur Paendrag, who is the reason Berelain has any possible link to the Seanchan Blood.  <br /><br />&#8220;In approximately FY 1004, a youth was brought to<br />the city, calling himself Tyrn sur Paendrag Mashera and<br />claiming to be Hawkwing&#8217;s grandson (or great-grandson;<br />accounts vary). Mayerners believed the claims, and while<br />he and his followers denied any desire to try to retake<br />Hawkwing's empire, Mayene welcomed him, perhaps as a<br />symbol of stability, and styled him the First Lord of<br />Mayene.<br /><br />&#8220;Few if any outside Mayene believe that Tyrn sur Paendrag<br />was any relation to Hawkwing, perhaps because no<br />claim was made on his behalf for the empire as a whole,<br />and while great efforts had been expended in killing all of<br />Hawkwing&#8217;s known descendents, few attempts were made<br />on Tyrn&#8217;s life.&#8221;<br /><br />In this passage, we see that very few outside Mayene believed Tyrn&#8217;s claims, but it may be possible that the Seanchan Imperial family has some listing of Tyrn in their Imperial records.  If this is true, then it stands a very good chance that Berelain will be promoted to the Imperial family.  However, even if the claims cannot be verified, I believe that Berelain still stands an excellent chance of getting promoted to at least the Blood. <br /> <br />One previous example is with Tyline; Suroth and Tuon were considering promoting Tylin to the Blood due to her throne.  In my opinion, Berelain has at least as the same chance of being promoted to the Blood as Tylin does.  Either way, I believe Berelain stands an excellent chance of being promoted into Seanchan nobility (whether it be the Imperial family or the Blood).  However, if I had to take my pick, I would say that Berelain will be inducted into the Imperial family based on Faile&#8217;s quote that she would shave Berelain&#8217;s head as &#8220;bald as an egg.&#8221;<br /><br />Berelain is not very powerful right now, but we will see her grow in power.  I think it is pertinent to note that Berelain&#8217;s banner is the Golden Hawk.  We know that a golden hawk will be very important to Egwene later in the series, based on Egwene&#8217;s dream that she was tied together somehow with a golden-hawk that is female.  (Although, this golden hawk could also refer to Tuon).  I believe that the &#8220;Crossroads of Twilight&#8221; might also include one of Berelain&#8217;s crossroads.  I think we may see Berelain grow more powerful and make allies with Seanchan who will be an important factor in her future.</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> This sounds like a real possibility, especially considering that the author allowed Berelain to escape the Shaido while we were learning of the Prophet's dealings with the Seanchan.  She probably has an important part to play in that bit of Perrin's storyline.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-07-16 11:17:28
subject: Mesaana : just a hard-working (immortal) teacher
body:
<p>Forsaken don't do just one thing at a time - like Moridin saying he's playing both sides of the board.  The best tacticians among the Forsaken make each plot serve several purposes. (Like the Grey Woman in Sheriam's bed: that forced Siuan's hand, scared her into giving herself away and pulled Sheriam into line).  IMO, these same Forsaken also like to have two bases at once.  I blelieve that just as Moridin is also Taim, and Demandred is with both the Whitecloaks (Probably as Einor Saren) and the Prophet (say as one of Masema's advisors), so Mesaana is with BOTH the White Tower (say as Danelle) and also with the Salidar Aes Sedai as Theodrin. It's her role to waste the AS in internal strife so they can't help Rand.  This is best done by being in both camps.<br /><br />Evidence: <br /><br />1. Theodrin is a lip-tapper (like Mesaana). Incidentally, Danelle is not described as being one.<br /><br />2. Min had a Viewing in the White Tower of an apple-cheeked Accepted being caged as part of the White Tower battle (TFOH). Why would an Accepted be caged at this time except for questioning and death a la Forsaken (done by Mesaana and BA)? Theodrin is consistently described as an apple-cheeked Accepted.<br /><br />3. It is suspect that Theodrin never dobbed in Nynaeve for eavesdropping on Tarna's meeting with Sheriam's 6 in LOC Ch 12.  Are Nynaeve and Elayne useful for the Shadow?<br /><br />4. In next chapter, LOC, Ch. 13, there is a Forsaken icon.  The only characters in this chapter are Nynaeve, Elayne, Tarna and Theodrin.<br /><br />5. Even though Domani Theodrin was very keen on the guys in the White Tower and before - they inspired her to channel as a wilder - she chose Brown Ajah rather than Green when in Salidar.  Brown suits Mesaana's character, not Theodrin's. As a Brown, (as is Danelle in WT) she'd wear bronze skirts - like Alviarin saw in ACOS. That would be handy if you're flitting between 2 places.<br /><br />6. Even though Theodrin is stronger in the Power than Faolain, she lets Faolain take the lead. This is out of character for an Aes Sedai.<br /><br />7. Graendal hears Mesaana saying she is in the White Tower, but that doesn't mean she isn't secretly with Salidar Aes Sedai as well.  No one really knows where Dem is either.  It would be just like RJ to let us think each Forsaken is just in one place when far more is really going on.<br /><br />8. Theodrin tries not very capably to break Nynaeve's block.  Considering she had a block broken herself, she has to know how great a shock it needs.<br /><br />9.  As for Mesaana being in the White Tower all the time and overhearing everything that's going on with Elaida, I think she uses truth weaves like the Wise Ones, but inverted, when Alviarin reports.   She knows when Alviarin believes she is telling all in her reports, but Mesaana knew no more of the exact wording of Elaida's Foretelling than Alviarin did. Therefore she didn't eavesdrop on Elaida as Alviarin thinks (ACOS prologue).<br /><br />As Theodrin, Mesaana is taken for granted by other Sisters and so can learn a lot of what Salidar Aes Sedai are planning.  She has attached herself to Romanda (despite their different Ajahs) and to Egwene.  The downside is that it took her a while to get established and get information and some influence in the Hall. But then it took a while for Hall to get influence also.  <br /><br />True, Arangar arrived in Salidar in LOC, Ch. 30.  Arangar came to take charge of Hall at first and then eventually of someone thought to have the real power in Salidar.  At that stage none of the other Forsaken except Osangar and Moridin knew who Arangar was.  This is a good way for DO's plans to be advanced without Mesaana trying to bend them to suit her own plans.  <br /><br />There appear to be too many factions in Salidar for one Forsaken to control: Egwene&#8217;s inner circle, Sheriam's 6, Romanda, Lelaine, and the Black Ajah.  Theodrin never seems to have contacted Delana once the Hall had real power in Salidar (by about LOC, Ch. 30). Arangar arrives at this time...  I believe Mesaana is using Theodrin to get info more than influence, perhaps leaving Hall for Arangar.<br /><br />If you doubt the Forsaken are working in this way, remember it takes a lot of effort to take over the world. The competition between Forsaken to get more area for themselves than the others ensures that they'll try for two areas at once.  As for playing both sides of the board, as Moridin says, it ensures you'll win.  Besides, it's also so ...chaotic.<br /><br />I think the Forsaken have to work hard for their immortality - the DO demands it.  Looking at it another way, they need to be immortal to do as much has they do.  Maybe the link to the DO is a little like a Warder's bond as far as fatigue goes.<br /><br />Anyway, that's what I think is really going on with Mesaana and the other Forsaken.<br /><br />Sorry about the length.</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> Well, the unexpected Forsaken icon is usually attributed to Halima's arrival.  I can't remember the exact line; but Nynaeve feels she's being watched, or sees a mysterious shadow in a window, or something like that.  Of course, there's nothing that says Jordan can't give away two Forsaken with the same icon.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-07-18 10:57:12
subject: The Color of the Amyrlin Seat
body:
<p>I think that the Ajah where the Amyrlin Seat is raised from is somehow related to the events or time period that she is going to reign. It has been stated several times in the series that the Amyrlin Seat is of no but all Ajahs, however loyalty to their previous Ajah could not be easily discarded. This loyalty to their previous Ajah affects the way the Amyrlins act on White Tower policies, and though most of it are contrary to WT rules, no one could break it that easily. So, by stating thus, I think that the Wheel CHOOSES a specific Aes Sedai raised from a specific Ajah to serve as Amyrlin Seat, depending on how circumstances calls for it. The best proof for this is the recent events involving Rand, the WT, and the rebel Salidar Aes Sedai. Before Rand proclaimed himself as the DR, there was Siuan, who was raised from the Blue. The Blues involve themselves in causes, that is &quot;finding the right person for the right job&quot;. After that, there were two Amyrlin Seats, one Red, and one Green. This is the &quot;dilemma&quot; of the wheel: whether to subdue Rand on grounds of being a male channeler (by the Reds), or to help him win TG (through the help of the Green). I am not that well informed of the roster of the Amyrlin Seats, but I think this is true enough for recent events. I am also proposing this: the next Amyrlin Seat will be raised from the Yellow or Brown Ajahs (hint, hint: Nynaeve al'Meara <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/biggrin.gif" border="0" />). I think after the great battle, Healing or Recollection of what was lost is important for the survival of the world. I also think that the Wheel works also for the Black Ajah, that is why they were able to dispose of most of the Amyrlin Seats that were a threat to them. Besides, the Wheel was done with them anyway, and had to dispose of them in any way possible.</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> Oh!  I thought at first you were just giving political commentary.  What a twist! <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/smile.gif" border="0" />  It's a good idea, and the points you make seem reasonable.  I don't see any reason why the Wheel <i>wouldn't</i> influence the choosing of the Amyrlin Seat; she's certainly an important enough figure.  I suppose we could test your theory somewhat by looking at more Amyrlins of the past, and comparing their Ajah to the events that happen while they are in command.  However, such tests won't really tell us much unless the Amyrlin was in power <i>before</i> the defining events became predictable.  Otherwise, all we know is that the Aes Sedai tried to choose the best Amyrlin for the job.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-07-18 11:49:50
subject: Graendal and Alsalam
body:
<p>After reading Glimmers, it is obvious that Graendal has kidnapped the Domani king and is keeping him in her palace.  There are three arguments that offer proof.<br /><br />1. Ituralde thinks that the orders are conflicting, designed to increase chaos (remember Graendal's thought in PoD, that little increases in chaos are just as important as large increases) and aid the Dragonsworn, the main source of chaos.  Ituralde further admits that he thinks the Council of Merchants has kidnapped Alsalam or the King has been kidnapped and the Council doesn't know where he is.  This points to Graendal.<br /><br />2. Graendal, in showing off her collection of pretties to Sammael, points out the large number of the King's family that are her pets.  There are two different points here.  First, since Ituralde does not think about the large number of disappearances in the royal family, everyone thinks they are hiding with the King, wherever he is.  Second, Sammael makes the comment that he is surprised that Graendal has not kidnapped the King as well for her collection of pets.  Graendal replies that he is too old to be among her pets.  She does not answer the allegation that she has kidnapped the King but NOT placed him among her pets.<br /><br />3. The number, disparity, and effect of the King's messages points to a total control over their source by Graendal.  If the King was writing the messages and Graendal was simply forging messages from him, then either the King or Ituralde would get suspicious.<br /><br />Most of the evidence is supposition but the King being free doesn't make sense under the above arguments and no other Forsaken has expressed interest in Arad Doman yet.</p><p><b>wotmania says:</b> I don't see a whole lot to argue with here...  I'll leave all the arguing to the masses.  <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/wink.gif" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-07-23 22:35:56
subject: Thom and House Riatin!
body:
<p>This theory outlines the relationship Thom Merrilin has to the two great houses of Cairhien. <br /><br />First, it is important to establish that Thom indeed is from Cairhien. This is strongly supported by the description given to us in the The Wheel of Time Roleplaying Game, page 258. He is described as a Cairhienin wanderer &#8211; a class in the game. Robert Jordan has read this book before it went into print so we can be quite sure that this is indeed correct. <br /><br />Secondly, it is important to connect Thom with House Riatin. My theory is mostly based on the event that occurs in The Great Hunt when Thom finds his girlfriend murdered and decides to take out his revenge on the King &#8211; a member of the Riatin family. Now, why is this important? In my humble opinion Thom kills the King too easy &#8211; it should be very difficult to kill a monarch in a realm that is so deeply involved in the great game, where you can&#8217;t trust no one, barley even your one family. My point here is that Thom has a personnel relationship with the King. How this relationship is defined, I don&#8217;t know. But that a relationship exists is fairly certain. <br /><br />It is interesting to notice that Thom is a simple gleeman in house Trakand, the winning house in the struggle after the throne in Andor become vacant. Morgase herself states somewhere (I can&#8217;t find where) that she had much help from Thom, and it was this way they become lovers. Somewhere in the series it is stated that it is indeed Thom that eliminates Morgases husband, I believe his name was Taringail or something, that was on the verge to become king of Andor and have his children, Galad to become king in Cairhien and his unborn daughter Queen of Andor. This would create a very strong power base for the Damodred family. Thus it is very logical that their archenemy, House Riatin, sends a crafty fellow to keep an eye on Taringail and undo his work. Thom has been very successful in doing this. <br /><br />To conclude, Thom was sent by House Riatin to Andor. This could mean several things:<br /><br />1) He is just an ordinary fellow that is very crafty with the great game and connected to the Riatin family in service.<br /><br />2) He is a minor noble/bastard from the Riatin or closely connected to the Riatin family with blood. <br /><br />Now, why would he be a noble? Simple, If he would be a noble of the Riatin family his marriage with the head of the Damodred family, Moiraine, would make a powerful alliance that war torn Cairhien so desperately needs. Moiraine will be the head of the Damodred house after her cousin has gone of to marry the future King of Tear. Now, this is a bit farfetched even for me, but it is an option. The main point against the noble Thom theory is his nephew; the one that died after the reds gentled him. The nephew was a simple farmer, which is quite strange if Thom was a noble, however minor. <br /><br />To end this theory, I conclude that Thom is a Cairhienin with an unidentified connection with the Riatin family. Please be free to argue!! <br /><br />Lord Stone</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> It was hinted that Thom may have killed Taringail, but I don't recall anywhere in which it was stated as fact.  Still, you've made some worthy observations.<br /><br />If Thom is a very minor nobleman, then I don't think it too implausible that his nephew would be a farmer.  In any case, maybe Owyn decided on his own to became a humble farmer once his sanity became suspect.  Or maybe a family member decided for him.  A noble family with strong hopes of rising would do whatever is necessary to keep a good reputation.<br /><br />Moreover, I think Thom's being a court bard in the first place suggests he has noble blood.  Hiring someone for such a position would be making a political statement.  And in any case, the easiest way to learn the skills of a court bard would be to have spent your younger life in court (around court bards).  All the more so for a court bard/spy/assassin.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-07-29 16:54:09
subject: What The Thieves Were After
body:
<p>Some very important things were happening in the prologue, and a very important pattern.  Namely, the attempted theft from both Dobraine and Bashere.  Why are darkfriends obviously trying to rifle through the rooms of the Dragon's closest advisors?  The answer....THE SEALS!<br /><br />We know that Taim saw Rand give Bashere the last Seal.  We don't know what Rand has done with them, but we know that the last thing Rand did was a major blow to the Dark One.  And we know that military forces throughout the Westlands are mobilizing.  Even Arad Doman, which is in chaos, is mobilizing.  If military conquest is inevitable, that indicates that the Dark One is making a major move.  What could be more major than his breaking the Seals?<br /><br />For the most part, this has been speculation, but I'd like to show two points that indicate the importance of what has happened.  The first, and probably the weaker, is that Slayer was involved in the attempt to steal from Bashere.  While this is speculation, remember that when Bashere's men found the dead bodies of the two men, he thought that they were killed by either multiple people, or one really fast person.  They were killed very skillfully, and didn't seem to see it coming.  This is Slayer's MO.  If Slayer is involved, you know that what was being done was important.<br /><br />Secondly, and more important, is that Bashere &quot;was expecting this.&quot;  Why would Bashere expect Darkfriends to try and rob him?  What could he possibly have that would make him think, &quot;I'd better watch out for Darkfriends?&quot;  Well, since Rand did give him a Seal to the Dark One's prison, I think it is safe to say that this is why he was expecting something.<br /><br />Now if Darkfriends are trying to get the Seals, I think that it is very likely that the Last Battle is coming.</p><p><b>Vercingetorix says:</b> I agree that the thieves were after the Seals.  Do we know that Dobraine had any though?  I know there were two in the wagons that Moiraine was trying to send to Tar Valon, which were last seen at the docks in Cairhien.  Perhaps Dobraine got one or both of those at some point?  As for Slayer being involved, it certainly is possible, and seems likely, but we don't know yet for sure.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-07-30 22:25:52
subject: What's the story with Sheriam?
body:
<p>Sheriam, Mistress of Novices, a trusted advisor to Egwene, and a pretty decent person. Or so we thought before Path of Daggers. Now there is some doubt to her loyalty. <br /><br />*A Gray Man was found dead on her bed<br /><br />*She was purposely evasive towards the girls when they asked her why she was there.<br /><br />Perhaps the most condemning of evidence is the fact that someone is beating the Light out of her.(TPOD: 16, Unexpected Absences, 345) She is beaten for information. <br />What we know about her attacker<br /><br />*He/She is a channeler who shielded Sheriam and pummeled her with weaves of Air.<br /><br />*Would Sheriam sense a female channeler in the tent before she entered? Also would other Aes Sedai note the amount of One Power being used in Sheriam's tent. This leads me to believe that the attacker most likely is a male. <br /><br />*This attack has something to do with the The Hall because Sheriam wishes &quot;that she had never in her life spoken to a single sister in the Hall.&quot; <br /><br />*This is not the first time Sheriam has had dealing with this unknown figure. He/She says, &quot;You were supposed to keep me informed.&quot;<br /><br />Now you think that if someone tortured Sheriam her Warder would have sensed this. The last time we saw Arinvar was in The Fires of Heaven(The Practice of Diffidence) and he has never been seen again.  If Sheriam was masking the bond he would know something was up anyway. Robert Jordan lost a character? This would be unforgivable mistake because the reader is trying to puzzle out Sheriam's story.<br /><br />Now I have narrowed down the people I suspect attacked Sheriam to two. They are<br /><br />Delana: A Sitter on the Hall. Known Black-Ajah. Could be using Sheriam. The beating was primitive and did not have the finesse of one of the Forsaken. Remember Sheriam wished &quot;that she had never in her life spoken to a single Sister in the Hall.&quot; <br /><br />Halima(Aran&#8217;gar): They don't get much badder than this. Channels <i>saidin</i> so it would not be detected. During the Forsaken conversation in Winter's Heart Aran'gar admits he has a charge in Salidar. Sheriam?<br /><br />Out of these two I believe Delana is the culprit. There is a strong case for Aran'gar. But Sheriam's comment &quot;that she had never in her life spoken to a single Sister in the Hall&quot; tipped the scale. <br /><br />To conclude, Sheriam is not a willing member of the Black Ajah but is being used by Delana.</p><p><b>Bad Ash says:</b> Pretty succinctly put, although I will add a couple more question marks to Sheriam's tally:<br /><br />&#183; After the Gray Man in the hall of the White Tower nearly put a crossbow quarrel through Egwene's head, Sheriam was the first to appear, quickly got rid of the body, and as Egwene noted, never was concerned with whom buried a dagger in his chest.  Did Sheriam know that Slayer killed him?<br /><br />&#183; Sheriam admits that very few in the Tower know that 13 channelers and 13 Myrrdraal can turn a channeler to the Shadow against his/her will.  Perhaps her knowledge stems from experience?<br /><br />I do believe that Sheriam is serving the Shadow.  Whether it is of her own accord or if she was turned remains to be seen.  As the identity of her assailant, I believe it is Halima.  I say this because all the Aes Sedai would have felt a member of the Black Ajah channeling.  Although the &quot;single Sister in the Hall&quot; comment does sound damning to Delana, Sheriam could've said something to Delana who then reported it to Halima.  Remember, just because Halima shares that she has an agent in the Hall certainly doesn't preclude her from having more.  She is Forsaken, after all.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-07-31 23:35:13
subject: The Hopper Reborn?
body:
<p>There are some facts that we all know about the wolves.  As Moiraine states in <i>The Dragon Reborn</i>, &quot;wolves live partly in this world, and partly in a world of dreams.&quot; [page 85, hardcover edition, <i>Wolf Dreams</i>]  It is also common knowledge that &quot;every wolf remembers the history of all wolves, or at least the shape of it&quot;, as stated by Elyas  Machera in <i>The Eye of the World</i>. [page 287, hardcover edition, <i>Wolfbrother</i>]  Plus, when a wolf dies its still exists in <i>Tel'aran'rhiod</i>.  Hopper tells Perrin about this in <i>The Dragon Reborn</i>, &quot;All are here.  All brothers and sisters that are, all that were, all that will be.&quot; [page 343, hardcover edition, <i>Daughter of the Night</i>]<br /><br />This is interesting because the only deceased humans we've ever seen in the World of Dreams have been Heroes of the Horn.  These Heroes reside in <i>Tel'aran'rhiod</i> until the Wheel spins them out into the Pattern again.  While in the World of Dreams they seem to retain all the knowledge and experiences of their countless lives, but when they are spun back out it seems that they lose the memories of their past lives in the waking world.  Artur Hawkwing implies this when speaking to Rand about Mat's question in <i>The Great Hunt</i>, &quot;You could tell him, Lews Therin, could you but remember when you wore flesh.&quot; [page 559, hardcover edition, <i>The Grave Is No Bar to My Call</i>]  The only reason Birgitte retained her memories was because she was forcibly ripped out of <i>Tel'aran'rhiod</i> rather than spun out naturally.<br /><br />When combining these facts, it stands to reason that wolves are always  reborn.  Why?  Wolves know the history of all wolves from the first turning of the Wheel.  If there were a relatively small number of wolf &quot;souls&quot; per se that were spun out periodically, this could be understandable.  By partially existing at all times in the World of Dreams, perhaps wolves can retain the memories of their former lives while in the waking world whereas humans cannot.  Humans can enter <i>Tel'aran'rhiod</i>, but a wolf's &quot;soul&quot; remains there eternally.  When a cub is born, it can project to the other wolves its memories already acquired, and the other wolves can identify it.  Thus it would be easy to match a &quot;soul&quot; with wolf.  And with only a relatively small number of &quot;souls&quot; in existence, and wolves' ability to communicate telepathically, one can see how all wolves could know the history of all others.<br /><br />Plus, despite the World of Dreams' inherently infinite design, one would imagine there would be quite a few wolves there if the &quot;souls&quot; of all wolves that are, were, and are yet to be reside there and are nearly infinite in number themselves.  Aes Sedai that were Dreamers speak of seeing wolves and sometimes having wolf guides.  They never spoke of the World of Dreams teeming with wolves.  This implies that there aren't a great number of wolves to be found in <i>Tel'aran'rhiod</i>, despite the fact that all wolves from past, present, and future are there.<br /><br />Finally, wolves are implacable fighters.  A pack will stay on the trail of a Myrrdraal and kill him even if half the wolves fall in battle.  Why are wolves so fearless?  Being at the top of the foodchain helps, but a Myrrdraal can kill a wolf, and often does.  Perhaps the wolves have less fear of death than other creatures because they know they will live and die countless times with each turning of the Wheel.<br /><br />So it stands to reason that all wolves are reborn after they die and spend time existing entirely in <i>Tel'aran'rhiod</i>.  That may help to explain why a creature that only lives 10-14 years under prime circumstances seems as wise as an Ogier elder.  Hopper didn't even die of old age, he was killed by Whitecloaks, yet he has the sage advice of an aged man.  I believe it is because he has lived through all the turnings of the Wheel and will live again.  I only pray that he lives again before the series ends. <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/hopper.gif" border="0" /></p><p><b>Raserei says:</b> One might ask how this affects the Wolfbrothers.  Though they are (initially) human, they are able to glimpse into and communicate with wolves and their world.  Are their souls than recirculated as human, continuing the thread which they exist throughout time, or are they reintroduced into the world more and more?  The one problem with this would be that we'd have a greater occurence of Wolfbrothers amongst the WoT populace.  It would stand to reason then that Wolfbrothers follow the human persusion, no matter how lupine-crazy they get near the ends of their lives.  And when they are reinserted back into the Pattern, do the wolves then know when they lose a cousin, and do they know when one of his kind will return?<br /><br />I believe more questions have been conujured and answered.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-07-31 23:45:35
subject: Talmanes and the Hand help Egwene
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<p>I'm surprised this hasn't come up before, although it sort of did (but more negatively) a year and a half ago. But any theory about one or more of the 4 armies being friendly has always focused on Ogier or Gawyn and the Younglings.  So here goes:<br /><br />Way back in Book 2, Min had a vision: (Elayne) a severed hand (not hers).&quot; <br />The Great Hunt (362) <br /><br />Now, frequently, her visions are fulfilled rather rapidly, and this is an enormous gap, but it stands to reason:<br /><br />The Theory: The severed hand that is not hers is actually the Band of the Hand.  And the Band, led by Talmanes, will come to her aid in the upcoming battle.  It may even be one of the four armies mentioned. <br /><br />The Setup and Support: <br />1.  We know of no other reference to severed hands through 10 books.  What makes the Band qualify is that they are severed from their leader, Matrim Cauthon, and of course, named the Band of the HAND.<br /><br />2.  The Band and Elayne have had some minor path-crossing before, but not enough to qualify for the theory.  This was when Rand sent Mat (and the Hand) to Salidar to bring Elayne to Andor.  Elayne only dealt with Mat, however, and the two of them and others went galivanting off to Ebou Dar, while the Band shadowed the Rebel Tower's advance.<br /><br />3.  The Band has last been seen on the border of Andor.  They are conveniently close, especially considering their reputation for moving quickly.  They also have nothing to do.  Egwene has asked them to stay out of Lugardy politics and Talmanes seems inclined to agree.  <br /><br />4.  This is an educated estimate:  Talmanes and many of the Band are from Cairhien, and may have some degree of loyalty for protecting one who has a strong claim to their country's throne (even if they've sort've eschewed politics), who was also an object for protection by their Lord, and who is a paramour of the Dragon Reborn.  They may be a bit more willing than normal to assist.  Also, Egwene certainly would want them to aid Elayne if and when she knows of the problem, rather than sit around and destabilize a region as an unaffiliated army in the middle of a hot spot.<br /><br />5.  We can expect Mat won't be with them any time soon.  So Talmanes still has freedom to act.<br /><br />6.  Something esoteric:  Mat's memories of Manetheren, the last known existence of the Band of the Hand, he was a ranking aide to the King, I believe. They were, essentially, his 'heartguard', and defending him and his Aes Sedai queen.  This would be something of a repeat, with the Band once more defending the Queen of their leader's &quot;King&quot; (Rand).  This is a bit of a stretch, but not really much of one.<br /><br />Okay, so here's the situation:  We have 4 armies approaching Caemlyn, all numbering around 5000, according to Norry.  We have one friendly army whose actions are unaccounted for, who last we saw, was pretty close.  They're estimated to be 6000 strong. It's also a natural to think that The Band of the Hand is one of them, or at least close enough to do something about it. <br /><br />The Band is severed from its leader, hence fulfilling the &quot;Severed Hand&quot; part.  And they'd be helping Elayne, which completes it.  There is precedent of them helping Elayne (though not nearly to this degree), and some probable history of sympathy, either directly as (ex )citizens, or vicariously, such as at the behest of Egwene.<br /><br /><br />Thus, Elayne will use/be assisted by a severed Hand, fulfilling Min's vision.</p><p><b>Raserei says:</b> Two things.<br /><br />1.) No where does the viewing Min had insinuated that the severed hand would help.  It was just <i>there</i>.  Now, I believe that the Band of the Red Hand would help Elayne if she asked, because when she was traveling with them for a time, she had them eating out of her hand.  But, I don't think they'll come because...<br /><br />2.) Egwene will need them.  She may have one of the top leading Generals of the time, but I doubt she'll have enough man-power to successfully pull it off.  She'll need to rely on the Hand for man-power and support.<br /><br />My 2 cents.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-08-01 09:24:41
subject: Perrin, Faile, and a Broken Crown
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<p>When Perrin first meets his father-in-law Davram Bashere, Bashere is obviously not happy that his daughter and heir (his seventeen-year-old daughter and heir) has come back married to someone he has never met. He cuts almost straight to what he sees as the heart of the problem:<br /><br /><blockquote>&quot;I suppose Zarine told you all about my estates before you...married her. All about the Broken Crown. She was always talkative as a girl.&quot;<br />-<i>Lord of Chaos</i>, 46:Beyond the Gate</blockquote><br /><br />His reason for worrying is obvious: he wants to know if Perrin married Faile because she was his heir. But what's this about a Broken Crown? Faile never mentioned it. Perrin has no idea, and neither do we. <br /><br />The next mention of a broken crown is in <i>Glimmers</i>, and comes from Bashere. <br /><blockquote>&quot;But he[Bashere] knew her[Tenobia]; he had taught her to ride, watched her grow up, presented her the Broken Crown when she took the throne.&quot;<br />-<i>Crossroads of Twilight</i>, Prologue:Glimmers</blockquote><br />The plot thickens. The Broken Crown must be the crown of Saldaea. Why would Faile tell Perrin about it? What relevance could it have to her, and him? Well....<br /><br /><blockquote>&quot;Tenobia would die a maiden. Which meant her uncle Davram would succeed, if she left him alive after this, or else Davram's heir.&quot;<br />-<i>The Path of Daggers</i>, Prologue: Deceptive Appearances</blockquote><br />I.e., Faile is the second in line after her father for the throne of Saldaea, and the Broken Crown of Saldaea. If Tenobia dies without children, Faile will one day be the Queen of Saldaea, and wear said Broken Crown. No wonder Davram was worried about Perrin's motivation for marrying Faile, the heir to the Saldaean throne. Of course, Ethenielle's views on Tenobia and the Northern Alliance monarchs' current position notwithstanding, Tenobia could easily marry and have children. If she wants the perfect man, well, there's always Galad - he's pretty near perfect (if probably reserved for Berelain. Imagine a catfight between the Queen of Saldaea and the First of Mayene over a Whitecloak.... <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/wink.gif" border="0" /> ). But a viewing of Min's suggests, in fact, that she is going to die. <br /><blockquote>&quot;The strongest things I see about the big, curly-haired fellow are...a broken crown...&quot;<br />-<i>The Eye of the World</i>, 15:Strangers and Friends</blockquote><br />This very strongly suggests that Tenobia will die, and Faile will be Queen eventually. Thus Perrin, as the (Prince Consort? King?) of Saldaea, will be associated with the Broken Crown. <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/king.gif" border="0" /></p><p><b>Lauriana Sedai says:</b> I've got to say that I agree completely.  I've figured that Tenobia's time was going to be up soon ever since I read the quote you use from PoD.  A cat-fight between Tenobia and Berelain would be pretty funny, too, though; that's one possibility I can honestly say I never imagined.  Nice job! <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/read.gif" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-08-02 11:25:49
subject: Why the Borderlanders will follow Rand
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<p>A lot of people seem to think the Tower is trying to manipulate the borderlanders against Rand.  I agree.  I think this is more impromptu than planned, however, because the Aes Sedai didn't catch them until they had almost left.  From tEotW we know that borderlanders have a lot of respect for Aes Sedai, so they expect to be able to control them.  However, there are three people that the borderlanders will follow before the Aes Sedai:  Bashere, Agelmar, and one other.<br /><br />Since Bashere is already following Rand, he will bring in the Saldeans almost immediatly.  Tenobia won't be happy about it, but she has soldiers with her, and they are going to follow their fearless general, one of the great captains.  So that's 50,000 borderlanders switching to Rand's side.<br /><br />The other great captain with the army is Agelmar.  Everyone we ever hear talking about him does it in the utmost respect, and he led the Grand Alliance the first day, so I believe he may be regarded by the rest of the great captains as the best.  Most of the Sheinarans that will be there would have been at Tarwin's Gap, and will remember being rescued.  We know that Agelmar knows that it was a man, not the Creator or something.  And remember Hurin was headed back to Sheinar to tell Agelmar that Rand was the Dragon Reborn the last time we saw him.  So Agelmar knows that Rand saved the Sheinaran army, and his honor will demand that he follows Rand.  King Easar will trust his council, and as with Bashere, the Sheinarans would follow him anywhere.<br /><br />That leaves only half the borderlander army.  And there is NO way that the Kandori and Arafellen will stay on the wrong side of a battlefield from Bashere and Agelmar.  Also, the King of Arafel's sister is sworn to Rand.  The borderlander army will be loath to split up after the oath their leaders swore.  So the entire 200,000-man army will now be firmly in the grasp of Rand.  But, as friendly as the borderlander armies are, they are still separate nations, and they will have problems getting along.  They won't be able to decide between Bashere and Agelmar leading.  They will need someone not of the four countries to lead, but they won't accept a non-borderlander.  Who does that leave?  The other person the borderlanders would follow before anybody:  Lan!  He will raise the Banner of Malkier again and lead the army of borderlanders and support troops from Rand against the Trollocs that will be poring out of the Blight by now.</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> Sounds good to me.  OTOH, if they joined the White Tower despite all of those reasons, it would create an interesting conflict, not only between Bashere and Tenobia, but between Egwene and Rand.  And Rand still has to feel the Amyrlin's wrath about something or other.  Maybe that is what Jordan is heading towards.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-08-05 22:36:31
subject: Who Sent the Gray Man to Kill Rand in LOC?
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<p>Ok, you know the scene in LOC (Chapter 28; Letters) when the Gray Man attacks Rand, and Taim strides in and destroys it, just as Rand captures it? There's a lot of speculation about what exactly happened. I think I've figured it out. Follow me; it begins a little before that chapter in the book.<br /><br /><br />Ok, first some basic knowledge&#8230;<br /><br />1.We know that at this point, Graendal is purposely setting Sammael up for a showdown with Rand, despite the DO's instruction to let him live.<br /><br />2.We know that none of the Forsaken would disobey a direct order from the DO, fearing the consequences. Yeah, some of them have circumvented what they know he would want them to do, but so far in the series, we have not seen any of them disobey a direct order.<br /><br /><br />Ok, now lets go to Chapter 16, Tellings of the Wheel. Sammael sends a messenger to Rand, offering a truce of sorts. Rand refuses, and the messenger dies. At that point we think that Sammael must know that Rand refused the truce, because there is no other logical way for Sammael to know what his response would be otherwise. Correct?<br /><br />Now lets skip ahead to Chapter 23, To Understand a Message. Graendal meets Sammael in Illian, where he insinuates that the message that he sent to Rand had a favorable response. He compounds this by telling Graendal that he will attain Nae'blis status, after Rand picks off the other Forsaken one by one. Graendal is upset, and understandably so, because if this is all true (and we know it isn't), then Rand is going to kill them all, and there is nothing that any of them can do about it (see #2 above). This puts Sammael in a very, very good position, as far as Graendal can understand. Now, from Graendal's point of view, there is more reason than ever to make Rand and Sammael clash, because everything that she's worked for is going to fail if they don't. Right?<br /><br />So what does Graendal do? What choice does she have? I'll tell you.<br /><br />Skip forward to Chapter 28 Letters. Rand is in a foul mood, and realizes that it's because he feels he's running from the Chosen. In the early morning, he decides to leave Cairhien for Caemlyn. It's important to remember that no one knows he's leaving, and no one ezpects him back in Caemlyn, certainly not in the early morning. He gates to Caemlyn, landing in the Throne Room in darkness. He makes a light bulb, goes to his room without pausing or stopping, and after Harfor leaves, the Gray Man sneaks in unseen. He smells it, wraps it in Air, then Taim strides in and blasts a hole in it, saying that he channeled nearly at the same time as Rand in explanation.<br /><br />Now, here are the questions that need to be answered:<br /><br />1.Rand told no one that he was going to Caemlyn, so what was Taim doing there?<br />2.What was the Gray Man doing there too?<br /><br />Answer: Taim and the Gray Man came together in a Gateway he created.<br /><br />3.For that matter, how did they get there in the first place?<br /><br />Answer: They were waiting when Rand arrived.<br /><br />4.Why was Taim unguarded?<br /><br />Answer: No one knew he was there, because he was hiding in or near proximity to the Throne Room with the Gray Man.<br /><br />Think about it. Taim says that he was there to tell Rand about Narishma, who has the spark, and he apparently wants Rand to come to the farm. I think this is bull. Consider the fact that there are a bazillion Aiel (more or less, I couldn't get an exact count) who would know who Taim is. More importantly, there are 9000 Saldaeans who are itching for any reason to take Taims head, all in Caemlyn. Now, if he'd shown up anywhere in the palace, do you really think that the Aiel and the Saldaeans would just let him meander around unguarded? Also, don't you think that either Harfor or Aviendha would have let Rand know he was there? I do. And neither Harfor nor Avhiendha seemed to have foreknowledge of his prescence. So, if he were there on legitimate business, someone would have seen him arrive there, somewhere. Also, consider that it was still dark. Does Taim sound like the kind of guy that would rouse himself at night to Travel to the palace to report 1 person with the spark? Nope. Also, if he'd arrived after Rand, Rand would've felt, would have known that someone opened a gateway in the palace, shortly before he's attacked by a Gray Man. That didn't happen, so he couldn't have just shown up.<br /><br />The fact is, Taim was in the palace before Rand, and he hid from the rest of the palace occupants. Why would he do that, unless it was to plant the Gray Man?<br /><br />Now, why did he kill the Gray Man?<br /><br />Most would assume that it was because he didn't want the GM to tell that he's the one who planted it there, but think further. Where would Taim get a GM in the first place? Could it be because he's Demandred? Nope, this actually debunks the Taimandred theory. I'll explain that in my next post. Anyway, the other reason that he silenced the GM was to plant the idea in Rand's head that the GM was sent by Sammael. Why is that important? Because, the person who would benefit most from planting that idea is.... guess who? GRAENDAL!! And, that's who supplied the GM in the first place.<br /><br />Reconstruct the events. Graendal believes that she has a foolproof plan to get rid of Sammael without disobeying the DO. That plan is to have Rand dispatch Sammael. However, Sammael manages to convince Graendal that he's managed a truce with Rand. So now, she needs some way to break the truce. She sends a GM to Taim, with instructions to allow the GM to attack Rand, but to kill it at the last second, and plant the idea in Rands head that the GM was sent by Sammael, thereby ensuring that Rand goes after Sammael.<br /><br />I think this is pretty conclusive proof that Taim brought the GM to Caemlyn, and destroyed him on purpose to aim Rand at Sammael. I also think that Graendal sent Taim to do this, but if someone has reason to think it was another Forsaken, I'm all ears.<br /><br />Feel free to flame this at will.</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> To be honest, I don't like it.  Graendal-doing-things-in-Caemlyn tastes too much like Graendal-killed-Asmodean.  But for now I can't find anything in it to rebut.  *sighs*<br /><br />&quot;She's being framed! Framed, I tell you!&quot;<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-08-12 11:38:42
subject: The Unexplained Aes Sedai
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<p>There are 13 sisters traveling with the rulers of the Borderlands, whose identities and allegiances are currently unknown, as well as a fluid group staying at the Silver Swan in Caemlyn (CoS-Pitfalls and Tripwires). Evidence displayed thus far shows neither group is allied to the rebels or to Elaida.<br /> <br />-When Tenobia reveals the five sisters who came with her, she mentions that they did not go looking for Elaida's representative (Memara), who had been sent to make Tenobia toe the line.<br /> <br />-The rebels hadn't had the fainest clue about the four rulers until Elayne told Egwene.  There would have been the hope that the missing rulers would turn up when the sisters sent to the Borderlands arrived, and Siuan would have commented on it (in PoD-Unexpected Absences, where she mentions soldiers leaving Kandor).  Most telling though, is that no one finds out about them until they show up in Braem Wood.  They were not found until they were ready to be.<br /><br />-The sisters at the Silver Swan are highly unlikely to be Elaida's, as none are Reds, and thus far Elaida has sent a Red Sister on EVERY mission, even an embassy to the weakest and most remote queen known to the Tower.  Bashere also implied that they made no contact with the Reds hunting the Black Tower (Pitfalls and Tripwires).  <br /><br />-They have also not contacted Merilille's (now Elayne's) group, and though some sisters may have met with them (Sareitha and Careane show suspicious behavior), that implies that those meeting with the Silver Swan sisters are loyal to them, rather than the Swanners being loyal to the rebels.<br /><br />-The sisters at the Silver Swan are not a Black Ajah party either, though some may be Black of course, as they are not even considered in the plans of the two separate groups of Darkfriends in Caemlyn (under Temaile and Shiaine) except as a hazard to be avoided.<br /><br />-Some may theorize that the Borderland group (BL) and the SS (those at the Silver Swan) are merely nuetral in the Tower struggle, as that alignment seems to account for a third of the sisters.  This might be true of the SS, but the BL are operating as units with a mission, not as random parties who wandered into something interesting.  The neutral sisters are not indicated anywhere as having organized leadership, as joiners would be more likely to side with either Amyrlin, and who would take command and responsibility only to 'lead' them back to the winner?  Why would they even need a leader or organization? All they need to do is find out who wins and walk in.  No, the SS and the BL both have a purpose, and except for the Tower, Salidar, and Black Ajah, there is are only two factions of Aes Sedai with a purpose and unity- the Dragonsworn, and Cadsuane's clique.  Neither Bl nor SS is acting on orders from Rand, and they were in place before anyone swore fealty to Rand (at the least, the BL had to have set out before Dumai's Wells). <br /><br />I believe Cadsuane, who in WH mentioned gathering in sisters she trusted for her mission to Rand, is far more prepared than has been revealed so far.  <br />-The SS arrived in Caemlyn right after Rand was chased out by the Salidar embassy. (Notice two disappeared before reaching Egwene with the Two Rivers girls.  What's up with that?)  This kind of indicates they were going there knowing Rand was in the City. We don't know when Cadsuane arrived in Cairhien, just that it was after Rand was kidnapped and Sorilea went after him.  If Kiruna and Bera were able to catch up to Rand dragging an army along, Cadsuane and a large group of sisters (Merise, Kumira, Daigian, Corele, Samitsu, Niande, and at least five more-Rand mentioned seeing Cadsuane with six sisters he had never seen in the aftermath of the renegade's attack on the Sun Palace, and he had seen all the above except for Merise) should have been able to get from Caemlyn to Cairhien in the same amount of time, especially if they took a boat up from Aringill.  Cadsuane would likely have told her followers to meet her in Caemlyn, and she would likely have left a party behind to give orders to latecomers and keep an eye on things in case Rand came back.  <br /><br />-Since she keeps everything under control that she can and lays groundwork ahead of time to aid her plans for Rand (her and Verin dropping in on the Counsels of Far Madding and playing 'good cop/bad cop' while threatening them with what Rand might do as he has them surrounded, is an example), she would certainly have sent a few sisters to the Borderlands in case she needed to go there or use them to work on Rand.  <br /><br />-Sisters might also have gone to Ethenielle and Easar, but the departures were made with great stealth, so they could have missed the two rulers.  Tenobia met hers &quot;by chance&quot; and Paitar's arrived before he departed.  In any case, Paitar's affection for Aes Sedai and Tenobia's unpredictability make them likely candidates (for opposite reasons) for some Cadsuane-style intervention.  She herself stays at a palace owned by a friend of the Tower in Cairhien, and she seldom allows rulers to get away with unbecoming shananegans.<br /><br />-Both groups were eager to go along on a quest whose only known object thus far is finding the Dragon Reborn.  It stands to reason that they both have plans or orders involving the Dragon and/or the Borderlanders, and wanted to come to either facilitate or prevent the rulers acheiving their ends.  As they could have hindered by exposing the plot, and helped by negotiating with Elayne and Merilille (not being aligned with Elaida means the Tower politics should not have kept them from meeting with Elayne, especially if as they see it, she's pretending to be a sister).  Their eagerness to come, and lack of aid thus far suggests they might be waiting for adapted orders, perhaps if they are hoping to meet Cadsuane when the rulers find Rand?  <br /><br />I believe this to be the most likely theory, though Black Ajah is a distant second on my list (the SS keeping apart from Elaida's Black Tower hunters, who included no Blacks), but for the reasons given above, I doubt it.</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> While trying to come up with something to play devil's advocate, I just realized that the neutrals would be the least likely group to have Black Ajah among them, as the Black Ajah would want to stay near places of influence.  Thus, it would be natural for Cadsuane to concentrate on gathering neutral Aes Sedai to help her rather than those from Salidar or the White Tower.  (Even more than because she is a neutral herself.)<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-08-18 14:07:54
subject: Dark Prophet
body:
<p>In the prologue of book two, <u>The Great Hunt</u>, we are introduced to a Shienaran Friend of the Dark.  Many people have assumed that this man is Ingtar, but I believe that this character was in fact Masema. 	<br /><br />I believe that this Dark Friend was not Ingtar, because Ingtar never seemed to be that involved in the aiding the Dark One's 'cause' (if you doubt this, simply consider the fact that Ingtar redeemed himself in the end- he turned against the Dark One when he saved Rand and the others in Falme). Instead, it seems to me that he 'turned to the dark side' because he was upset that the Borderlands were not receiving enough aid or recognition from the other lands. His heart was not truly in it (being a Dark Friend). The Dark Friend in the prologue, on the other hand, seems much more involved in the Dark One's agenda.  First, he is &#8220;invited&#8221; to what seems to be a high level meeting, and second, upon hearing that the Dragon has been reborn he asks, &#8220;We are to kill him, Great Lord?&#8221; This does not sound like someone of Ingtar&#8217;s thinking, but rather a <i>hardcore</i> Friend of the Dark.<br /><br />Now, on to why I believe Masema is not only a Dark Friend but was also the Shienaran in the prologue.  In the prologue the Dark Friends are shown &#8216;pictures&#8217; of Rand, Matt, and Perrin, and given specific instructions relating to future missions. They also received secret subliminal instructions that they cannot remember, but will act upon when the situation arises. <br /> <br />This explains why Masema&#8217;s feelings toward Rand change so dramatically. When Masema first meets Rand he recognizes him from the pictures, and cannot hide his hatred for the person his master has singled out. Masema&#8217;s instructions might just have been to watch Rand, or even prevent Rand from leaving Fal Dara. Who else would have sent those mysterious instructions that &#8216;no one was allowed to leave without written permission?&#8217;  When Rand asked if Lord Agelmar was the one who specifically sent the instructions, Masema&#8217;s reaction turned quite odd: &#8220;Masema blinked at that, and his perpetual frown deepened; he almost appeared to forget Rand&#8217;s packs.&#8221; (TGH, p.25)<br /> <br />Let us get back to Masema&#8217;s conversion. When Rand finally declared himself the Dragon Reborn, Masema became his most loyal follower. He turned into a fanatic and declared himself a prophet, believing himself to be destined to spread the word and the will of the Dragon. He and his followers wreak havoc upon several countries, commit atrocities in Rand&#8217;s name, and now (according to the Wise Ones) pose a mortal threat to Rand, himself. <br /> <br />Masema and his followers are accomplishing several of the Dark One&#8217;s directives. One of the orders, to increase the amount of chaos in the world, they carry out by waging mindless wars, causing starvation and terror.  Secondly, the prophet&#8217;s &#8216;good works&#8217; only serve to turn much of the general population against Rand, using basically these same tactics. Also, I believe that they work with the underlying assumption that if Rand cannot be turned he must die. This explains why the Wise Ones consider Masema to be such a danger. I believe that Masema&#8217;s fanaticism stems from the subconscious instructions placed by in his head during the Dark Friend gathering.<br /> <br />That&#8217;s my story and I&#8217;m sticking to it. <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/wink.gif" border="0" /><br /></p><p><b>Lauriana Sedai says:</b> OK, well I'm going to play devil's advocate here just a bit. Before I do that, though, I have to admit that there is no real way of being certain that Ingtar <i>was</i> at the DF meeting in the Prologue (although I believe he was), and I think your idea that it was Masema is, if nothing else, very original.  I certainly hadn't considered it.  But when Rand noticed that Masema was constantly glaring at him, I assumed that Masema (like so many of the other soldiers in the group) felt uneasy around Rand simply because his features were so obviously Aiel. All and all, though, this is something I'd never considered.  I have to give you two thumbs up, if only for sheer originality <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/biggrin.gif" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-08-18 15:20:54
subject: The Real Reason Asmodean will not be Resurrected
body:
<p>I don&#8217;t believe that Asmodean will be resurrected, but not because he was Balefired (in fact, I personally don't think that he <i>was</i> Balefired). I have read somewhere (I don&#8217;t really remember where) that when someone dies his soul is put in a HUGE pool of souls where all dead souls go except for those of the Balefired. <br /><br />Now how does the Dark One recognize the different souls that he plans to resurrect when he&#8217;s reviving Forsaken?  I think that the only way the Dark One was able to recognize the dead soul of, say, Aginor, from the millions others was by the Forsaken&#8217;s special ties to the Dark One. If you&#8217;ll recall, Rand cuts Asmodean off from his connection to the Dark One when they fight for the Choedan Kal in Rhuidean (those &#8216;black threads&#8217; connected to the man). I think that it is only by maintaining these bonds that the Dark One can recognize a Forsaken and thus put him or her in a new body. So, if my theory is right, we won't be seeing Asmodean for quite some time, not because he died by Bale-Fire, but because Rand severed his link to the Dark One.<br /></p><p><b>Lauriana Sedai says:</b> I'd feel a lot more comfortable with this theory if you remembered where you'd read about that afterlife (the collection of souls), <i>but</i> I do like your idea about the Dark One's bond lasting after the Forsaken's deaths.  Very nice <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/read.gif" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-08-20 13:12:39
subject: What nations are in the Seanchan blacklist?
body:
<p>When the Seanchan came, it came as a major shock to the royal courts of the Westlands similar to the shock received from the Mongol invasion of Europe or the Spanish invasion of the Americas. Many of the monarchs (and some of the readers, I'm sure) worried about which nation would be next to suffer from the damane.<br /><br />Robert Jordan often uses reciprocation and symmetry in WoT, and also uses the theme of history repeating. So, with that, we need to look back to similar shockingly quick conquests in Westlandish history. Only one instance in history matches the Seanchan path of conquest: The War of the Second Dragon (Guaire Amalasan) before Artur Hawkwing's Consolidation. Refer to the WoT Guide.<br /><br />Allow me to summarize the Second Dragon's conquests.<br /><br />First Amalasan proclaimed himself in Darmovan, then moved to swallow the following nations in order (Amalasan's nations are coupled with approximate &quot;modern&quot; equivalents in this list):<br /><br />Darmovan = Toman Head and Almoth Plain<br />Balasun and Elan Dapor = Tarabon and the Shadow Coast<br />Kharendor = Amadicia and the Shadow Coast<br />Dhowlan = Ghealdan<br />Farashelle = the Two Rivers and Baerlon Province<br />Shiota = Altara and Illian<br />Nerevan = Murandy<br />Esandara = Far Madding and Hills of Kintara<br />Fergansea = Plains of Maredo<br />Moreina = Tear and Mayene (the Stone was not taken, but was kept under siege)<br />The nations below were in danger of falling:<br />Talmour = Haddon Mirk<br />Khodomar = area between Cairhien and Haddon Mirk<br />Fierce fighting had begun in the nations below:<br />Masenashar and Dal Calain=Caralain Grass<br />Aldeshar = Andor west of the River Cary<br /><br />Does this kind of dominoes effect by Amalasan sound familiar? The Seanchan landed on Toman Head, before taking Tarabon, Amadicia and Altara. The latest reports of known Seanchan advances as of Glimmers show them to be moving up towards Arad Doman, advancing into Illian again, and High Lady Suroth has her eyes on Murandy due to hearing of the Aes Sedai army vanishing there. When Morgase was still in Amador, High Lady Suroth thought to use Morgase to gain control of Andor.<br /><br />Rand heard merchants in Far Madding talking of the Stone of Tear being under siege. Now we don't know who is attacking Tear, but it's a sure bet the besiegers are Seanchan trying to outflank the Asha'man danger in Illian. It is customary for Seanchan to put puppets in local thrones, so the Tairen High Lord Darlin may be made king of Tear, if he's caught be the Seanchan, thereby fulfilling Min's prophecy.<br /><br />What about Ghealdan and western Andor? The cleansing of saidin would be sensed by any channeler in the world, so the Seanchan sul'dam, concerned with the HUGE amount of Power in Shadar Logoth (western Caralain Grass), would push the Hailene to slash their way over the Mountains of Mist or north through Ghealdan and Andor. Mat and gang fleeing toward the Tower of Ghenjei with the Seanchan in hot pursuit would leave a path of destructive conquest through Ghealdan and Andor as well. Let's not forget the suspicion that the strange bird sighted by one of Logain's bonded Sisters flying over the Black Tower in Andor may be a Seanchan raken scout (refer to Glimmers). (As far as I can make out, the Black Tower is somewhere north of the road between Caemlyn and Aringill.)<br /><br />Granted, the Seanchan conquest would not perfectly parallel that of Guaire Amalasan, but RJ, several times, had characters thinking or talking about Amalasan in a place that later fell to the Hailene. This puts a suggestive spin to Verin Sedai's discussion of Amalasan's three weeks siege of Far Madding, when she was &quot;innocently&quot; intimidating the Far Madding Counsels beside Cadsuane Sedai.<br /><br />Whenever a nation falls to the Seanchan, the conquerors make sure that the conquered land is put under absolute control of whoever happens to sit in the native throne (legitimately or appointed by the Seanchan), even if the monarch is a puppet of the Empress, like Queen Tylin. Rebellion or serious dissension by the people or Houses is not tolerated at all. Should Andor be in their agenda, this would surely help Elayne be queen of much more than just Caemlyn, bringing the quarrelsome Houses to heel.<br /><br />The question becomes this: will the Seanchan accomplish all the above before or after Rand &quot;bind the Nine Moons to himself&quot;?</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> Yes, the first few countries do parallel each other between each list.  But it seems to divert from there.  For instance, as far as I know, the Seanchan haven't conquered the Two Rivers.  I favor simple explanation: they both started in Toman Head; therefore, they both had to deal with similar geography in the beginning of their strategizing.  If Jordan really wanted to draw an extended parallel between the two, would he have allowed deviation so early on?<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-08-23 15:15:39
subject: The Real Reason CoT is delayed.
body:
<p>Here, I propose the real reason that CoT was delayed.  Not only that, I will also show who the third voice is in Rands head and why LTT vanished in CoS and didn't reappear until PoD.<br /><br />A true understanding of why CoT was delayed begins with a simple question.  How does RJ create a world that is so vividly real?  The answer of course is that he lived the life himself.  More to the point he has the voice of Rand al'Thor in his head.<br /><br />The proof is simple and conclusive.  Rand has three voices in his head: his own, LTT, and the 'other one'.  Now these three, of course refer to the standard trilogy, related to the Hindu trinity, of Creator, Protector, and Destroyer.  LTT states in Winter's Heart that neither himself nor Rand nor the 'other one' were creators.  On the other hand, we all know that LTT is mad and one of them HAS to be the creator. So, which of the three is the creator.  The answer is simple.  LTT destroyed the world.  Rand will protect the world from the DO.  Therefore the 'other one' must be a creator.  Who exactly is this creator?  RJ!!!!!<br /><br />Being the third dragon, it is only logical that RJ has the voice of Rand al'Thor in his head.  It is because of Rand al'Thor's voice in RJ's head that RJ's world is so vivid.  (To a smaller degree LTT's voice will be present as well, which explains about the prologue to the EotW.) <br /><br />This also explains why the books are often delayed; for, as we have seen in CoS and PoD voices of dead people in your head can disappear for a while.  RJ can only write about the WoT whenever Rand's voice is in his head.  RJ deliberately disguises the fact that Rand has left his head by pretending that he has to edit the story more; LIKELY STORY!  <br /><br />So why does RJ's muse disappear from occasion?  The question is best answered by examining why LTT appeared and disappears from Rand's head.  The answer is that Rand's voice disappears when he gets sexually satisfied.  The same is probably true for RJ.<br /><br />The proof is rather simple.  There is a strong correlation between Rand's sex life and LTT's voice.  The first sign that something may be wrong was when Rand was in the stone of Tear talking to Lanfear and he blurts out 'you (Lanfear) always loved power.'  This was right about the time Rand was experiencing his first sexual frustration.  He was making out a lot with Elayne but they didn't go all the way.  At the time he wasn't fully aware of his sexual frustration and therefore it was not a full blown voice of LTT that it turns into later.<br /><br />Fast forward to the beginning of FoH where Rand is becoming extremely sexually frustrated with Aviendha.  At first he doesn't realize how frustrated he is and therefore the voice of LTT is very subconcience.  Later as the frustration builds with Aviendha stripping naked in front of him, and worse having sex with him only once, LTT's voice gets stronger.  <br /><br />LTTs voice remains in Rand's head until not too long after he and Min start having sex regularly in CoS.  From there LTT remains quiet until after Rand goes to war (without Min!) with the Seanchan.  The voice abates somewhat in WH but doesn't disappear completly.   This is probably because of all the travel they are doing.  There just isn't enough time to completely satisfy Rand's frustration.  <br /><br />In summary the real reason that CoT is delayed is that RJ's wife is giving him too much attention.</p><p><b>Raserei says:</b> LOL! <br /><br />You strike a likely theory, perhaps we should all gather and see if perhaps this is true. Maybe take RJ to a secluded cabin and force him to write. Yes, I like your thinking! <br /><br />Again, LOL. <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/biggrin.gif" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-08-24 00:41:31
subject: Why she did it
body:
<p>We all know that Owyn was gentled in his village by the Red Ajah. I think that Elaida did it. Not herself but I think she gave the command that it should be done.<br /><br />And the reason she did this, was that Thom had too big a infulence over Morgase. Elaida became the adviser of Morgase for her Foretelling said that Andor was the key to winning the Last Battle and she thought that Thom was in her way to prepare Andor for that.<br /><br />So she needed a reason to get him away and when she found out that his nephew could channel she told her sisters to gentle him and guessed that since he was Thoms only relative that he would try to help him. <br />And when Thom was away did she turn Morgase agianst him so he had to leave and give her the &quot;power&quot; over Morgase.</p><p><b>StoneDogAiel says:</b> Interesting thoughts. You could very well be right. We'll just have to wait until Rand gives Moiraines letter to Thom, so we can find out the names of the perpatrators.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-08-24 14:25:23
subject: Fain gains power from Sammael's death
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<p>We know that Padan Fain gets his &quot;power&quot; from Shadar Logoth. He is part of Shadar Logoth and it is part of him. [(LoC, Ch2<img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/crazy.gif" border="0" /><br /><br />But did you notice his increase in powers after Mashadar fell on Sammael and killed him? [ACoS, Ch41]<br /><br />After Sammael dies in Shadar Logoth, Fain's &quot;powers&quot; grow so that when he attacks Rand in Far Madding he uses new powers to create an Illusion.  As Rand starts to follow after Fain, he sees a vision of Gedwyn and Torval climbing up.  Rand slashes through the visions and slashes the side of Fain's face. [WH, Ch33]<br /><br />Sammael often used the power of illusion like when he and Graendal meet with Sevanna. He used illusion to masquerade as Caddar. [ACoS, Ch20]<br /><br />I think that Fain gained this power of illusion after Mashadar took Sammael in Shadar Logoth. In other words, Fain gained some of the powers of the Forsaken when Shadar Logoth took one of the Forsaken, which is a part of him and he of it.</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> In a way it fits with Fain's familiarity with the Black Wind, what with the Black Wind being a collection of consumed souls.  And it could further explain why Fain was unaffected by the fade he nailed up as an example.  Also, it might clarify why &quot;Sammael is toast&quot; - the Dark One can't resurrect him because his soul is in Mordeth's possession.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-08-25 09:57:13
subject: Yet Another Piece in the Verin Puzzle
body:
<p>I have submitted this theory three times and added more evidence each time, so hopefully this time it will get posted.<br /><br />I think that Verin can sense Saidin, the ability to channel in a male, and perhaps even see weaves made out of saidin.  An unusual talent for just an ordinary female channeler.<br /><br />First, there is the scene in The Great Hunt when Verin makes the following slip.<br /><br />&#8220;&#8216;He is stubborn as you said Moiraine. Much stronger than I expected. We may have to gentle him after all before&#8230;&#8217; Her eyes widened. &#8216;But we cannot, can we? The Prophecies.&#8217;&#8221;<br /><br />We were to assume that when she said &quot;he is stronger than I expected,&quot; she was talking about Moiraine's warning about his stubbornness...but then, why did she follow that statement with a statement about his channeling(we may have to gentle him after all)?  Additionally, how could she have gauged his stubbornness in that one conversation?  Also, given RJ's penchant to use semicolons, wouldn't he have used that to seperate her first two statements rather than a period if they were part of the same thought?  Another important grammatical note in that quote is &quot;after all&quot; she seems to have changed her mind about leaving him ungentled.  Why?  Because she gauged just how strong he is.  Also, after she said that, her &quot;eyes widened&quot; is this because she realized they can't gentle him?  Or because she realized she had made a mistake?<br /><br />Secondly, and also in The Great Hunt, she says the following in response to the saying about birds teaching fish to fly relating to women and men in the power...<br /><br />&#8220;&#8216;I have always thought that was a bad saying,&#8217; Verin said suddenly. &#8216;There are birds that dive and swim. And in the Sea of Storms are fish that fly, with long fins that stretch out as wide as your outstretched arms...&#8217;&#8221;<br /><br />This indicates more unusual knowledge of saidin.  Was she perhaps hinting at something?<br /><br />Thirdly, in LoC in her PoV, she thinks about how she warned Siuan and Moiraine just how dangerous Rand was.  We can assume that Siuan and Moiraine both knew how dangerous he was for being the Dragon Reborn, but they didn't know exactly how strong he was.  Could this be what she warned them about?  A little later she ponders to herself whether it would take the full thirteen to shield him.  Those two thoughts seem to be connected, and since the latter is about his strength in the power, it's safe to say that the first one is too.<br /><br />For this final section, you may first want to read Paragraph 2 of the section entitled &quot;Reactions to Rand&quot; in the theory entitled &quot;Dispelling something on Verin's seventy-year plan.&quot;<br /><br />In Caemlyn, Verin advises the embassy from Salidar not to approach Rand in force.  This is because she knows that they do not have a snowball's chance in the Three-fold land of controlling him.  In fact she says that it would be like putting a &quot;wolf on a leash a thread thick.&quot;  This evidence also points to an exact knowledge of Rand's strength in the power.<br /><br />All of this evidence (and probably more that i missed) points to Verin having an intimate knowledge of the workings of Saidin.  I'm not going to attempt to guess what this means about Verin, so at the moment, it's just another piece in the puzzling enigma that is Verin Mathwin.</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> Good idea.  There's also that statement in TGH about damane that so many people took to be a lie.  Maybe it was another slip of the tongue.  Does anyone recall if Verin wears any ornaments?  Maybe she's got a ter'angrael similar in function to Cadsuane's.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-08-25 10:08:23
subject: The Eye of the World and the Choedan Kal
body:
<p><b> Intro </b><br /><br />We know that there at least two keys to each of Choedan Kal, for a total of 4 keys.  So far we have seen 3 of the keys.  This theory concerns the 2nd female access key, and speculates on how it was broken.  <br /><br /><b> Background </b><br /><br />In tSR, Chapter 11, Egwene is in the dreamworld in Tanchico.  She locates the key:  <br /><br /><i>&quot;One thing actually seemed familiar, though she could not say why. Tucked into a corner of one of the cabinets, as if whoever put it there had been uncertain that it was worthy of display, lay the upper half of a broken figure carved from some shiny white stone, a woman holding a crystal sphere in one upraised hand, her face calm and dignified and full of wise authority. Whole, she would have been perhaps a foot tall. But why did she appear so familiar? She almost seemed to call Egwene to pick her up.&quot; </i><br /><br />From this passage, it is obvious that this is the 2nd access ter'angreal to the most powerful female sa&#8217;angreal ever made.  It is broken, but there is a possibility that Elayne could fix it at a later date.  As far as we know, this ter&#8217;angreal is still in Tanchico, but it could be retrieved later in the story.    <br /><br />But my question is this:  Why is it broken?  <br /><br />From the last chapter of WH, we saw the other female key broken, strained from cleansing the taint.  Could it be that the 2nd ter&#8217;angreal key that Egwene saw in dreamworld was also broken cleansing the taint from something else?  Perhaps from the Eye of the World?<br /><br /><br /><b>  Pertinent observations </b><br /><br />In the Guide, it says that the Eye of the World was made by <i>&#8220;one hundred Aes Sedai men and women working together.  They died in the making of it, but they insured its purity despite the taint.&#8221;</i><br /><br />I have a few observations.  First of all, what is the significance of one hundred people?  From the Guide, we know that the largest number of men and women that can link together is 72.  Therefore, why were 100 people used?<br /><br />Secondly, it is clear that a circle of 72 male and female channelers is nothing compared to one channeler using the female Choedan Kal (in the last chapter of WH, one of the Aes Sedai observed that Nynaeve was probably channeling more power than all of the Aes Sedai and all the sa&#8217;angreals in the WT combined). To me, this means that one hundred channelers were probably not powerful enough to extract the taint from the Eye, especially if they were not all linked together.  To me, this suggests that these people had another purpose than sheer power.  What was this purpose?  <br /><br />Thirdly, Shadar Logoth did not exist in the AoL, therefore the taint from the Eye of the World had to be cleansed using a different method from the one Rand used.  Therefore, what method was used to cleanse the Eye?  <br /><br /><b> The theory </b><br /><br />Putting together these observations, here is my theory:<br />In the Age of Legends, the taint was removed from the Eye of the World, in a similar, but slightly different, way than Rand in WH.  Basically, Rand&#8217;s method was to destroy the taint, by counterbalancing it with the Shadar Logoth evil.  But since there was no SL in the AoL, the Aes Sedai could not conceive of removing the whole taint.  However, they reasoned that they could buffer a portion of the taint with their bodies.  This is the reason 100 channelers were used.  The 100 channelers sacrificed themselves, by being the receiving agents from the taint in the Eye of the world.  <br /><br />Thus, the taint was cleaned using both of the Choedan Kal access keys.  The female key broke from the strain, just like it broke in WH.  However, since the amount of the taint cleansed from Eye was so much smaller than the amount cleansed in WH, the access key was only partially broken.<br /><br /><b> Conclusion </b><br /><br />The 2nd female key to the Choedan Kal was broken cleansing the Eye of the World.  It was only partially broken, as opposed to shattered, since it only cleaned a very small portion of the taint.  The 100 Aes Sedai who sacrificed themselves, served the same purpose that Shadar Logoth did in WH.  This purpose was to counterbalance the taint.  <br /><br />This is my version of what happened what happened to the second female key to the Choedan Kal.<br /><br />Flame away.<br /><br /></p><p><b>Burr says:</b> One thing we need to consider, on the other hand, is Rand was cleansing the <i>whole</i> of saidin in the world, whereas the Eye of the World was a reservoir of unknown size relative to the whole.  It may have been a very small amount in comparison.  If that is the case, then maybe 72 channelers <i>were</i> linked, and the others were there to protect them from the denizens of the Blight.  The sa'angrael may have already been broken at this time; perhaps by saving a city during the Breaking, or any other number of such possibilities.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-08-28 20:06:10
subject: Cats and Dogs
body:
<p>CATS AND DOGS<br /><br />INTRODUCTION AND EVIDENCE<br /> <br />We are all more than aware that Robert Jordan draws from mythology for creative influences. We see Arthurian Legend, Norse Mythology, and to a lesser degree Greek Mythology&#8230; but where is the Egyptian? I know that this is not evidence in and of itself for what I will claim, but it does sort of make you wonder&#8230; I will try not to present this like some of the more crazy theories.<br /><br />Throughout the series we see that wolves, dogs, and cats are able to in some way detect the ability to channel in people and perhaps even sense channeling itself. The bottom line is this: Cats and Dogs have some strange connection to the Power. We see this when Perrin notes that the wolves found the ability to tell an Aes Sedai from a normal woman to be no stranger &#8220;than being able to tell a black horse out of a herd of white horses.&#8221; Also in Winter&#8217;s Heart we note the way the Dogs swarm and attack the Aes Sedai in the Black Tower and the way the Asha&#8217;man&#8217;s wives say that they can&#8217;t have cats because &#8220;They won&#8217;t abide the husband.&#8221; And yet again Verin thinks to herself that no Aes Sedai has ever been harmed by a Cat. Also in The Eye of the World when Moraine walks into the Queen&#8217;s Blessing the cat takes an immediate liking to her. I believe that this is more than what it appears. Some of us, those with so much free time on our hands we actually sit around and read myths, also know that the Egyptians placed a near divine regard on cats and dogs, they were considered holy in that culture. It doesn&#8217;t seem likely that this ability of Cats and Dogs to sense the ability to channel, especially the way each seem to lean toward either saidin or saidar is an element without meaning. I have more faith in Robert Jordan than to believe that this is some random part of the story that he has simply flung into the plot. The story is thought out and the science of the One Power is thought out.<br /><br />HUMANS CHANNELING THE ONE POWER<br /><br />Humans did not always channel the One Power, I know that some will debate this but Elyas said to Perrin, &#8220;This is older than channeling boy, older than humans touching the power&#8221; in response to Perrin&#8217;s questions about his wolf brother abilities. I know some of you will say this is from Elyas&#8217; point of view and thus could be wrong, but his knowledge most likely came from the wolves and I believe the wolves in this matter. This means that at some point human beings did not channel. Thus the ability had to be instilled in them.<br /><br />When first beginning to touch the power the Channeler experiences all sorts of mood swings and will do rash things. The Eye of the World has most of this evidence, seeing as how Moraine says it right out to Nynaeve. Remember how Rand sat atop the Crow&#8217;s Nest on the Spray and how he challenged the Whitecloaks in Baerlon and how he got sick on the Road to Caemlyn. Also the channeler becomes ill and can often die. This is very similar to what would result from a massive hormone imbalance. The Body of the Channeler must adjust to the hormone imbalance, which I believe somehow allows for touching the source, or else the imbalance will kill the channeler. To produce these sort of effects the channeler must have hormones not normally in the human body. So&#8230; here it goes. I believe that when Aes Sedai were first created in the Age before the Age of Legends Cat and Dog DNA, was added to human DNA to somehow allow human beings to tap the Power. I do not, however, believe this came about immediately: I think there were many transitory steps before the channelers were finally achieved.<br /><br />OGIER, SNIFFERS, AND WOLFBROTHERS<br /><br />Although I have not yet concluded how the power is carried genetically I do believe that the power is genetic. Take a look at the people in the Wheel of Time who have special abilities other than touching the Power. There is Hurin, who smells violence, Perrin who can talk to wolves, and the Ogier who are not human and can make trees grow by singing to them. <br /><br />Notice that Perrin and Hurin&#8217;s talents are both dog-like in the way they work. Perrin&#8217;s is dog like because no duh he can talk to wolves. And Hurin can smell violence, which I take to mean he can smell the pheromones secreted by violent acts. Both seem to imply that Dog or Wolf DNA was in some way used to add these abilites, but simply adding this DNA is not enough to produce a channeler. I think that Perrin and Hurin were precursors to a glorious accident. In the Age before the Age of Legends, which I personally take to be our age, human scientists were probably seeking to create a super soldier and spliced human and dog DNA in hopes of doing this. The Ogier probably resulted from similar experiments.<br /><br />Ogier have cat-like features; notice how Loial&#8217;s ears twitch when he&#8217;s upset. Up until Glimmers this is all I&#8217;ve had to go on for evidence for the Ogier. And it was so slim that I didn&#8217;t want to post it. But now that Jordan has said that Ogier can&#8217;t be Wolfbrothers I&#8217;m sure it&#8217;s because their part cat. I know the evidence for this isn&#8217;t very strong and I&#8217;m sorry. I cannot however believe that Ogier evolved naturally, there are simply too many mutations to make it likely. And even though he writes Fantasy Jordan is a scientist.<br /><br />Perhaps when those in our age, another leap of faith, were genetically altering people the Wolfbrothers came about and they learned of the World of Dreams and thus the One Power. Anyway&#8230; somehow scientists learned about the power and they wanted to link people to it.<br /><br />THE PERSON AND THE CONDUIT<br /><br />Recall how Siuan can sense Moghedien through the A&#8217;dam even though she cannot channel through Moghedien. This implies that the channeling itself is consistent of two parts: some innate part of Siuan (the hormones?) and conduit connecting her to the True Source. When the conduit was severed the hormonal and physical changes in Siuan remained. We see from this that simple alteration of human DNA is not enough to make someone channel. Some link to the One Power must also accompany the physical changes in the channeler.<br /><br />How this was done is something I have not yet figured out, but after participants were altered genetically a Tube of the Power, or something was else that allowed them to Draw and Channel the One Power through it, was attached to the channelers. I believe this was the final step in the Wolfbrother, Sniffer and Ogier experiments. Dog DNA was given to the male participants and Cat DNA was given to the female participants, because Cats and Dogs must possess some natural link to the Power. A whole bunch of scientific experiments later we have our channelers and the end of the first age.<br /><br />THE FALL OF THE FIRST AGE<br /><br />Let&#8217;s face it; in a world where the One Power never before existed, it would be used by the world governments as a weapon and to reap destruction. The Channelers laid waist to the land and what arose from the ashes of our age was the Age of Legends. I&#8217;m going to post another theory about why Randland is definitely Earth, so until you read it please just take it on faith that the Age before the Age of Legends was ours. Please.<br /><br />THE OATH RODS<br /><br />This is another theory of mine but it&#8217;s one I should put down here, sometime during this great holocaust that ended our Age, which I believe to be the First Age, it was a necessity for those who possessed the Channelers to be able to control them. Simple orders from a non-channeling human are not enough to ensure obedience from a human weapon, thus they created an Oath Rod and made the Channelers swear fealty to their governments. I believe the Oath Rods, rather than having originated in the Age of Legends, originated in the First Age as a means of controlling Aes Sedai. This is probably why Aes Sedai were called the Servants.</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> I'm not sure if having twitching ears is enough to say that Ogier are cat-like.  Are cats the only animals with twitchy ears?  I'm not sure if I'm ready to accept a direct connection in origin between the Wolfbrothers, Ogier, Sniffers, and channelers.  There can't be Ogier Wolfbrothers, but didn't RJ also imply that there could be female Wolfbrothers?  (I haven't read the interview; please correct me if I'm wrong.)  If that is so, then why do dogs dislike female Aes Sedai?  Also, because the Oath Rod is a ter'angrael, it was probably made by channelers; how were channelers controlled before its making?  Anyhow, despite my doubts, which are to be expected given how little we know, I appreciate the way you've woven all this information together.  Even if it later turns out not to be true, it makes a good story.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-08-29 04:35:10
subject: The Not so Legendary Age of Legends
body:
<p>THE NOT SO LEGENDARY AGE OF LEGENDS<br /><br />Every single utopian society to date, that men have tried to sustain has failed. So what was different about the Age of Legends?<br /><br />CHORA DOPE<br /><br />In any given population, except for Wheel of Time fans who like me are probably gentle and kind nerds who sit at the computer all day, there is what I like to call the &#8220;asshole&#8221; factor. Now it&#8217;s a funny name but you&#8217;ll notice it&#8217;s true. It doesn&#8217;t take many people to make a plan go awry, probably no more than seven or ten out of a hundred people. You know the ones, the guys and girls who always swear in traffic, who always call and write to complain about something and are generally just making mountains out of molehills. But the simple existence of these &#8220;assholes&#8221; is what prevents a Utopian society. So in the Age of Legends something was done about this. I know this is presented in a humorous tone but it might just be true.<br /><br />We know that in the Age of Legends chora trees lined every city and that a city without chora trees was unthinkable. We also know that anyone who sits under a chora tree experiences a natural sense of peace and well being, this coming from Rand&#8217;s point of view in the Shadow Rising when he went to Rhuidean. So here is what I now postulate&#8230; or theorize actually. In the Age of Legends chora trees were used to ensure a natural calm over the people. Now I don&#8217;t know if chora trees utilized the one power, or produced a natural tranquilizer, but they probably doped the population into harmony somehow. Not only this but there are more ethnically questionable techniques incorporated in the Age of Legends.<br /><br />OATH RODS<br /><br />By the way I just wanted to throw a bit in here, that may help clarify something in the prologue to the &#8220;Eye of the World.&#8221; Remember when Ishamael says to Lews Therin, &#8220;Once you summoned the nine rods of dominion.&#8221; To me it just seems likely that the oath rods are the nine rods of dominion&#8230; because 1) their rods and 2) they dominate people. Well&#8230; anyway as we all know Aes Sedai were made to swear on an oath rod to ensure their obedience and servitude to the people. But at the same time this probably wasn't done to all Aes Sedai, I remember one of the Forsaken said they went over to the Shadow because they had wanted to &quot;Bind&quot; her, I'm just speculating that it was taking the Oaths she was talking about. I think it was Semhirage. Most channelers proabably didn't want to sacrifice their long life spans, but I'm guessing they earned ranks by taking the oaths... well anyway. This is another way that the population of the AOL was shackled by the ruling government of the age.<br /><br />THE HIGH SEAT<br /><br />This is another thing I nabbed from the &#8220;Eye of the World Prologue&#8221; where Ishamael says to Lews Therin &#8220;Once you sat on the High Seat.&#8221; Ever since then I&#8217;ve been waiting for a seat or some kind of throne to appear in the books. And with the Seanchan and the Crystal throne I think I now know what the High Seat is. If you will recall that one of the Seanchan, I&#8217;m sorry I&#8217;m moving and I don&#8217;t have my books with me for reference, said that they were filled with ecstasy and awe when sitting in front of the Empress who sits on her Crystal Throne. I know it&#8217;s a stretch but when there&#8217;s so little evidence it&#8217;s the only way to make a theory and support&#8230; but I&#8217;m guessing the Crystal Throne is probably the High Seat from the Age of Legends but now on Seanchan. Now&#8230; for the purpose of the High Seat.<br /><br />From the way the Seanchan soldier described the Crystal Throne I&#8217;m thinking that it&#8217;s a ter&#8217;angreal that helps with mass compulsion. Notice how loyal all the Seanchan are to the Empress &#8220;may she live forever&#8221; and RJ keeps dropping hints about what fanatics they all are? In the Age of Legends this was probably used by the head of the Aes Sedai (The Tamrilyn?) to control the Aes Sedai beneath them or the populace itself. If this is true there&#8217;d probably be no darkfriends seeing as how they&#8217;d all be too compelled out of their minds to swear to the shadow, and I haven&#8217;t been able to work around this so I&#8217;d appreciate your comments. My guess is that use of the High Seat was prohibited, because Compulsion is just a bad thing I guess. But as I said I&#8217;m not sure.<br /><br />P.S. If anyone has a guess as to what the Ring of the Tamrilyn is I&#8217;d like to hear it. My guess is it&#8217;s an angreal of some sort.<br /></p><p><b>StoneDogAiel says:</b> First of all...nicely well thought out theory. I do however disagree on some points. 1. I don't know what the Nine Rods of Dominion are, but I do know that Aes Sedai didn't start swearing on the Oath Rod until after the Trolloc Wars. 2. I personally think that the High Seat was just what they called the Amyrlin Seat in the AOL. 3. Which brings up that the Ring of Tamyrlin was the symbol of office, just like the modern day stole.<br /><br />Anyways, like I said, quality theory. Nice Job. <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/smile.gif" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-08-30 07:34:53
subject: Moiraine compelled Rand
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<p>Take a quick look in The Eye of the World.  All emphasis mine, and all quotes are from <u>The Eye of the World</u>, Chapter 8, <i>A Place of Safety</i><br /><br />&quot;He stared, then realized it was the blackened stump of the Spring Pole.  A fine Bel Tine, with a peddler, and a gleeman, and strangers.  <i>He shivered</i> and shook his head violently.&quot;<br /><br />Moiraine is embracing saidar here.  A little bit later, Moiraine is trying to convince Rand he needs to leave Emond's Field.  He's imagining in his head what will happen if he doesn't leave.<br /><br />&quot;'No,' he said, <i>and felt a wrenching inside</i> as if he had lost his grip on something . . . A last trace of obstinacy made him add 'If they really are after me.'  Moiraine's eyebrows raised <i>as if she were surprised</i> that he was not convinced.&quot;<br /><br />That's compulsion if I ever saw it.  And she's surprised.  What, didn't work the first time?<br /><br />Then just a paragraph later.<br /><br />&quot;'No,' he said again, and felt the emptiness inside again, too.&quot;<br /><br />Well, let's give it another try.<br /><br />Moiraine has saidar, then just a page later, he starts showing some signs of compulsion?  Not to mention the half a dozen references to her being able to read his mind in a very few pages.  Is all that coincidence?  Since when does Robert Jordan slip in meaningless coincidences?<br /><br />I think Moiraine wasn't quite sure she'd succeed in convincing him to leave.  So, perhaps she has a few more tricks up her sleeve than we thought.  Sneaky little witch.</p><p><b>Vercingetorix says:</b> Maybe.  Or maybe he's just torn about having to leave the only home he's ever known.  What do the rest of you think?<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-08-30 14:17:11
subject: Min Farshaw - Roofmistress
body:
<p>As we all know, the Wise Ones intend for Aviendha to marry Rand. They've been plotting and planning for that outcome since first we met them.<br /><br />Second, we know that, since Rand is a chief and Aviendha will be a Wise One, Aviendha is required to keep an eye out for a suitable sister-wife to be Rand's roofmistress.<br /><br />Third, we know that the Wise Ones can, and do, use Tel'aran'rhiod to find a mate for any clan chief who remains single too long.<br /><br />Fourth, when Min showed up in Caemlyn and found Rand, who was virtually the first person to see Rand and Min together? Melaine! That's right, the only dreamwalking Wise One currently in Caemlyn just happened to be the one to show up.<br /><br />Next, remember what she said,(paraphrasing here) &quot;I didn't expect to like you (Min).&quot; Melaine was EXPECTING to find the woman who would be Rand's roofmistress in the palace in Camelyn that day. <br /><br />Remember, when Melaine traveled with Rand and Aviendha to Caemlyn, she was on Wise Ones' business. The fact that it was Melaine and not another dreamwalker was probably because of Bael, but they specifically needed a dreamwalker because they wanted to find and meet the woman who will become the roofmistress of Rhuidean.<br /><br />Finally, remember that when Min went to Cairhien, Min ended up spending more time in the Aiel tents than she did with Rand. My guess is that she was being familiarized with Aiel customs/laws. She might even have been spending time with any roofmistresses that may have traveled to the wetlands.<br /><br />Okay, now punch holes in my theory like it's a piece of swiss cheese.<br /><br />P.S. Are the Wise Ones ever in for a surprise when Aviendha won't let Min marry Rand unless Elayne gets to marry him also.</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> If you are correct, what might be more interesting will be to see how they will arrange for Min to be a roofmistress when Rand spends so much of his time under the roofs of Elayne's palaces, at least when he is under a friendly roof at all.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-09-02 17:03:45
subject: The Wolf has a plan
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<p><b>The Wolf has a plan to regain his homeland.  This theory outlines what his plan is.</b> <br /><br />From Shimron, we know that Ituralde has faced the Seanchan before, and unsuccesfully: <br /><br /><i>&#8220;Can they be beaten back, Lord Ituralde?  I faced their chained Aes Sedai on Almoth Plain, as did you.&#8221;</i><br /><br />Ituralde has faced the Seanchan before.  He lost.  So clearly, he is not about to face them in the same conventional format that he did before. <br /><br />One of the things that I like about Ituralde is that he is tricky.  He resembles Mat Cauthon; he was not born a noble, but he was promoted to general through his sheer skill.  Ituralde has a trick up his sleeve, and a large part of it hinges on the enemy making a mistake.<br /><br /><i>&#8220;Rodel Ituralde hated waiting, though he knew it was the largest part of being a soldier.  Waiting for the next battle, for the enemy to move, to make a mistake.&#8221;</i><br /><br />The Wolf's plan is based on cutting down the Seanchan advantages.<br /><br /><i>&quot;... when you knew what the enemy could do, you adapted.  That had been one of the core of warfare long before the Seanchan appeared.  Darkness cut the Seanchan advantages, and so did storms, and a weatherwise could always tell you when a storm was coming.&quot;</i><br /><br />Ituralde's plan is complex.  <br /><br /><i>&#8220;...this plan had layers inside of layers.&#8221;</i><br /><br />Not only is Ituralde using the Tarboners, the Domani, and the Dragonsworn, he also has several armies waiting in the mountains at his command.<br /><br /><i>&quot;Once again he reviewed the orders he had sent, carried by the fastest riders he had, to every noble loyal to the King.&quot;  <br /><br />&quot;They would even hide in the mountains at his orders.&quot;</i><br /><br />Ituralde is clearly leading the Seanchan somewhere.<br /><br /><i>&#8220;Everything would be ruined before it began, if he failed to provide the bait.&#8221;</i><br /><br /><i>&#8220;The Taraboners would want to stay afterwards (from the rebellion in Tarabon), of course, and continue the fight in their own homeland.  He could not expect anything more.  Which would leave him and the few thousand men he could take with him to be hounded back north again, all the long way across Almoth plain.  If the light shone on him, hounded with fury.&#8221;</i><br /><br />So clearly, Ituralde is setting up a huge chase.  And not only does he want a small army to chase him, he wants the brunt of the Seanchan forces to chase him.  What kind of fool would want that?  Especially when the Seanchan have already beaten him once. <br /><br />Well, Ituralde wasn't raised by a fool.  The Wolf has a plan.<br /><br /><i>&quot;With any luck, furious generals would not see where he was leading them until it was too late.&quot;</i><br /><br />Where is Ituralde leading the Seanchan?  The answer, of course, is to a Stedding.  From the guide, we know that there are 6 inhabited steddings in the Mountains of Mist: Chinden, Tsofan, Yandar, Madan, Jinsiun, and Shangloon.  However, we have no indication of how many abandoned steddings that might be this area (similar to stedding Hawkwing).  <br /><br />I propose that Ituralde will lead his small force to an abandoned stedding (to avoid bloodshed on the inhabited Ogier land) in the Domani Mountains of Mist.  Inside these mountains, he will have the troops of the various Domani nobels awaiting his command.  Not only will the Seanchan have to contend with losing their damane, they will also be facing an ambush.  Leading the Seanchan into a stedding is the ultimate way for Ituralde to cut down the Seanchan advantages.     <br /><br />The battle should be a route (if everything goes according to plan), and Graendal will have to choke for awhile.  <br /><br />However, Ituralde is also aware that his plan could go wrong.  <br /><br /><i>&quot;With any luck, furious generals would not see where he was leading them until it was too late.  And if they did... Well, he had a second plan.&quot;</i><br /><br />But his 2nd plan is another theory altogether.<br /><br />Flame on<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></p><p><b>Burr says:</b> It's a good idea, assuming there <i>are</i> abandoned stedding in that area (rather than just full ones), and assuming that Ilutrude knows where they are (and since he is an experienced soldier, I suppose he might).  I have one weak test for your idea, but I can't remember if it's stated anywhere: are the damane ever used in scouting parties?  If they aren't used as scouts, then Ilutrude would have little reason to worry that the Seanchan might figure out where he was leading them, and so his worry may suggest some other plan.  But as I said, that's rather weak as a test in any case.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-09-03 14:43:53
subject: Elaida's Predicament
body:
<p>First, I want to start with some background about the Hall of the Sitters. When the hall is voting on an issue the Sitters need to reach either the Greater Consensus or the Lesser Consensus in order for the law, issue, etc. to pass. So, if there are 21 total Sitters then at least 11 Sitters need to be present in order for there to be a chance of reaching the Lesser Consensus. If one hopes to reach the Greater Consensus, then all 11 must vote positive; in order to achieve the Lesser Consensus, only two-thirds of the Sitters need to vote positive. The Greater Consensus normally requires a vote from at least one Sitter for each Ajah; the only exception to this is when the vote concerns the Un-Seating of the Amyrlin. In this case, a vote is required from each Ajah except the one from which the Amyrlin was raised. An Amyrlin can only be Un-Seated if the Greater Consensus is reached. <br />Now, in our case there are only 18 Sitters in the White Tower (as there is no Blue Ajah there), which means that we must reduce the minimum number of Sitters from 11 to 10 (more than half the Sitters are present in both cases). So in order to reach the Greater Consensus and Un-Seat Elaida, one would need 10 Sitters (at least one needs to be from each Ajah except the Red) to vote positive.<br /><br />Here is the list of the Sitters of the Hall under Elaida (this list was taken from the FAQ section of WoTmania):<br /><br />Sitters for the Red Ajah: <br />Pevara Sedai<br />Javindhra Sedai <br />Duhara Sedai <br /><br />Sitters for the Green Ajah: <br />Talene Minly (B)<br />Rubinde Sedai <br />??????<br /><br />Sitters for the Brown Ajah: <br />Saerin Asnobar<br />Shevan Sedai <br />Juilaine Madome <br /><br />Sitters for the Yellow Ajah: <br />Doesine Sedai <br />Sedore Sedai <br />Suana Dragand (H)<br /><br />Sitters for the Grey Ajah: <br />Yukiri Sedai <br />Andaya Sedai <br />??????<br /><br />Sitters for the White Ajah: <br />Seaine Herimon<br />Velina Sedai<br />Ferane Neheran (H)<br /><br /><br />Here is a passage from Glimmers: <br /><br />&#8220;Did the head of your Ajah have a hand in choosing Andaya for the Hall? More than usual, I mean?&#8221;<br /><br />&#8220; She did.&#8221;&#8230;<br /><br />&#8220; I knew it&#8230;. Saerin says that Juilaine was hand picked for the Brown, too, apparently not their usual way, and Doesine says the same about Suana, though she was hesitant about saying anything&#8230;. And Ferane stepped down for the White less than ten years ago; no one has ever entered the Hall so soon. To cap it off, Talene says the Greens nominate choices and their Captain&#8211;General chooses one, but Adelorna chose Rina without any nominations.&#8221; <br /><br />Now, if you carefully compare the list of Sitters and this quote, you will see that there are seven Sitters named who were either chosen by their Ajah&#8217;s head or are heads themselves. They are:<br /><br />Andaya (Grey)<br />Saerin (Brown)<br />Juilaine (Brown)<br />Suana (Yellow)<br />Doesine (Yellow)<br />Rina (Green) -- she is the Sitter represented by question marks<br />Ferane (White)<br />Now we also have the two Sitters who are having this conversation (I think that they will eventually find out what the other Sitters are plotting and join them) and the Black Ajah member Talene, who is also a Sitter for the Green Ajah. If we add these three to the list of &#8216;hand picked&#8217; Sitters,&#8230;<br /><br />Seaine (White)<br />Yukiri (Grey)<br />Talene (Green)<br /><br />&#8230;then we have a list exactly TEN SITTERS. Ten Sitters are all that are necessary to reach the Greater Consensus, since there are no Blue Sitters. <br /><br />It seems to me that the Ajah heads must be plotting to overthrow Elaida. This seems likely to me, because the White Tower needs to unite as quickly as possible with T&#8217;armon Gaidon coming soon. In my opinion it is not a coincidence that there are exactly 10 Sitters.<br /><br />One last thought on this theory. I think that Pevara will be left out of this vote because she became furious when she learned that Galina was Black Ajah. In my opinion the others will leave her out of the scheme because she will be outraged when she learns about this plot to Un-Seat a &#8216;Red&#8217; Amyrlin, especially so soon after learning that Galina was working for the Black Ajah. <br /><br />P.S. Seconds before posting the theory I found this passage in the FAQ that again emphasizes how important is the unity of the White Tower.<br /><br />&quot;At Tar Valon, Egwene Al'Vere, the young Amyrlin of the rebel Aes Sedai, lays siege to the heart of Aes Sedai power, but she must win quickly, with as little bloodshed as possible, for unless the Aes Sedai are reunited, only the male Asha'man will remain to defend the world against the Dark One, and nothing can hold the Asha'man themselves back from total power except the Aes Sedai and a unified White Tower.&quot;</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> Unless there are other possibilities for which a Greater Consensus is necessary, then I think you have a good chance of being right.  Another possibility is that they are just making doubly sure they have a Lesser Consensus for something or other, but your theory is the simpler of the two.  Of course, even if ousting Elaida is their plan, we don't know whether or not the plan will succeed, or if it does succeed, if it will necessarily result in something better.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-09-04 14:18:06
subject: Min, Elayne, and Aviendha as Aspects of the Celtic Triple Goddess
body:
<p>Rand has many times been compared to King Arthur, or Christ, but as a student of Celtic mythology, I see another parallel, that of the Winter King. According to myth, the Winter King was the chosen consort of the triple Goddess of the Celtic people. He ruled for seven years, and at the end of the seven years, he was killed in order to insure future prosperity. Now, as to what really makes me see him as such. When Rand is in Cairhien in the Great Hunt, he runs into Thom, who recites a couple of snippets of prophecy, the second couplet recited being the pertinent one.<br /><br />&quot; Twice dawns the day when his blood is shed.<br />  Once for mourning, once for birth.<br />  Red on black, the Dragon's blood stains the rock of<br />  Shayol Ghul.<br />  In the Pit of Doom shall his blood free men from the <br />  Shadow. &quot;<br /><br />This is a clear reference to self-sacrifice. Well, in myth, the Winter King was a willing sacrifice, willing to give his own life so the lives of the rest of the world can be spared, which is what I see Rand doing.<br /><br />Now to my point. If Rand is the Winter King, then what does that make the three women tied to him? They are the three aspects of the triple Goddess.<br /><br />First we have Min, who to my mind represents the Maiden aspect. The Maiden in Celtic mythology offers comfort and sympathy, which is what Min has done for Rand several times.<br /><br />Next, we have Elayne, who I see as the Mother aspect. First because we know she is going to be a mother soon, but also because the Mother aspect is referred to as a Queen in many myths.<br /><br />Finally, we come to Aviendha. She is in training to be a Wise One, which is another name for the Crone aspect of the triple Goddess. Also, because the Crone aspect is generally the Aspect called upon when protection is needed, and who better to protect you that an Aiel?<br /><br />I also find it odd that with the Winter King myth, it is every seven years, and in Randland we have every seven ages.<br /><br />Well, that&#8217;s about all I have on it right now, feel free to poke holes in my theory.<br /><br />* hunkers down waiting for the flames*<br /><br /><br />Alainn_Cineal</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> Well, Jordan's certainly got the seasons going wild; maybe it will still be winter at TG, and maybe not.  To play devil's advocate, Min's comforted Rand so much, she's certainly no maiden; and in a number of years she may well be an old crone when compared to Avhienda.  Similarly, I don't think Elayne will be the only mother, if Min's Viewings are to be believed.  But I suppose we can't expect Jordan to be perfectly loyal to any one bit of legend when he's working with so many.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-09-05 22:19:51
subject: Fixing the Bore
body:
<p>After reading all the controversy over how the Dark One will finally be finished, it seems everyone is ignoring an obvious possibility.<br /><br />First, and I apologize for not having the exact quotation, remember when Fel was initially discussing the Last Battle with Rand? He made a comment to the effect that everything had to be circular: assuming that the Creator did not create the Dark One's prison with a patch, once the Wheel returned to that point, the Bore must be undone, not simply re-patched.<br /><br />The question then becomes, how can you undo the Bore, rather than just patching it? Well, in a suspiciously discontinuous way, Jordan has provided just such a method.<br /><br />Remember when Jordan introduced the idea of picking apart weaves? Having never previously mentioned the idea, he suddenly had people (Aviendha and Elaine) picking apart weaves, and all the Aes Sedai seemed to know about the idea. And, just as suddenly as he introduced it, Jordan dropped the idea, which hasn't been seen since Elaine's gateway.<br /><br />Anyway, this seems like Jordan trying to give himself some background to draw upon later. The obvious use for this is the Bore: Rand and company (Aviendha, who has practice? Elaine, who's now had some experience?) will have to pick apart the weave of the Bore, being careful to get all the threads without letting go (since difficulty evidently increases with the complexity of the weave, and the Bore should dwarf a gateway). <br /><br />I see two complexities about this. First, the Bore is made of both saidin and saidar. Thus, whoever picks it apart will need to be able to see both in order to pick them apart - taking turns, perhaps? Second, the only weaves that we've seen picked apart were picked apart by the person who wove them. This doesn't necessarily mean that one can't pick apart someone else's weave, but we don't have any proof of that.</p><p><b>Jeordam says:</b> I must say that this is the most original theory I've read in a long time.  And it brings a few things to mind.  I've always just pictured the Bore as....well....a hole drilled threw the pattern.  But when you were saying this, something else came to mind.  I began to think that the Bore itself could be like a round force like a circle pushing out of the way the pattern itself, thus allowing the DO to touch the world.<br /><br />If this was the case, then your theory could work.  That the circle of force itself is a weave, and as such, could be picked apart.  The problem would be in seeing it, and not knowing how it was woven.  Since they don't know how it was woven, that will make it difficult, and since one person can't see all the threads, that will make it more so.  But as for it being Elayne or Avi...I'm guessing no.  Elayne has unraveled one weave.  Avi. hasn't done many more.  If it came down to it...take some of the Wise Ones to do it.  They have far more experience and ability than the girls do.  But all in all, I like.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-09-06 16:02:06
subject: Rand's Dreams
body:
<p>In FoH, <i>Gateways</i>, Lanfear is angered by the fact that Rand shields his dreams.  She says:<br /><br />&quot;I can break through your warding.  You would not like it.&quot;<br /><br />Then a mere 5 pages later, Egwene complains to herself over how she cannot get into Rand's dreams (emphasis my own):<br /><br />&quot;Rand's dreams had been a challenge, of course, one she could not fail to face.  Now that she could flit from dream to dream, how could she not try where the Wise Ones failed? Only, atempting to enter his dreams had been like running headlong into an invisible <i>stone wall.  She knew that his dreams lay on the other side, and she was sure she could find a way through, bute had been nothing to work on, nothing to pry at.  A wall of nothing.  It was a problem she meant to worry at until she solved it</i>.&quot;<br /><br />Now, in the FAQ, they bring up one of Egwene's dreams from CoS.  This may be going out on a limb here, but as this dream is rather convoluted already, this may just make some sense:<br /><br />&quot;She stood before an immense wall, clawing at it, trying to tear it down with her bare hands. It was not made of brick or stone, but countless thousands of discs, each half white and half black, the ancient symbol of the Aes Sedai, like the seven seals that had once held the Dark One's prison shut...the wall stood strong however she beat at it. She could not tear it down. Maybe it was the symbol that was important.&quot;<br /><br />It seems that the wall blocking Rand's dreams resembles the wall in Egwene's dreams.  The &quot;important symbol&quot; is RAND, as most people know him by that ancient symbol now.<br />My theory is this: Egwene will find a way to break through that wall, that invisible fence Rand has put up around himself.  And his dreams will hold a key to something very important- perhaps something to help unite the tower, perhaps something to help Rand win.  Either way, Egwene's been obsessed with Rand's dreams for a while, and it makes sense that Jordan would connect his dreams with something Egwene needs.<br /><br />Thank you. <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/smile.gif" border="0" /></p><p><b>StoneDogAiel says:</b> Well...I like the way you're thinking. It does make sense that Jordan would link the two, and we know that Egwene is very stubborn, and not likely to give up trying to get into Rands dreams. But think about this...maybe those dreams hold the key to making him human again, the way Cadsuane and Sorelia want to...hmmm...anyways, good theory. I think it has possibilities.<br /><br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-09-07 17:10:23
subject: Male Wilder Response
body:
<p>I don&#8217;t really know if this counts as a theory, I guess it&#8217;s just a statement of facts that I have found while re-reading the eye of the world.  Please bear with me, as this is a very long explanation of my gatherings.   This is what I have come to believe: Rand is, of course, a wilder and suffers from it in a different way than female wilders... <br /><br />Moiraine explains the early affect of wilders first encounters with touching the source<br /><br />TEotW, ch.21: &#8220;Llisten to the wind&#8221;<br /><br />           &#8220;&#8216;You felt nothing special at the time, but a week or ten days later you had you first response to touching the True Source.  Perhaps fever or chills that came on suddenly and put you to bed, then disappeared after only a few hours&#8217;&#8221;<br /><br />In another quote from the same chapter Moiraine further explains<br /><br />           &#8220;&#8216;Each time, the reaction comes closer to the actual touching of the source, until the two happen almost together.  After that there are no more reactions that can be seen...&#8217;&#8221;<br /><br />This, of course, states the initial effects of a wilder&#8217;s first reaction to the source as clearly stated above.  It is my conclusion that men go through this initial stage of adjustment as well, but the reaction is of a surprisingly different in nature.<br /><br />First of all it has been established that Rand used some form of healing on Bela during the flight from two rivers, which allowed Bela to match and even surpass the endurance of the other horses in their group (this was the first night of the journey to be clear). We know this thanks to moiraine herself in ch. 52. This is the first time that I know of when Rand channels within the series.  Since other theories argue about how he did this I leave that up to you to decide for yourself.<br /><br />Later in Baerlon, Rand seems rather enthusiastic about a confrontation with a frightening enemy for someone as little traveled as Rand: the whitecloaks.<br /><br />Ch15: &#8220;Strangers and Friends&#8221;<br /><br />          [Rand] &#8220;&#8216;Accidents happen,... even to the children of the light&#8217;&#8221;<br /><br />          &#8220;...a tingling thrill ran along ranks arms and legs.  He felt flushed, almost warm.&#8221;<br /><br />          &#8220;The tingling filled Rand; the heat had grown to a fever.  he wanted to laugh it felt so good. a small voice in his head shouted that something was wrong, but all he could think of was how full of energy he felt.&#8221;<br /><br />          &#8220;Rand drew a deep breath, and abruptly it was all gone like a pricked bubble.  He staggered as it vanished, the realization of what he had just done flooded in on him.&#8221;<br /><br />Clearly something shifted inside of Rand that day and Rand suddenly felt the urge to confront a dangerous situation for no apparent reason.  He even enjoyed it. when he snaps out of this trance he finally realizes what he&#8217;s done and becomes concerned about his mental health(and not for the last time).<br /><br />This happened six days after his first encounter with saidin according to text at the end of ch.13 and simple addition (they arrived at Baerlon on the sixth day of their journey and these events took place the day after that). At first I drew the conclusion that this coincided with the week rule that Moiraine established earlier but according to the BWB (big white book) a week in Randland is ten days, not seven, as in our calendar.  I had to think over the other possibilities, such as that this is just one more difference between men and women.  Another possibility is that Rand channeled at an earlier occasion that I did not catch and this is a second reaction and therefore would be closer to the time of his channeling than the aforementioned time difference.<br /><br />I also believe that the ill feeling he experienced is the same that affects Perrin at this time, as neither got any sleep. Each of the three had a reaction of varying degrees from a sleepless night after a long day in the saddle.  Perrin was the worst off and Mat, the best.  Therefore Rand was just somewhere in-between (understandably).<br /><br />By this time most people should know that most of Rand&#8217;s so-called luck in tEotW was actually his sub-conscious channeling in time of need, such as my next example: fighting trollocs on the deck of the Spray.<br /><br />Ch20: &#8220;Dust in the Wind&#8221;<br /><br />            &#8220;....Rand found the breath for one yell.  &#8216;No!&#8217;  Suddenly the ship lurched, and a boom swung out of the shadows to catch the trolloc across the chest with a crunch of breaking bones, sweeping him off the side.&#8221;<br /><br />           &#8220;That has to have used up my luck, he thought.&#8221;<br /><br />Most of the devout readers I know believe this is obviously another occasion of Rand&#8217;s pre-knowledge channeling.  Soon afterwards you see the effects of this encounter.<br /><br />Ch24: &#8220;Flight Down the Arinelle&#8221;<br /><br />           &#8220;Four days into their trip downriver found Rand atop a mast, sitting on the blunt end with his legs wrapped around the stays.&#8221;<br /><br />           &#8220;On a sudden impulse he unwrapped his legs from the stays bracing the mast and held his arm and legs out to either side, balancing against the sway&#8221;<br /><br />           &#8220;He toppled forward and grabbed the forestay. Legs splayed to either side of the mast, nothing holding him to his precarious perch but his two hands on the stay, he laughed.&#8221;<br /><br />           &#8220;Rand&#8217;s eyes went to the forestay and followed it up to the top of the mast, and as they did his mouth dropped open.  He had slid down that.  And he had been sitting on top of....&#8221;<br /><br />Again we see the same reaction as with the whitecloaks at Baerlon, He becomes an instant thrill seeker, heedless of danger and carefree, only to snap back to reality when it is done and realize the insanity of his actions.  This time he experienced the reaction only four days after use, this shows that the reaction time has decreased by at least two days, if I am indeed correct about this being the reaction in the first place.<br /><br />This theory is becoming a lot longer than I expected but there is one more instance that I should bring to light: being cornered by Gode (the darkfriend).<br /><br />Ch32: &#8220;Four Kings in Shadow&#8221;<br /><br />           &#8220;A way out!  Light filled the room flooding vision; the air roared and burned&#8221;<br /><br />           &#8220;The window, the bars, and most of the wall, too, had vanished, leaving a splintered hole.&#8221;<br /><br />Again Rand subconsciously touches saidin and blows the hell out of the wall with a blast of lightning. For some reason the reaction changes at this point to the sickness he experiences in ch. 33. This doesn&#8217;t quite fit with my initial theory, but I had to include it for credibility purposes.  Maybe, for some reason, he could not find a dangerous enough situation and the illness he suffered was more of a secondary backlash when the first response doesn&#8217;t succeed.<br /><br />I think that, at least the two first times that we know Rand has touched the source, Rand experiences more of a loss of inhibition than a sickness associated with his experiences with the true source as opposed to the illness that affects young women who touch saidar. He seems to enjoy his little brushes with danger immensely until he snaps back into his normal self and realizes what he has just done.  It seems strange that these reactions disappear as soon as the danger is gone and no sooner.  Every answer brings more questions with it.<br /><br />Well that&#8217;s the end of my theory, I&#8217;ll let you experts tear it apart or do whatever you want with it, I just figured I should bring my thoughts in for you to think on.  Look for more from me in the future as I re-read the series. <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/wink.gif" border="0" /></p><p><b>Burr says:</b> I can easily believe that Rand would get a rush after touching the True Source, and the examples you provide seem to make a good case for it.  But does is there a definite connection between the thrill seeking and the fact that he is a wilder?  The thrill seeking could come straight from his excitement from touching the True Source, but even non-wilders might experience that.  Egwene, for instance, talks about the addictiveness of saidar and how alive it makes you feel and whatnot.  That they don't react to that feeling like Rand did could easily be differences in personality, or between men and woment, not necessarly between wilder and non-wilder.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-09-08 13:36:33
subject: Why the rulers came south, metaphysically speaking.
body:
<p>In PoD, Ethenielle, Queen of Kandor states she couldn't have watched the Blight while everything went to pot behind her in the lands she was supposed to be guarding.  The Borderland rulers obviously anticipated the unfavorable reaction of the Tower (And those sisters whose POVs have been shown all felt it was wrong, that the Borderland Rulers' place was guarding the Blight.)  In spite of duties they have held since before the White Tower was founded, the rulers came south anyway with most of their soldiers. They have their as yet unrevealed reasons that have to do, on Ethenielle's part at least, with restoring order to the Southlands and possibly taking Rand in hand and assuring themselves that he means to fulfil his destiny and save humanity from the Shadow.<br /><br />Beyond the reasons they gave themselves for motivation, however is the real reason- the Pattern at work. We first see the Borderland Rulers in the first half of the prologue of PoD, the other half of which shows Verin Compelling the captive Aes Sedai to swear fealty to Rand.  Unlike true Compulsion, Verin's method merely sets in motion the process of self-motivation.  They will decide to swear loyalty to Rand for their own purposes and reasons, justifying their oaths with the flimsiest of excuses, which taken in large quantities, will arouse suspicion in the Wise Ones and Cadsuane.  The fact is, though, they were motivated by an outside force, which made them find reasons to help the Dragon Reborn on their own.  Whatever reasons they choose, they still had no choice in the matter.  I believe it is no coincidence that Verin's Compulsion is exposed in the same section of the book, which details the Borderlanders leaving the Blight.<br /><br />The accepted notion of Tarmon Gaidon involves a large battle, and those with an eye to making concrete preparations for it have begun with the notion of re-fighting the Trolloc Wars (Pedron Niall attempting to unite humanity to fight a war; Rand gathering Asha'man to fight Dreadlords and attempting unification as well).  The greatest problem I could see plot-wise was that humanity's best and most experienced Wetlander soldiers were the people closest to the Blight.  Any threat from the Shadow would hit them first and hardest, likely depriving humanity of their best Trolloc fighters.  The quiet of the Blight is far too obvously the calm before the storm.  The numbers of Trollocs are not known, but it may be supposed that there are more of them than of humans.  Ba'alzamon sneered at the idea that Rand had destroyed his army in Tarwin's Gap, implying there were a whole lot more where they came from.  One and two thousand years ago the Trollocs were able to get past the Borderlands' defenses, causing a three-hundred year War the first time, and being stopped by Artur Hawkwing south of the current SOUTHERN border of Shienar, well past the Blight Border and the armies dedicated to guarding it.  As his empire didn't last, and his example inspired would-be conquerors to wreck the Westlands as thoroughly as the Trolloc Wars had done, one has to wonder: why was Artur Hawkwing ta'veren?  Why did the Pattern want one man to conquer a large Empire, if it wouldn't survive his death?  Why did the Pattern let him die before he could break the opposing power structure of the Tower and set his Empire to last (of course the Tower would have worked to oppose any reunification-they didn't want another enemy that powerful, and even a puppet could turn on them)?<br /><br />Perhaps the reason for his Empire was to provide a unified command structure and logistical support (as well as the military genius in charge) necessary to defeat another would-be Trolloc invasion.  Ten nations had a hard enough fight with the Trollocs the first time, and they had an alliance in place already.  The 30-40 odd countries of Hawkwing's day could never have come together in time.  Look how hard it was to agree on a leader of the wetlanders during the Aiel War, and that was just one battle.  If Hawkwing's victory isn't as famous as the Trolloc Wars, well, averted crisis never get the press of disasters.  Five years from now people will remember the baseball strike of 1994 better than the recently averted strike.  Now, after another thousand years, the Trollocs could very well have massed the numbers necessary to reconquer the Westlands (and maybe the Waste and Shara too). Rand's portal stone life where he never left the two Rivers suggests that if he hadn't, the Seanchan would have conquered the world, only to be pushed back by a new Trolloc menace they couldn't fight, even with an organized, experienced vetern army, exotic monsters, and damane. <br /><br />Humanity's numbers have been depleted by a stagnant society as detailed in tGH and LoC, kept from advancement by Aes Sedai who squelch originality and achievement in favor of peace, order and the status quo (witness their lack of enthusiasm for Nynaeve and Elayne's experimentations for an example).  The Westlands are in far worse shape to prepare for a Trolloc invasion than the Ten Nations, or the nations before Guaire Amalasan and Artur Hawkwing were.  The Tower is at its lowest strength, and most of the sisters are far weaker than in earlier times.  For the Shadow to overrun the Borderlands would be an unmitigated disaster for humanity and the forces of the Light, and severely hinder the Dragon Reborn's ability to beat the Dark One.  And they would overrun the Borderlands, since any force the Borderlands could hold back, would not be a threat to the rest of humanity.  The losses of the Shadow in Tarwin's Gap, which were so negligible to Ba'alzamon, were numerous enough that one of the top five generals in the world felt he had no hope of defeating them, and scarcely more hope of saving Shienar.  The loss of half of Malkier's army was enough to doom them to being swallowed by the Blight, so the numbers game works in the Shadow's favor against the Borderlands.  And if the Borderlands fall, what then?  Two of the best generals in the world and the toughest armies, with the most experience fighting Trollocs and Myrrdrall lost or reduced to insignificant numbers, and only Tar Valon standing between the Blight and the other nations, few with any professional army, and that not even capable of occupying their own countries (in EotW, the Queen's Guard is mentioned as not traveling too far west of Caemlyn).  How well would Rand's Aiel fight to defend incompetant wetlanders?  Does humanity have the numbers to last another three hundred years while they gain experience and figure out how to beat the Trollocs?<br /><br />Fortunately, the Pattern has neatly avoided this potential setback by placing the Borderland rulers and the bulk of their armies well south of the Blight, with plenty of time to unite with the other human nations, and possibly Ogier allies, to be able to strike at the Trollocs as a unified force, with Asha'man and Aes Sedai support, under the leadership of the Dragon Reborn.  As it is, the skeleton armies guarding the Blight will be more likely to retreat if they have any warning, since they can't possibly hope to hold &quot;the Trolloc Wars coming again&quot; on their own, and would seek to rejoin their rulers to drive the Shadow from their homes.  Even if those armies are written off, with the bulk of humanity's forces well back from the Blight, they can trade space for time as the Russians did in WWII rather than lose their best and most prepared forces in the initial invasion (as Russia also did in WWII, the difference being they had the numerical advantage and could soak up those losses and replace them).  <br /><br />In conclusion, I believe, that whatever their private motivations, the Borderlanders were inspired by the necessity of the Pattern to move South solely to help prepare humanity to fight the next Trolloc invasion leading up to Tarmon Gaidon.</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> Maybe, but it seems to me that it would be better if everyone else went <i>north</i>.  It is the northern countries that have the defensive infrastructure best adapted to fighting the Shadow.  Furthermore, the White Tower is nearer the North than then South, and they wouldn't want to risk losing it.  If this move was planned by the Pattern, then I think things must be getting pretty desparate as far as it's concerned.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-09-09 15:17:32
subject: Sulin broke ji'e'toh on purpose to spy on Rand
body:
<p>Just a passing thought. The Aiel - especially the Wise Ones and Maidens acting as Rand's honour guard - get &quot;touchy&quot; whenever Rand journeys via gateway without an escort. They need somebody close to Rand, somebody able to keep them informed of his movements. The Wise Ones first tried to get Aviendha close to Rand, and also to look into his dreams.<br /><br />In Lord of Chaos, chapter 18, A Taste of Solitude, p.383 (all quotes from trade paper edition), Sulin is playing a game of flip. She hears a rock owl's cry, a pre-arranged signal that Rand has managed to sneak out of his rooms again. Sulin's thought: &quot;Keeping watch over him this way was not going to work&quot;. She and three other Maidens wander through the palace, searching for Rand.<br /><br />Chapter 20, To Shadar Logoth, p.410, sees Sulin taking the unprecedented step of using Maiden hand talk to three <i>gai'shain</i>, under the pretext of gathering an escort. This was immediately after sending Jalani to gather an Aiel escort for Rand.<br /><br />The next page sees Sulin confronted by Nandera about this breach, if a breach it was. Spying is possible under ji'e'toh - everything is, if you are willing to pay the price. The following quote - Egwene explaining her breaches in <i>ji'e'toh</i> - does not deal with spying, but explains what I mean: &quot;It was possible, under ji'e'toh. You did what you had to do, then paid the cost.&quot; (LOC, chapter 33, Courage to Strengthen, p.574. It explains how a proud woman like Sulin can degrade herself by putting her in a servile position, for the good of her people and her society.<br /><br />My theory is that Sulin did a deal with Nandera and the Wise Ones to have her inserted as an informant, to keep an eye on Rand, to get a better indication on his movements and thoughts. Their first attempt, Aviendha, had failed. This was a more oblique attempt than the first, as Sulin was able to come and go through the palace without attracting attention. Seeing as neither Egwene nor the Wise Ones could keep track of Rand through his dreams, it left watching him day and night as the only way to keep a track of his movements.<br /><br />Feel free to flame away.<br /></p><p><b>Bad Ash says:</b> Well, this may have been possible, as Aiel do find dishonor in so many things.<br /><br />However, I think the fact that RJ clearly states that Nandera called Sulin on addressing <i>gai'shain</i> as a Maiden makes it pretty plain that Nandera's problem was that Sulin had <i>toh</i> to a <i>gai'shain</i>.  You are not supposed to remind <i>gai'shain</i> of their life before wearing the white, but Sulin did to gather as many Aiel as possible in 50 seconds to go to Shadar Logoth.  The fact that Sulin wore livery afterward proves that to meet <i>toh</i> to a <i>gai'shain</i>, Sulin lowered herself to a position she felt was subservient to <i>gai'shain</i>.<br /><br />Sorry, don't buy it.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-09-10 01:19:45
subject: Rand's not so bonded gift
body:
<p>I was thinking abit about Rand's bond to Alanna and comparing it to Lan's bond in EOTW. Some of the advantages of the bond are endurance, emotional connection, and last of all and to the point the abilty to sense shadow spawn. The reason I thought of the last is becuase Rand ran into a couple of tollocs and an eyeless in Shadar Logeth (crown of swords). So why than can Lan sense shadow spawn a quarter a mile away and Rand can't sense them at all.<br /><br />        1. Rand's connection with saidin somehow blocks him from recieving all the gifts from the bond.<br /><br />        2. Maybe Alanna not having control of the bond may have something to do with it.<br /><br />        3. Of coarse Rand not paying any particular attention to anything but sammy at the time may have a part.<br /><br />        I almost wonder if RJ messed up or if channelers don't gain all the gift of bonding. But this is just a cool thing to think on. My personal concusion is that Rand cannot and will never be able to sense shadow spawn. His abilty to channel is the main block.</p><p><b>Raserei says:</b> But if it's something channelers don't get, how did Moiraine sense them? Did she get the feeling through Lan's bond?<br /><br />But if nothing else, I would chalk it up to Rand being preoccupied with Sammael.<br /><br />Thoughts?<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-09-10 19:35:21
subject: A Velvet Cloak
body:
<p>I'm surprised this hasn't been caught before but here goes. In <i>Lord of Chaos</i> right in the beginning of the prologue, &#8220;The First Message,&#8221; pg. 1, in the paperback and most likely the hardback, Dem is stepping out of his gateway onto the slopes of Shayol Ghul. Here's the passage: &#8220;Despite the steam it was bitter cold, now; he did not allow himself to feel it, but instinct made him pull his fur-lined velvet cloak closer.&#8221;<br /><br />This says to me the land of the Seanchan. As pointed out by a friend of mine because I'm rusty on my WoT and thus rereading it, all of Randland (the Westlands) is locked in a perpetual summer due to the Dark One's touch. From the chapter &#8220;The Far Snows&#8221; in <i>The Fires of Heaven</i> we're shown a glimmer (ha ha) of Seanchan. A heavy snowstorm covers the land, and pg. 519 of your paperbacks will show this passage: &#8220;The mounted were all women shrouded in long think, fur-lined cloaks&#8230;&#8221; It's not concrete proof Dem is in Seachan, but it's certainly an interesting clue that seems to have been passed over by many. <br /><br />Why would he be in Seanchan when Semirhage is already in a place of power there? Well, it is a land even more immense then the Westlands according to the Big White Book (The World of Robert Jordan's the Wheel of Time). He could be high among the Seekers from whom no one is safe. All save the Empress are subject to a Seeker's justice. They seem to be the Whitecloaks of the far-off land. He would still be able to work his proxies and have his hand in other events as far as I can figure. Too bad we don't know more of how the Seekers really work. The snag though, as pointed out by the same friend of mine, is we've been told that we have met all of the Chosen. Could Dem possibly be the Seeker who visited Egeanin? He had blonde hair but it could have easily been a disguise. Maybe not, but something to ponder.</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> Well, it could just show that Demandred knew it would be cold in Shayol Ghul.  Then again, since he doesn't need to feel the cold, maybe he wouldn't have brought the cloak unless he was already wearing it.  Could meeting all the Chosen simply mean that we've met them in some form, not that we've met them in all their disguises?  If that is a case, then we met Demandred when he went to Shayol Ghul, so we don't need to have to meet him elsewhere.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-09-13 15:03:12
subject: Logain's Search
body:
<p>Let me begin by saying that I am basing this theory on a commonly held assumption among the WoT-reading community: the idea that Taim and Logain will wind up fighting each other for control of the Black Tower.<br /><br />Those of you who have read Glimmers will recall that Logain leaves the Black Tower, saying that he will be searching for male channelers. In the end of Glimmers, though, he winds up in Cairhein. I believe that this is where Logain will be doing his real searching, in the Cairhein library. <br /><br />Here is a quote from the prologue of WH: &quot;I've learned a good deal already. Logain is the only full Asha'man to live here in this village. The others all live in Taim's 'palace.' &quot;<br />This suggests that most of the Soldiers and the Dedicated are likely to wind up being on Logain's side when the Black Tower battle takes place, but it also suggests that most (if not all) of the Asha'man are going to side with Taim. If you consider what an advantage it would give Taim to have all of the fully trained men on his side, this leads to the reason that I believe Logain has gone to Cairhein: to search for angreals and sa'angreals. We have never heard of the Black Tower owning any of these items, and it might give Logain just enough of an advantage over Taim if he were to locate some for his men to use.<br />You may ask, why go to Cairhein to look for angreals? Because the world's second-largest library (rivaled only by the one in Tar Valon) is in the city of Cairhein. This library was NOT destroyed during the Aiel War, and it is very old.<br /><br />A passage from the WoT encyclopedia suggests that the Cairheinin library even contains some letters that are not duplicated in Tar Valon. We are told that &quot;in thirty-one pages, all in the same hand, located in the Royal Library in Cairhein, which appear to be random survivors of a larger manuscript reliably dated from the same period, the organization of Aes Sedai in the Age of Legends, or perhaps their manner of functioning, is described as 'a vast sea of ajah (note: word deliberately left untranslated), all constantly shrinking and growing, dividing, combining, melting away only to be reborn in some new guise and begin the process once more.&quot;<br /><br />So we know that the library is old and vast, quite possibly containing information about angreal (perhaps even a cache of items) that not even the Aes Sedai know exist. Keep in mind that our characters have found some very important information in books. Rand used two books from the library at Tear to learn how to use the Aelfinns' doorway and survive his meeting with the strange folk. I think that Logain has a good chance of finding information about One Power-related items using Cairhein's library. These angreals may just make all the difference if it comes down to a war between the Asha'man and the less experienced men at the Black Tower.</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> Well, on the one hand I want to say that it's a jump to say that Logain must be searching for information about angrael; but I can't deny that he will need <i>some</i> kind of advantage for his lesser-trained channelers.  And it does make sense that he would go to Cairhien either for the library or, possibly, Rand's school.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-09-14 11:28:35
subject: Why is Tuon smiling?
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<p>This theory is a response to those who believe that Mat and Tuon finally meeting will somehow lead to &quot;Mat bringing the Seanchan over to Rand&quot;.  Mat is going to do everything in his power to avoid the Seanchan (and &quot;death by slow torture&quot;<i></i>).  He certainly won't be wielding any authority over them.<br /><br />I believe that Tuon's smile has a darker meaning than previously suspected.  I don't think she's a DF, just that she's not on our side yet.<br /><br />Here are four quotes from Winter's Heart:<br /><br />Quote 1 (A Matter of Property)<br /><br />  (Egeanin): &quot;In any case, Bayle, you have already admitted there is no harm in Suroth having that collar and bracelets.<br /><br />This shows that the Seanchan have the male a'dam.  A later quote mentions that Egeanin &quot;placed the male a'dam in Suroth's hands herself&quot;.  Most posters assume this means Anath/Semirhage will eventually use it.  I propose that the a'dam has passed into Tuon's possession (read on).<br /><br />Quote 2 (A Matter of Property)<br /><br />  (Egeanin's POV): Bayle was not really familiar with even the versions of the Prophecies they had on this side of the World Sea, but he was adamant that none mentioned the necessity of the Dragon Reborn kneeling to the Crystal Throne.  It might be necessary for him to be fitted with this male a'dam, but Bayle would never see it.<br /><br />This demonstrates that even the most reasonable of Seanchan firmly believe that Rand must kneel to the crystal throne.<br /><br />Quote 3 (What a Veil Hides)<br /><br />  (Tuon): &quot;I must find a way to make contact with the Dragon Reborn as soon as possible.  He must kneel before the Crystal Throne before Tarmon Gai'don, or all is lost.&quot;  The Prophecies of the Dragon said so, clearly.<br />  &quot;You must be careful,&quot; Anath purred.  &quot;You must not let him learn how dangerous you are to him until it is too late for him to escape.&quot;<br /><br />This shows that Tuon wants to be near Rand.  Anath's reply suggests that Tuon has the a'dam.<br /><br />Quote 4 (What the Aelfinn Said)<br /><br />  (Mat): &quot;We are taking them with us,&quot; he said.<br />  At last, Tuon showed expression.  She smiled, as if she suddenly knew a secret.  She smiled, and he shivered.  Oh, light, how he shivered.<br /><br />Many assume that Tuon is smiling because she wants to be with Mat, and that he shivers because he dreads being married.  I don't believe either character is so shallow.  I believe Tuon is smiling because Mat is playing into her hands by taking her with him.  She may even know exactly who Mat is (from Anath).  Mat shivers because he senses something sinister about Tuon's smile.<br /><br />To sum up my theory:  Tuon has the male a'dam, and is counting on Mat to bring her near Rand so she can use it.  Either she thinks she can use it herself, or she plans to join with one of the other sul'dam in Mat's party.  Remember, all Seanchan are convinced that the fate of the world depends on Rand kneeling to the Crystal Throne.  This doesn't make her a DF.<br /><br />Admittedly this is all pretty thin.  But then, RJ gives us very few glimpses of the Seanchan to work with.  It is still possible that Suroth has the a'dam (oh Light, I'll die if LIANDRIN ends up using it!).  If that is the case, then in what way is Tuon &quot;dangerous&quot; to Rand?<br /><br /></p><p><b>Burr says:</b> Oooooh. *shivers*  I hope you're right.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-09-16 13:49:05
subject: Genetic mutation of saidin
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<p>This theory aims to show how saidin has adapted itself to survive despite the fact that for the past 3,000 years men who can channel have been gentled.<br /><br />Given that most men <i>are</i> gentled, saidin has modified itself into a recessive trait, so that the ability is still there in some men, but does not reveal itself without help, thereby ensuring its survival. In essence, this is an attempt by nature to counteract Aes Sedai &quot;culling&quot; the ability out of the human race. <br /><br />The fact is that there are now many men who can channel but must be taught to do so. Since Rand announced his amnesty, hundreds of men with the ability have joined the Black Tower, but aside from Rand, Narishma is the only one we've been told who has the &quot;spark,&quot; leading us to assume that the rest had to be taught how to touch the source. The only other men now alive we can safely say were born with the &quot;spark&quot; are Logain and Taim (let's just agree that the original terror of Saldaea, whether he is the one we see now or not, touched the source without trying). <br /><br />Making the educated guess that there are 10 women who have to be taught to channel for every one who doesn't, of the approximately 1,000 Aes Sedai there must be at least 100 women who could touch the source without having to be taught (guided yes, but not taught), to say nothing of the numbers among the other groups of women who can channel. <br /><br />The above estimate is based on the fact that all of the major female channelers had the &quot;spark&quot; at birth, as well as the reference to the Aiel practice of seeking out women who will eventually channel without being taught (there does seem to be a lot of Aiel channelers) and the motherlode of Two Rivers girls discovered by Alanna and Verin. <br /><br />One would expect there to be a similar number of men who could touch the source without being taught. The figures must have been similar for men pre-taint; we have no information to suggest there were more female than male channelers of any kind in the Age of Legends. If anything, the implication is that there was an equal balance for both genders in most aspects of channeling, even down to women being better with Water and Air, men with Fire and Earth and both equally strong using Spirit. <br /><br />We are told that there is now <i>roughly</i> the same number of Asha'man as Aes Sedai, but there is still the issue of the significantly smaller proportion of men who could channel without being taught. There has to be a reason for this and I believe a change in saidin to be the most logical explanation.<br /><br />Perhaps saidin going underground is part of the weaving of the Wheel. After all, this change has led to there being male channelers when they are most needed, both to face the Dreadlords and because the greatest works were done by men and women working together. Given that Rand and Nynaeve have cleansed the taint (a perfect example of my last point) and there will no longer be a need to gentle male channelers, it is reasonable to assume that more and more men who will channel without having to be taught will now be born.</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> This would require that the genes distinguish between male and female channelers.  But if that is true, then couldn't the large amount of teachable male channelers versus teachable female channelers be explained by the fact that teachable female channelers are hauled off to the Tower and stop producing babies?  That seems to be a simpler explanation; but then, genetics isn't all that simple, is it?<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-09-17 19:22:26
subject: Perrin's Upcoming Deal with the Devil
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<p>I was thinking about the reference on the dust jacket to CoT to Perrin.  In case you don't have it handy <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/wink.gif" border="0" /><i></i>, this is what it says:<br /><br />&quot;Perrin Aybara seeks to free his wife, Faile, a captive of the Shaido, but his only hope may be an alliance with the enemy. Can he remain true to his friend Rand, and to himself? For his love of Faile, Perrin is willing to sell his soul.&quot;<br /><br />An alliance with the enemy could mean either with, for example, the Seanchan, or it could mean an alliance with the Enemy.  Whether or not this is the much-anticipated &quot;betrayal&quot; of Rand that has been discussed on theory post or not is for someone else to decide.  This theory is an argument that the enemy is Masema, who is very much an agent of the Enemy.<br /><br />Why Masema?  Sure, everyone knows he's crazy and has caused a lot of killing and suffering, that Rand even sent Perrin to stop the bloodshed to keep the Dragon's name from being associated with the Prophet, but why would anyone think Masema is more than that?  Why would he be a Darkfriend?<br /><br />The answer lies in many places.  First, I would point out his very name - &quot;Masema&quot;.  Jordan has followed the tradition of having important characters' names associated with important figures in myth, legend and religion.  &quot;Masema&quot; is almost identical to the Hebrew &quot;Mastema&quot;, which means literally &quot;hatred&quot; and is a name used for Satan in apocryphal Hebrew literature, most notably the Book of Jubilees.  This follows the pattern of &quot;Asmodean&quot; from Asmodaios, Bel'al from Belial, etc.  The name is, however, only what got me THINKING about the possibility, much mentioned, that Masema is a Darkfriend.<br /><br />We know that there are Shienaran Darkfriends - in the Prologue to TGH, &quot;Bors&quot; sees a Shienaran in the crowd assembled at Ba'alzamon's request.  Most people now assume that this was Ingtar, who admitted to Rand that he was a Darkfriend at Falme but &quot;redeemed&quot; himself.  However, we know that Masema never liked Rand throughout TGH; in fact, in Chapter 3, &quot;Friends and Enemies&quot;, Rand gets a very uncomfortable stare from Masema, who was &quot;eyeing the bundles on Rand's back&quot; and whose eyes were &quot;fixed on Rand's face&quot; without blinking after that.  When Rand turns, we have the following statement from his POV: &quot;Aware of Masema's eyes on his back - he was sure it was Masema - he kept his pace normal&quot;.  This, of course, is while Masema was guarding the gate.  Interestingly enough, it was the day that the Trollocs invaded Fal Dara and stole the Horn of Valere.<br /><br />The reader's suspicions mount on numerous occasions thereafter in TGH, only to be squashed when Ingtar admits to being the Darkfriend facilitator.  However, there is no reason to believe that Ingtar would have been the ONLY traitor - after all, Liandrin, a known Sister of the Black Ajah, was also at Fal Dara but Ingtar did not know who she was or what her particular task there had been.  Like a terrorist cell, the fewer other Darkfriends a particular Friend of the Dark knows, the easier it is to keep their number and names secret.<br /><br />Masema's view of Rand changes quite dramatically, too.  It's as though he were an enemy one minute and then a good, dedicated friend the next.  Furthermore, in Chapter 5 of TDR, who led the Trollocs to the secret camp in the mountains?  Someone more than likely tipped off Ba'alzamon to their position.  I submit that this person was Masema.  <br /><br />After the battle with the Trollocs is lost, he conveniently has an &quot;epiphany&quot; of sorts, declaring that &quot;it was a sign to confirm our faith.  Even wolves came to fight for the Dragon Reborn.  In the Last Battle, the Lord Dragon will summon even the beasts of the forest to fight at our sides.  It is a sign for us to go forth.  Only Darkfriends will fail to join us.&quot;  Realizing that he cannot help the Dark anymore by being close to Rand, he conveniently &quot;goes crazy&quot; and splits off from the group to spread his own brand of evil as the Prophet.<br /><br />Once we make our way to WH, we have a chilling description in Chapter 1, &quot;Leaving the Prophet&quot; , of the fear and paranoia that the Prophet has generated, as well as the starvation and filth.  It's almost as though he's another Mordeth, turning the people of the area into frightened, distrustful beggars that he can then manipulate to his will.<br /><br />Then in Chapter 6, &quot;The Scent of Madness,&quot; even though Masema was eager to reach Rand &quot;as quickly as possible&quot; - to do what, one might ask - he then abruptly decides to change course to follow Perrin, along with all his followers.  One has to ask whether the presence of the half-clothed, half-starved followers of the Prophet is helping Perrin or hindering him by slowing his advance.  One might also ask what will happen if they do reach the Shaido.  Perrin smells the insanity in Masema, but why not the hatred that he sees in Masema's eyes? &quot;His deep-set eyes were dark fire, his face contorted with unknowing rage.&quot;  Perhaps there is more than insanity to Masema, something that Perrin can't smell because Masema is also insane.  <br /><br />Taken by themselves, none of these facts would be enough to seriously &quot;indict&quot; Masema, so to speak.  However, when one looks at the broader picture, it becomes clear that the Prophet doesn't have the Lord Dragon's best interests at heart.  We'll see whether CoT will confirm my suspicions or not.<br /><br />Flame away!</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> Even if Masema is a Darkfriend, why would Perrin make a deal with him?  Perrin hardly needs to make a deal with Masema in order to go to Faile's rescue.  The only such possibility I can think of would be if Masema &quot;rescues&quot; Faile before Perrin does.  I don't see that happening.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-09-19 14:36:42
subject: Common Genetic Channeling Theory Debunked
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<p>Common Genetic Channeling Theory Debunked<br /><br />There has been much discussion of whether or not the ability to channel is genetic. Clearly, genetics must play some role, simply due to the large number of channelers who are related to other channelers. The list of these channeling families has been compiled elsewhere, so I won't list them here. The only family that concerns us, in this theory, is that of Tigraine/Shaiel &amp; Rand al'Thor.<br /><br />I began considering the genetics of channeling after reading the recently posted theory that states that the gene for Saidin has mutated. One of the strongest rebuttals to that theory was that there isn't a separate gene for Saidin and Saidar, just one channeling gene. I myself support this idea, but after considering it a long while, I've taken it somewhat farther.<br /><br />Even the Guide states in no uncertain terms that the ability to channel is a recessive gene. <br />However, this statement may not mean as much as it at first appears to - because there are TWO types of channeling ability; the rare ability to learn to channel, and the even rarer ability to channel without having to learn (having &quot;the spark&quot;<i></i>).<br /><br />This means that there are two possibilities to consider for how this comes about.<br /><br />A) The common assumption is that having one copy of the channeling gene results in the ability to learn to channel; having two copies gives one the spark. This is the simplest explanation, and the explanation used as an argument against the aforementioned Saidin theory.<br /><br />B) The only other possibility is that you need TWO &quot;channeling genes&quot; just to be able to learn to channel (this is how recessive genes most commonly work), and that having the spark is the result of either a different gene or of environmental factors.<br /><br />I can disprove theory A). My logic is as follows:<br /><br />1. I am assuming that Rand al'Thor has the &quot;spark.&quot; RJ never says straight out that he does or does not, but considering that he had nobody to guide him through his first touchings of Saidin, he was able to just do it, I believe that he did have it.  If theory A) is true, this requires that Rand's parents each have at least one copy of the channeling gene. That means that Janduin and Shaiel both could have learned to channel.<br /><br />2. I am assuming that Shaiel was in fact Tigraine, the lost Daughter-Heir of Andor from 20+ years ago. The evidence in favor of this is overwhelming.  Tigraine, as Daughter-Heir, was trained in the White Tower. If she had been able to learn to channel, she would have done so.<br /><br />3. I am assuming that Tigraine did NOT learn to channel. It was explicitly stated in the books that she was not Aes Sedai, and it was also stated that Elayne is the only candidate for the Lion Throne that had the potential to be Aes Sedai; the point was discussed enough in the first few books that I think Tigraine would have been mentioned had she been able to channel at all. Furthermore, would the Aiel Wise Ones have allowed a channeling woman from the wetlands to become Far Dareis Mai? I doubt it. They would have made her apprentice herself to a Wise One, if they didn't just run her naked back to the Dragonwall.<br /><br />4. If these three assumptions are correct, theory A) <i>cannot</i> be true. Two channeling genes, one from each parent, are required just to be able to learn to channel. The &quot;spark&quot; comes from something else.<br /><br /><br />Of course there's always possibility C: that RJ goofed. Somehow I think this is very unlikely.<br /><br /><br />Go ahead, just TRY to poke holes in this one. <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/biggrin.gif" border="0" /><br /><br />-Toivo<br /><img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/aessedai.gif" border="0" /></p><p><b>Burr says:</b> Well, we know that being able to learn to channel does not grant a place as an Aes Sedai, especially for a Daughter Heir who may not have time to take it slowly.  Morgase, for instance, can channel the tiniest amount; but she wasn't strong enough to become Aes Sedai.<br /><br />On the other hand, I think you make an excellent point about the Wise Ones.  It has been mentioned several times how thoroughly they search for channelers.  It could be that Tigraine was a special case, since she was originally a wetlander.  They set a huge precedent just by letting her join their society; could they take the risk of letting a former wetlander into the most inner circle of Aiel leadership?  Given the Aiel's feelings about Aes Sedai at that point, maybe her being able to channel and her White Tower training was a major reason why they let her live in the first place.  Maybe they compromised.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-09-24 18:59:36
subject: Anaiya, the Supreme Council, and the Salidar Black Ajah
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<p>I've never seen a formal case made for Anaiya as Black Ajah, so I thought I would make one and offer some of the speculations it gives rise to.  My apologies for the length.<br /><br />Probably the strongest piece of evidence is that the novice Lucilde reports that Anaiya directed her to bring Halima to Delana (LoC 30 &quot;To Heal Again&#8221;<i></i>).  If Anaiya is Black, that statement implies that Anaiya, who Halima approached first, is a Black Ajah contact of some kind at Salidar.  Or if Anaiya serves the Light, it could only mean that Anaiya was first approached first of anyone and gave directions to Delana. But it opens her up to suspicion by association.<br /><br />Earlier in the series Anaiya opens herself up to suspicion in other ways.  In tGH Egwene tells Anaiya of her dreams about Rand (tGH 12 &quot;Woven in the Pattern&#8221;<i></i>).  These are her personal dreams, before she is entering Tel'aran'rhiod, yet somehow Ishamael/Ba'alzamon knows, because he warns Rand of how weak a protector Egwene will make (tGH 15 &quot;Kinslayer&#8221;<i></i>).  How did he know?  Does he watch Egwene's dreams, or did someone find a way to tell him? Egwene, Nynaeve, Anaiya, and whomever Anaiya might have told were the only ones who knew at the time.<br /><br />Later in tDR, Anaiya visits Mat while he's recuperating in the White Tower (tDR 30 &quot;The First Toss&#8221;<i></i>).  Mat tells Anaiya he plans to visit the city that day, and she smiles and warns him to to try leaving the city (she doesn't know he has the special letter from the Amyrlin).  Anaiya sees him again as he leaves the tower (along with several unnamed others).  Mat goes to the city, and is attacked by footpads.  Later Thom tells Mat there are no footpads in Tar Valon (tDR 31 &quot;The Woman of Tanchico&#8221;<i></i>), and later still Ishamael/Ba'alzamon kills a man in Tel'aran'rhiod for letting Mat escape the city (tDR 36 &quot;Daughter of the Night).  Was this man alone responsible for keeping tabs on Mat's whereabouts?  His task would have been a lot more manageable if he were working with someone keeping tabs on Mat in the Tower, someone who knew when he left, for example, so this man would know to watch out for him.<br /><br />There may be more circumstantial evidence that points to Anaiya as Black that I haven't covered (I don't even have tSR and FoH to look at right now), but it gives rise to interesting speculation.  There must be Black in Salidar in communication with the Black in the Tower, and very likely some high-ranking members who know their subordinates and can coordinate them.  We don't know much about how the Black Ajah is organized, but it makes sense that each ajah would be represented on the Supreme Council, and any Blue that sat on the Supreme Council is no longer at the Tower.  Who better to coordinate the Salidar Blacks?  The Delana-Halima connection suggests Anaiya as the coordinator.  <br /><br />But there's more.  Who have we seen associating with both Delana and Anaiya?  Janya (LoC 12 &quot;Questions and Answers&quot; - where Delana and Janya team up to question Nynaeve about Rand, LoC prologue - Elayne comes upon Anaiya and Janya walking together), one of the current Salidar sitter and one of the old Tower sitters (see FAQ about sitters), and the first to stand for Egwene in her call for war on Elaida.  Delana, our known Black, also stands, though she looks sick about it.  Another former Tower sitter, Takima, remains seated and looks sick that war is declared.<br /><br />The politics in the Salidar Hall are complicated, but I favor theories that suggest at least some sitters in Salidar are in contact with those at the Tower, or their Ajah heads.  The pattern of young sitters in Salidar seems to be connected to the Ajah heads taking a direct hand in the appointment of sitters in the Tower (&quot;Glimmers&#8221;<i></i>).  Young sitters can be influenced or manipulated by older sisters connected to the Tower, and eventually shrugged aside.  I believe that the Ajah heads are working to see the Tower made whole again, and those working with them in Salidar (former sitters, who attach themselves to Lelaine and Romanda's factions, being prime suspects) were trying to keep Salidar from doing anything too rash, like declaring war. The Black Ajah wants the Tower divided (but does not want Egwene gaining too much control, which is why Delana looks sick).  Janya, a former sitter you might suspect in cahoots with the workings of the Tower, is shown by Jordan associating with one known and one suspected Black, and votes for war.<br /><br />Moria, the Blue in the Salidar Hall to whom Anaiya surrendered her seat (I read this in a theory or FAQ, I don't have the passage to cite), also votes for war.  She's also the only old sitter besides Romanda elected in Salidar, and Anaiya almost certainly had a hand in her appointment, being the former sitter in Salidar and one of Sheriam's circle.  If Anaiya is Black, it makes sense she would want a Black to take her place.  Moria doesn't fit the pattern of sitters elected that I believe points to the Ajah heads in the Tower and communications between Tower and Salidar - we also known the Black does not understand what the Ajah heads are up to (Mesaana tells Alviarin fo find out), so if there is a connection to Salidar Anaiya the Black wouldn't know of a pattern to follow.  Furthermore, Moria speaks persuasively for war, which I believe serves the Black's cause.<br /><br />To sum up, I think that Anaiya is Black, coordinating the Black in Salidar, and likely on the Supreme Council given the knowledge of Black Ajah members that role would require.  Furthermore, I suspect Janya and Moria are also Black, due to associations with Anaiya and Delana, and due to the vote for war.  The end of this theory gets a little complicated, but I recommend studying the FAQ on current and original sitters, and paying close attention to the sitters who voted for war.  Not all of them can be suspected, but by paying attention to who is in what faction, who may have connections to the Tower, who does and does not fit the pattern, etc., some interesting theories might emerge.</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> Looking back, &quot;Moria&quot; is kind of a creepy name, what with the prefix &quot;mor&quot; referring to death, both in our world and in Randland.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-09-26 13:24:54
subject: Actual Anath
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<p>In ancient mythology, there is actually someone named Anath. In Phoenician-Canaanite myths, Anath was the sister of the god Baal (fits in with Semirhage being a colleague of Ba'alzamon). Anath wreaked havoc on the god of death, which fits in Semirhage's opposition of Rand (Lews Therin bemoaned once that he is death incarnate). This could also mean that Semirhage may resent or even discretely oppose Moridin.<br /><br />In Egypt, Anath was venerated as the goddess of war. The Seanchan are bringing war to the Westlands and this Egyptian connection fits well into Anath's replacement of Neferi, which is obviously an Egyptian name (Nefertiti). Her name means &quot;providence&quot; or &quot;precaution&quot; which fits in Semirhage's egoism and care in torture. The goddess was also honored for fertility and was a basis for Ishtar, Aphrodite and Venus. I don't think we will be seeing Semirhage encouraging human reproduction and so far, we have seen no sensuality in Semirhage (which incidentally, comes from &quot;Semiramis&quot; the incestuous queen of Assyria).<br /><br />One more interesting thing about Anath: for a short time, she was worshipped along with Allah in Arabia before the early Muslims dropped her. Could that indicate later greater importance of Semirhage in WoT?</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> Well, we have seen sensuality in the way Semirhage tortured the Warder and his bonded AS to death through the use of pleasure.  To me that sounds reminiscent of ancient fertility rites.  <br /><br />On the other hand, I highly doubt Semirhage would oppose Moridin, except in hoping to become Nae'blis herself.  And I wouldn't be too surprised if some of your evidence - such as the meaning of her name and maybe the connection to Baal - is just coincidence.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-09-28 21:01:36
subject: More Evidence for Sareitha
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<p>Rereading WH today, I came across a few passages that, in light of all the other evidence, I think damn Sareitha more than ever as a DF.<br /><br />To set up some background, however, I will quote a bit from Rongar's theory about Adeleas's killer.<br /><br />&quot;Winter's Heart, Chapter 8: Sea Folk and Kin. Vandene:<br /><i>They reasoned out that the killer must be Merilille, Sareitha, or Careane. Good thinking on their part...</i><br />(page 195, hardback)<br /><br /> Winter's Heart, Chapter 10: A Plan Succeeds. Lady Shiane:<br /><i>So. One of the sisters in the Palace was Black Ajah, was she? She would have to be Aes Sedai, not just a Darkfriend, to do what Shiaine needed.</i><br />(page 248, hardback)<br /><br />Winter's Heart, Chapter 11: Ideas of Importance. Nynaeve:<br /><i>Sareitha was supposed to be here, not her [Nynaeve], but the Brown had slipped out of the Palace leaving a note about an urgent errand in the city.</i><br />(page 257, hardback)<br /><br />Now for my new evidence.  In Chapter 7: The Streets of Caemlyn, Elayne rides around the city with only 8 guards and Sareitha and her Warder, Ned.  Sareitha consistently makes comments that seem very ambiguous.<br /><br />First, let's discuss her appearance:<br /><br /><i>After barely three years as Aes Sedai, Sareitha's dark square face had not yet achieved agelessness...</i><br /><br />Let's think about this: this quote appears OFTEN throughout the books - always a comment about how Sareitha never looks ageless compared to everyone else.  I believe that she is a sworn DF, and that she was broken from her White Tower oaths very shortly after taking them.<br /><br />But obviously, that alone is not enough evidence.  So a few moments later, Sareitha reigns in her horse and suddenly tells Elayne that the streets are no longer safe for her:<br /><br /><i>'These streets are not safe for you,' Sareitha said suddenly, heeling her chestunut up beside Elyane's black gelding.  Fireheart almost managed to nip the sleek mare...The Brown sister's face pictured Aes Sedai composure, but apparent concern sharpened her tone. 'Anything might happen in a crush like this. Remember who is staying at the Silver Swan.'</i><br /><br />Elayne brushes this off because she does not believe the sisters there are sent by Elaida (as Sareitha suggests).  The scene goes on:<br /><br />Elayne says: <i>'I won't be penned up by fear of Elaida.'... <br />Sareitha snorted, and not very softly; she seemed about to roll her eyes, then though better of it.... 'Forget Elaida, then,' Sareitha said, 'and remember who else would like to have you in hand.  One well-aimed rock, and you are an unconscious bundle, easily carried away in the confusion.' </i><br /><br />Elayne responds to this comment as if Sareitha is talking about Elayne's rivals for the throne.  I believe, however, that Sareitha hints at what Dark Friends could do.  It becomes clearer in the next paragraph:<br /><br /><i>'If I don't dare leave the Palace, Sareitha, I will never get the people behind me,' she said quietly...'Besides, they would need two well-aimed rocks with you here.'<br />Sareitha snorted again, but Elayne did her best to ignore the other's obstinacy.</i><br /><br />Sareitha apparently snorts because a well-aimed rock would be used for her too... or maybe not.  Maybe she snorts because she IS referring to Dark Friends who obviously would NOT hit her with a rock when they went to grab Elayne.  Want more evidence? Let's move further into the scene when Birgitte joins them to explain that there is a spy in the palace:<br /><br /><i>'So we have a spy in the Palace,' [Elayne] said, then compressed her lips, wishing she had held her tongue in front of Sareitha...Sareitha was listening very intently...</i><br /><br />Here we see that Sareitha has learned that Elayne now knows of a spy.  If Sareitha is that &quot;contact&quot; for the BA in the palace, this is important for her to learn- now she needs a way to sneak out without people noticing... she needs to get Elayne occupied.<br /><br /><i>'If there are spies in the Palace,' Sareitha said quietly 'there may be worse.  Perhaps you should accept the Lady Birgitte's suggestion of a bodyguard.'</i><br /><br />Here is one suggestion by Sareitha to keep Elayne occupied (or at least so that Elayne does not need to have Sareitha with her in the streets).  <br /><br /><i>'Cold dark streets don't compare to a warm fire and an interesting book,' Sareitha put in idly, as if talking to herself.  Studying the shops they were passing, she seemed intent on them.  'I very much dislike walking on icy pavement, myself, especially in the dark, without so much as a candle...<br /><br />'Being knocked down and dragged into an alley by drunken rowdies is a hard way to learn differently.  Of course, if you are lucky enough to have a friend with you who also can channel, if she's lucky enough that the tough fails to hit her as hard as he should... Well, you cannot be lucky every time.'</i><br /><br />A few things are going on in this passage. 1) Sareitha is still looking to send Elayne away. 2) She is INTENTLY STUDYING THE SHOPS THEY WERE PASSING- if she is to sneak out on an errand to Lady Shiane's, she needs to find where to go, and Sareitha certainly needs a pretense to be studying the shops on any given street. 3) She refers back to Ebou Dar when some apparent DFs attacked Elayne and Nynaeve... too much knowledge, or is it foreshadowing?<br /><br />To move on, when they get back to the palace, the entourage walks through the corridors when Sareitha takes leave:<br /><br /><i>Sareitha and her Warder left them after a few paces, the Brown murmuring an excuse about books she wanted to see in the library...</i><br /><br />Sareitha has gotten Elayne back to the palace, and now she has the liberty to go out and continue her work in the city.<br /><br />In summation, added to what we already know about Sareitha's suspicious behavior, chapter 7 of WH really seems to put the nail on the coffin of this issue- it seems very clear to me that Sareitha is not only a DF, but logically she is Adeleas's killer as well.</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> You could be right. With her talk of bodyguards, Sareitha may even be paving the way for Daved Hanlon.  But here's another interpretation: maybe she was studying the shops intently because she was genuinely worried that some &quot;rowdies&quot; may be lurking in a doorway or alley.  Her lack of agelessness isn't really an issue, since Black Ajah members do not seem to lack ageless faces, likely because they swear their own oaths on the Oath Rod after ridding themselves of the original oaths.  Sareitha most likely lacks an ageless face because she hasn't been an AS long enough to have gotten one.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-09-29 12:41:58
subject: The Fall of The White Tower
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<p>I once again want to start my theory by telling a common belief here around wotmania. This is the belief that Mat will discover gunpowder and the cannon.<br /><br />Okay, now here it goes. Some of you who remember ancient history will also remember a huge city called Constantinople. This city is now known as Istanbul.  The following points will show you the resemblance between Constantinople and Tar Valon. <br /><br />* Constantinople has been a huge city with a very developed culture just like Tar Valon. Also both of the cities were very important harbors. Tar Valon is an island city while Constantinople was built on the Bosporus. This means that the ancient city was built on two peninsulas, which is very alike to being built on an island.<br /><br />* Both of the cities have magnificent and huge walls. Constantinople's walls were extremely big and they were like ten meters thick. Everyone has heard of the Shining Walls of Tar Valon. The walls might not be that thick, but we know that millions have died under these walls while trying to defeat the White Tower.<br /><br />* Constantinople has been captured ONLY twice. Once it was captured by the knights, but these knights were led into the city by pretendent for the throne. The knights recaptured Constantinople for him but then betrayed him and wrecked havoc in the city. The second time Constantinople was captured by the Turks. We have seen Tar Valon getting conquered once by Elaida from the inside which resembles the capture by the knights. Tar Valon has not been conquered a second time, but it might get defeated by the army of Egwene.<br /><br />Constantinople was defeated by a scientist. This was the guy who invented a HUGE cannon. Then Mehmed the Conquerer used the cannon to destroy the enormous walls of Constatinople and conquered it.  The history of the two cities is almost identical, so I think that Tar Valon's walls will get destroyed by a big cannon that will be invented by Mat.</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> I wonder if the Shadow would be ready to strike before the Tower's walls could be repaired?  I imagine Egwene would hope for a less destructive means of conquering the Tower; then again, I suppose she'll have to take what she can get.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-10-02 09:07:30
subject: The stench and the book
body:
<p>This is just my thoughts on bits of the passage which comes from Eamon Valda's POV.<br /><br />&quot;Abruptly he stopped in his tracks, wrinkling his nose at a sudden stench, a gagging foulness like twenty midden heaps crawling with maggots.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;He was scanning the camp for the source of the smell, when suddenly there was no smell. The wind did not change; the stink just vanished.&quot; <br /><br />This next quote is from Rand's POV when he is riding in the blight (TEotW, Chapter 48: &#8220;The Blight&#8221;<img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/wink.gif" border="0" />:<br /><br />&quot;When he breathed through his nose, the sweet stench of decay, heavy and thick, sickened him; when he tried breathing through his mouth he almost gagged. The air tasted like a mouthful of spoiled meat.&quot;<br /><br />Notice the similarities between what the two men smell.<br /><br />Now take it that Einor Saren is Demandred and he has to go Shayol Ghul for orders or to report. That explains the blight like stench that suddenly vanishes with his gateway opening or closing.<br /><br />Saren is a Questioner so who better for Demandred to be controlling than Asunawa, who himself controls the questioners. If he's controlling Asunawa he can leave whenever he wants and his commander can explain his absence to anyone that asks. This obviously means that plenty of compulsion is being used on Asunawa. He'd be feeling mentally slow and confused by this.<br /><br />Now remember when Morgase was having compulsion used on her by Rahvin and she also started to feel mentally slow and confused.<br /><br />&quot;She had one hand lifted to open the door of her sitting room before she realized where she was. And what had happened. He had told her to go, and she had gone.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Dazed, she forced herself to turn and walk away.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;At first she had no idea where she was going.......&quot; <br /><br />&quot;It was not until she saw the aged faces in the hallway around her, the creased faces and bent backs, that she became aware of where she was.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;She knew where she was going now.&quot; <br /><br />TFoH, Chapter 19 Memories.<br /><br />When she finally started to realise something was wrong she sought out, without even really thinking about it, something that she had always felt comfortable in from her earliest memories: Lini.<br /><br />Now what is something that Asunawa would turn to in this same sort of situation?<br /><br />&quot;.....he folded his hands over the book, hiding the pages.Valda thought it was Mantelar's The way of the light. Odd reading for the high inquistor. More suited to new recruits.......&quot;<br /><br />This book would hold in it for Asunawa what Lini held for Morgase. Something in which Asunawa has always felt comfortable in for a long time and something that he sought out to find comfort in when the need arose. This would also indicate that he could be waking up to the fact that something&#8217;s not right.<br /><br />The similarities between these two cases are great evidence for the fact that heavy compulsion is being used on Asunawa and that Demandred (Saren) is the one to blame.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-10-02 09:28:00
subject: Deciphering a viewing... Elayne Vs. Perrin
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<p>Viewing 1 (Rand):<br /><br />&#8220;a bloody hand and a white-hot iron&#8221; (The Eye of the World, &#8220;Strangers and Friends&#8221;<i></i>)<br /><br />Viewing 2 (Elayne):<br /><br />&#8220;a severed hand [which is not Elayne's]&quot; (The Great Hunt, &#8220;New Friends and Old Enemies&#8221;<i></i>)<br /><br />Viewing 3 (Elayne):<br /><br /> &#8220;&#8230;a red-hot iron and an axe. They meant trouble, she was sure, but it seemed distant, somewhere in the future.&#8221; (The Great Hunt, &#8220;A Plan&#8221;<i></i>)<br /><br />Ok.  These three viewing have been unresolved.  No one seems to have any clue other than to group them together and say something to the effect of &#8220;Rand will probably get his had cut of by Elayne with an axe and have it cauterized by a hot iron.&#8221; <br /><br />I am going to disagree.  For the sake of one theory at a time I will say that Viewing 1 and 2 do go together and the severed hand is Rand&#8217;s. If that is so then the hot iron involved somehow is white-hot.  The iron in the second viewing is &#8220;red-hot.&#8221;   People could argue that this is a mistake, or that RJ was just trying to point out that the iron is hot.  I disagree.<br /><br />First point, the irons are different colors.  RJ will sometimes make mistakes, but I don&#8217;t think this is one of them.  It is too blatant, and the main character trait of Min&#8217;s is her viewing. The main point of the viewings is that they are NEVER wrong.  If he was going to make her viewings this important, I am sure he would make them precisely worded.  <br /><br />Second point, the first 2 viewing aren&#8217;t dangerous.  When Min sees the &#8220;red-hot&#8221; iron she is able to tell that it is trouble.   In the other 2 views she says she has no clue what they mean.   I think it is because they refer to different things.<br /><br />So here is my theory.  I think that the &#8220;axe and a red-hot iron&#8221; refers to Perrin.  One of his main ongoing character stories is the &#8220;axe vs. hammer&#8221; or &#8220;fighting vs. creating.&#8221;   In the viewing we have an Axe, and red-hot iron.  Red-hot iron is used my blacksmiths and pounded into things with the blacksmiths hammer.  As to what trouble it could cause Elayne distantly in the future, I don&#8217;t know.  What I would like to think since it is distant is in a post TG world, Elayne is still a queen of a kingdom, and Perrin ends up the king of another and they are perhaps rival countries for some reason.  That would be a distant trouble.  I think the evidence points that this viewing does not refer to the &#8220;bloody severed hand&#8221; <br /><br />Ponder &#8216;way.</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> Here's the third quote in context: &quot;A man's ring of heavy gold floated above Nyaneve's head, and above Elayne's a red hot iron and an axe. They meant trouble, she was sure, but it seemed distant, somewhere in the future.&quot;<br /><br />From the way Nynaeve's and Elayne's viewings were paired in the same sentence, I think &quot;They&quot; in the next sentence refers to both viewings, not just to the two items in Elayne's viewing.  Unless there would also be trouble between Elayne and Nynaeve's potential kingdoms, the &quot;trouble&quot; may refer to something not quite so distant anymore.  Nynaeve is already married to the man who the ring represents, and Perrin's army already carries the flag of Manetheren.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-10-04 14:31:13
subject: The Finn-Skin connection
body:
<p><b>Intro</b><br /><br />In TDR, Perrin saw a man have his skin ripped off his body by a shadow.  Later, we see a creature that just happens to wear human skin: the Eelfinn.  <br /><br />Before we dive into the subject, however, I want to stress that this isn't my original idea.  [Burr notes: much discussion originated from Dedric's theory Finns and skins on the WoT message board.]  Basically, I synthesized much of the material off of the WoT MB, looked up references, and adding my own flourishes to it.  Here is the result.<br /><br /><b>For the first time Perrin sees someone in their skin</b><br /><br />Oops, I mean Perrin sees someone <i>out</i> of their skin.  He is in the wolf dream, in &#8220;Wolf Dreams&#8221; from TDR:<br /><br />&#8220;He was in a long hallway, its high stone ceiling and walls glistening with damp and streaked by odd shadows. They lay in contorted strips, stopping as abruptly as they began, too dark for the light between them. He had no idea where the light came from...<br /><br />&#8220;Other hallways crossed the one he ran along, at odd angles, sometimes descending, sometimes climbing. None looked any different from the passage he was in, though. Damp stone walls unbroken by doors, and strips of darkness.<br /><br />&#8220;As he came on one of those crossing halls, he skidded to a halt. A man stood there, blinking at him uncertainly, in strangely cut coat and breeches, the coat flaring over his hips as the bottoms of the breeches flared over his boots. Both were bright yellow, and his boots were only a little paler.<br /><br />&#8220;&#8216;This is more than I can stand,&#8217; the man said, to himself, not Perrin. He had an odd accent, quick and sharp. &#8216;Not only do I dream of peasants, now, but foreign peasants, from those clothes. Begone from my dreams, fellow!&#8217;<br /><br />&#8220;&#8216;Who are you?&#8217; Perrin asked. The man's eyebrows rose as if he were offended.&#8221;<br /><br />The man is obviously a noble.  But the lingering question is:  Where is he from?  Based on my research, I could not find a country that matched his accent, but by his clothes (and a vague similarity to Birgitte's) he may be from Kandor.  It doesn't matter now anyway.<br /><br />&#8220;The strips of shadow around them writhed. One detached from the ceiling at one end and drifted down to touch the strange man's head. It appeared to tangle in his hair. The man's eyes widened, and everything seemed to happen at once. The shadow jerked back to the ceiling, ten feet overhead, trailing something pale. Wet drops splattered Perrin's face.&#8230;<br /><br />&#8220;Frozen, Perrin stared at the bloody shape wearing the man's clothes, screaming and thrashing on the floor. Unbidden, his eyes rose to the pale thing like an empty sack that dangled from the ceiling. Part of it was already absorbed by the black strip, but he had no trouble recognizing a human skin, apparently whole and unbroken.&#8221;<br /><br />Perrin saw a man get wiped out by a shadow.  We do not know how that man got into Dreamworld, or how he remained there so long if he was just a regular person.  <br /><br />In TSR, however, a new picture emerges.<br /><br /><b>Mat gains a deeper appreciation of his integumentary system</b><br /><br />In &#8220;Rhuidean,&#8221; Mat walks into the Eelfinn ter'angreal. The place he saw does not resemble the Place in Perrin's dreams. But something else did.  He sees a whole bunch of people in their skin.  Or somebody else's skin, to be more precise. Let me quote:<br /><br />&#8220;The fellow was tall, taller than an Aiel, and sinewy, but with shoulders too wide for his narrow waist, and skin as white as the finest paper. Pale leather straps studded with silver crisscrossed his arms and bare chest, and a black kilt hung to his knees....<br /><br />&#8220;The air was no longer musty; instead it held a faint hint of something unpleasant, something tickling familiarity but not strong enough to recognize.... [What could this smell be?]<br /><br />&#8220;The fellow started, pale eyes widening, then shrugged and adjusted the silver-studded straps across his chest; his mocking smile seemed tailored to darm attention to what he was doing. Suddenly Mat found himself wondering where that pale leather came from. Surely not... Oh, Light, I think it is. He managed to stop himself from swallowing, but only just. 'Lead, you son of a goat. Your hide is not worth silver studding. Take me where I want to go....&#8217;<br /><br />&#8220;He did wish he had just one knife, though. I'll be burned if I'll let some fox-faced goat brain make a harness out of my hide...<br /><br />&#8220;The unpleasant smell was stronger here; he recognized it now. The smell of a wild animal's lair...<br /><br />&#8220;standing on each pedestal, people just like his guide, but dressed differently. Four were men, the others women, their stiff hair rising in a crest before spilling down their backs. All wore long white skirts that hid their feet. The women had on white blouses that fell below their hips, with high lace necks and pale ruffles at their wrists. The men wore even more straps than the guide, wider and studded with gold. Each harness supported a pair of bare-bladed knives on the wearer's chest.&#8221;<br /><br />Human skin is an everyday item of apparel for the Fox people. They all wear different amounts of it according to their various ranks.<br /><br />But where does all this skin come from??<br /><br /><b>The Finn-Skin connection</b><br /><br />It comes from various victims in the dreamworld. Perrin happened to see one of them.<br /><br />The foxes are hunters. Mat even smelled the smell of wild animal when he was with them.<br /><br />I hypothesize that they are kind of like the creatures from the movie Predator. They hunt people for the trophies. Their trophies are human experiences, and human flesh.<br /><br />I do not know if this statement applies to the Aelfinn, however, because the snake people were not seen wearing flesh.<br /><br />I believe that the dreamworld is connected to Finnland somehow. There is nothing to suggest that it isn't, and there is much evidence to suggest that it is.<br /><br />Birgitte told Perrin that the Tower of Ghenjei could be entered through the dreamworld. We also have Perrin's dream.<br /><br />However, the fox people's lair is not the tower of Ghenjei. It is something completely different. It must be connected somehow, but it is a different place. Birgitte said the tower was almost impossible to escape when entered from dreamworld. But Slayer clearly had a way out.<br /><br />Plus, we don't know if the Finns can leave the tower or not. Nothing suggests they can't (at least to enter the dreamworld). And since the tower is not the same as the red-stone ter'angreal that Mat went through, the rules are probably not the same.<br /><br />I firmly believe Tel'aran'rhiod is connected with the Finn ter'angreals. It makes sense. After all, where do the Finns gain their power to read into People's futures? This is a talent generally associated with dreamers (and also Min).<br /><br />Since Finnland is another dimension, is it possible that this dimension is tucked away in Tel'aran'rhiod somewhere?  One similarity is in the ter'angreal that the Aes Sedai use to raise novice to accepted.  It is widely believed that the Accepted ter'angreal provided access to some part of the dreamworld.<br /><br />Perhaps the red-stone ter'angreals do something similar, but take the person to the Finnland part of Tel'aran'rhiod.<br /><br />If this is true, it may mean that the Finns have a way to access various parts of Tel'aran'rhiod outside their own realm.  This explains how they killed the noble that Perrin saw.  Perhaps they enjoy killing so much that they kill for sport.  This is because in Tel'aran'rhiod, they don't have kill to get human skins.  They could just think of themselves wearing skin, and they would automatically be wearing them. <br /><br />We already know of at least one character that likes to kill in Dreamworld: Slayer.  Slayer is a master hunter and Slayer clearly has some unknown connection to Finnland.  But we cannot yet draw any conclusions about the real connection of Slayer and Finnland.<br /><br /><b>In Conclusion</b><br /><br />Perrin saw a man get wiped out, his skin taken whole.  Mat later saw the Eelfinn wearing human hide.  The foxes were likely responsible.  If so, they may be a type of predator on humans, and they may also be able to access Tel'aran'rhiod.</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> If the Finns are stuck in T'A'R, then the skins are merely dreamed skins, not real skins, except for the rare skin that might come from someone in T'A'R in the flesh.  Objects of the dreamworld tend to quickly revert back to their state in the real world, unless they are held in place by constant concentration.  If the skins are dreamed skins, then how would they attain a state permanent enough to be used as both clothing and symbols of rank?<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-10-08 11:59:30
subject: The Mirror World Switch
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<p><b>Introduction</b><br /><br />Ever since reading TGH, when Rand, Hurin, and Loial meet Selene in the mirror world, and she tells Loial about their nature, I have been waiting for RJ to employ it in the story. In case you have forgotten, this is Loial's quote: <br /><br />&quot;She says there are worlds where it is time rather than distance that changes. Spend a day in one of those, and you might come back to find a year has passed in the real world, or twenty. Or it could be the other way round. Those worlds-this one, all the others-are reflections of the real world, she says. This one seems pale to us because it is a weak reflection, a world that had little chance of ever being. Others are almost as likely as ours. Those are as solid as our world, and have people. The same people, she says, Rand. Imagine it! You could go to one of them and meet yourself. The Pattern has infinite variation, she says, and every variation that can be, will be.&quot;  (TGH, chap.16, HB edit., p. 217).<br /><br />This seemed to me like a great plot device, too good for RJ to throw in and not use. But, as the series progressed, and Traveling became the preferred method of rapid transit, Portal Stones and mirror worlds became almost forgotten. Then, after many rereads, I started noticing inconsistencies. These &quot;mistakes&quot; are the basis for my theory.<br /> <br />Here's my hypothesis: RJ has been telling the story from a mirror world perspective, at least part of the time. That is to say, the characters we are sometimes seeing are people in a mirror world. Different world, same people. But since it is a reflection, there are changes. Some are minor, some are major, and we have only the occasional clue to tell the difference. <br /><br /><b>Dark Moraine</b><br /><br />This first one is the hardest to believe, but I think all the evidence is there. If you have doubts, I suggest you go back and read the first part of the chapter &#8220;The Shadow in Shienar&#8221; again, and keep in mind Moiraine is hiding what she is, and she can lie. Pay attention to her PoVs. <br /><br />In the mirror world, I believe Moiraine is BA. The following is from Moiraine and the Amyrlin's meeting in Fal Dara. Moiraine says, &quot;His two friends, Matrim Cauthon and Perrin Aybara, are ripe to see the world before they sink back into the obscurity of the Two Rivers. If they can sink back; they are ta'veren, too, if lesser than he. I will <i><b>induce</b></i> them to carry the Horn of Valere to Illian.&quot; (TGH, The Shadow in Shienar, HB edit., p. 58; emphasis mine). Further down same page is this: &quot;Moiraine smiled, but it did not touch her eyes. &quot;They will think worse of me before I am done. Mat will leap at the chance to be so big a part of the legend of the Horn, and Perrin should not be hard to convince. Rand knows who he is - some of it, at least; a little - and he is afraid of it, naturally. He wants to go off somewhere alone, where he cannot hurt anyone.&quot; Yet further down the same page, she says, &quot;Offered the chance to leave AS behind and still stay with his friends a while longer, he should be as eager as Mat.&quot;<br /><br />On the next page, we have this PoV from Moiraine: &quot;Besides, my dearest friend, I cannot tell you everything, and I cannot risk letting you know I am holding anything back.&quot; Further down, same page, this quote appears: &#8220;&#8216;The morning,&#8217; Moiraine agreed. &#8216;In the morning I will tell you everything you need to know.&#8217;&#8221;<br />Next page. &quot;The hour was growing late, and there was much to be done before the morning came. Much, before she spoke to the Amyrlin Seat again. Quickening her step, she moved deeper into the keep.&quot;<br /><br />We now go to the end of the same chapter: Fain is in the dungeon, alone with the two other prisoners, who are asleep. &quot;The door to the outer guardroom opened, spilling in a flood of light, darkly outlining a figure in the doorway. Fain stood. &quot;You! Not who I expected.&quot;<br /><br />After the attack, and the Horn is stolen, Rand finds Mat and Egwene inside the dungeon. Liandrin and Moiraine are close behind him. &quot;Liandrin reached Rand first and began to bend toward Egwene, but Moiraine darted in ahead of her and laid her free hand on Egwene's head.&quot; (TGH, chapter titled Dark Prophecy HB edit., p. 80).<br /><br />Further down same page. &#8220;&#8216;She is sleeping, Rand. She will be well, but she must sleep.&#8217; Moiraine shifted to Mat, but here she only touched him for a moment before drawing back. &#8216;This is more serious,&#8217; she said softly. She fumbled at Mat's waist, pulling his coat open, and made an angry sound. &#8216;The dagger is gone.&#8217;<br /><br />&#8220;&#8216;What dagger?&#8217; Liandrin asked.&#8221;<br /><br />Later, in the same chapter, p. 84, Lan is talking to Rand. &#8220;No matter, now. Moiraine sent me to tell you. You can leave anytime you want to. Even right now. Moiraine had Agelmar exempt you from the order.&#8221;<br /><br />Why were Egwene and Mat not killed like the guards? Why was the dagger stolen? Who would Fain recognize in Fal Dara, and be surprised at being his rescuer? Why do Egwene and Mat have no memory of anything later?<br /><br />This was all Moiraine's <i><b>inducement</b></i>. The dagger is the bait for Rand to follow the Horn. He only wanted to go off alone, and he has no desire for the Horn. But, Mat will die without the dagger, and this is why he goes. Only Moiraine knew of Mat's link with the dagger <i>and</i> would be recognized by Fain <i>and</i> could have used the OP on Mat and Egwene to make them forget what she did <i>and</i> would leave them alive. Trollocs or myrddraal would have killed them. Liandrin didn't know about the dagger. The Amyrlin knew about the dagger, but had never met Fain.  As far as we know, none of the other AS knew of the dagger or Fain.<br /><br />More confirmation comes later. With trollocs and myrddraal involved in taking the Horn, one would expect them to head north, to the Blight, to SG. That is not the case. TGH chapter titled Leavetakings, HB edit., p. 130, Hurin is talking &#8220;&#8216;That way my Lord Ingtar.&#8217; He pointed south. Ingtar looked surprised. &#8216;Not toward the Blight?&#8217;&#8221; Skip a line. &#8220;&#8216;She was right, then, the Amyrlin Seat,&#8217; Ingtar said slowly. &#8216;A great and wise woman, who deserves better than me to serve her.&#8217; Take the trail Hurin.&#8221;  Moiraine was supposed to tell the Amyrlin her plan; we will assume this is how she knows.<br /><br />There&#8217;s still more in TGH, &#8220;Glimmers of the Pattern,&#8221; HB edit., p.160-161. &#8220;Ingtar hesitated, shaking his head, then pushed the big bundle at Rand. &#8216;Here. Moiraine Sedai told me to give you this at the first camp south of the Erinin. I don't know what is in it, but she said you would need it. She said to tell you to take care of it; your life may depend on it.&#8217;<br /><br />Moiraine definitely knew they would be going south.<br /><br />This is from TGH, &#8220;The Dragon Reborn,&#8221; HB edit., p. 105-111, where Moiraine tells Rand all about his history of being born on Dragonmount and being the DR, as well as about Tam. We assume that the room is warded, since they had done this the day before, and the nature of the conversation, with other AS in the next room and in the hall. Later, when Rand is in the mirror world, Ba'alzamon appears to him. &#8220;The AS called Moiraine told you who you are, did she not? Did she lie? Or is she one of mine? The WT means to use you like a hound on a leash. Do I lie? Do I lie when I say you seek the Horn of Valere?&#8221; (TGH, &#8220;Kinslayer,&#8221; HB edit., p.204).<br /><br />We also know that Moiraine is gone from Fal Dara at the time of the DFS. Plus the fact that in tDR, when they arrive in Illian, Moiraine leaves Easing the Badger, and returns a short time later, with the knowledge that Sammael is ruling there. Who told her this? No one in this age knows what any of the Forsaken look like. Only a DF would have known. The same thing would have been true in Tear, with Be'lal.<br /><br />Some people might ask why all of this is done. I will remind you that the DO needs Rand to proclaim himself and become the DR. He needs the DR to break him free. If the Forsaken could do it, they would have. You should always remember this is a one-shot deal for the DO. He will sacrifice anyone or anything, if it will get him out. <br /><br />Let's move on to other discrepancies.<br /><br /><b>Other Inconsistencies</b><br /><br />In TDR, &#8220;The Hunt Begins,&#8221; HB edit., p. 63, Perrin is talking to Min. &quot;Uh...Min, you know I like you. I like you, but...Uh...I never had a sister, but if I did, I....I mean, you...&quot;<br /><br />That contradicts what we see in TSR, &#8220;Beyond the Oak,&#8221; HB edit., p. 336: &quot;With Faile holding his head beneath her breasts, Perrin lost track of how long he cried. Images of his family flashed in his thoughts, his father smiling as he showed him how to use a bow, his mother singing while she spun wool, Adora and Deselle teasing him when he shaved the first time, Paet wide-eyed at a gleeman during Sunday long ago.&quot;<br /><br />It appears this Perrin has not one sister, but two.<br /><br />In TFoH, &#8220;News Comes To Cairhien,&#8221; HB edit., p. 609, Moiraine has just delivered two letters to Rand, one from Elaida and one from Alviarin. He reads the letters, then hands them to Moiraine, who hands them to Egwene. &#8220;&#8216;She must have heard about your swelled head,&#8217; Egwene said softly. He did not think he had been meant to hear. Shaking her head, she said more loudly, &#8216;This doesn't sound like Alviarin at all.&#8217;<br />&#8220;&#8216;It is her hand.&#8217; Moiraine said. &#8216;What do you make of it, Rand?&#8217;&#8221;<br /><br />In TcoS, &#8220;A Pair of Silverpike,&#8221; HB edit., p. 178, Egwene is talking to Leane. &#8220;&#8216;He says he has a letter from her.&#8217; She could still see Rand gloating over receiving letters from Elaida and Alviarin both, back before she left Cairhien. &#8216;Maybe her ambitions make her think she can replace Elaida with him on her side. That's if she really wrote it; if it exists. He thinks he's clever, Leane - maybe he is - but he doesn't believe he needs anyone.&#8217;&#8221;<br /> <br />The first Egwene not only reads the letter, but Moiraine tells her it is Alviarin's writing. This second Egwene not only hasn't read the letter, she doubts the letter even exists.<br /><br />In TFoH, &#8220;Choices,&#8221; HB edit., p. 624, Rand meets Moiraine in the hallway, before they head down to the docks. &#8220;&#8216;More letters?&#8217; he said. One bore his name in an elegant hand that he recognized immediately. &#8216;From you Moiraine?&#8217; The other carried Thom Merrilin's name. Both had been sealed with blue wax, apparently with her Great Serpent ring, impressed with the image of the snake biting its own tail.<br /><br />In TLoC, &#8220;Courage to Strengthen,&#8221; HB edit., p. 460, Rand comes to the camp of the Band of the Red Hand, and talks to Mat. &#8220;&#8216;Thom Merrilin should be with Elayne.&#8217; Rand produced a letter from his pocket, folded and sealed. &#8216;See that he gets this.&#8217; Shoving the letter into Mat's hands, he hurriedly left the tent.&#8221; Skip down a paragraph. &#8220;Still, it was no concern of his. He turned the letter over in his hands. Thom's name was written in a feminine hand; the seal was one he did not recognize, a spreading tree topped with a crown.&#8221;<br /><br />Rand does not say that the letter is from Moiraine, however, we know of no other letter written by a female that he would have for Thom. We also know that he wouldn't open it if it were, because of the warding she put on his letter. Besides, Moiraine had promised Thom information about who gentled his nephew Owyn, and he apparently recognizes the seal of House Damodred. It is generally agreed that this is Moiraine's letter to Thom, with a different seal.<br /><br />In TGH, &#8220;Wolfbrother,&#8221; HB edit., p. 195, Verin catches up to Mat, Perrin and the Shienarans. &#8220;&#8216;Moiraine Sedai sent me, Lord Ingtar,&#8217; Verin announced with a satisfied smile. &#8216;She thought you might need me.&#8217;<br /><br />However, in TGH, &#8220;What Was Meant To Be,&#8221; HB edit., p. 572, we see this: &#8220;&#8216;I did not send Verin.&#8217; Moiraine frowned. &#8216;She did that on her own.&#8217;&#8221;<br /><br />These two statements have come under much debate. Is it AS double-talk or not? You decide. <br /><br />In TGH, Verin and the Shienarans meet up with Rand, Hurin, and Loial in Cairhien. She goes to the party at Lord Barthanes with Rand, Loial and Ingtar. They ride to stedding Tsofu together, and go through the Portal Stones to Toman Head together.<br /><br />But in TSR, &#8220;Assurances,&#8221; HB edit., p. 345, Mistress al'Vere takes Perrin, Loial, Faile and the Aiel to meet Verin and Alanna in the old sick house, and makes introductions. &#8220;&#8216;It's quite all right, Mistress al'Vere,&#8217; Verin interrupted in a soothing tone. &#8216;You did exactly the correct thing. Perrin is in the right hands, now. Also I will enjoy the chance to learn more about the Aiel, and it is always a pleasure to talk with an Ogier. I will pick your brain, Loial. I have found some fascinating things in Ogier books.&#8217; Loial gave her a pleased smile; anything to do with books seemed to please him.<br /><br />This passage always struck me a little strange. From the way Loial and Verin act, it is like they had never met before.<br /><br />In TSR, &#8220;An Offer Refused,&#8221; HB edit., p. 554, Lanfear, disguised as Keille Shaogi, the peddler, is talking to Mat and Rand. &#8220;&#8216;Tell him, my Lord Dragon. I have a feeling you know something of the dangers of scorning a woman. That Aiel girl who follows you about, glaring. I hear you belong to another. Perhaps she feels scorned,&#8217;<br /><br />&#8216;I doubt it Mistress,&#8217; he said dryly. &#8216;Aviendha would plant a knife in my ribs if she believed I had thought of her that way.&#8217; <br /><br />In TFoH, &#8220;Choices,&#8221; HB edit., p. 629, Rand and co. are at the docks in Cairhien, and Lanfear has started her attack. &#8220;&#8216;One of them?&#8217; Lanfear snarled. &#8216;Which one of them is Aviendha?&#8217; Egwene threw her head back and wailed, eyes bulging, the world's agony shrieking from her mouth. &#8216;Which?&#8217; Aviendha rose on tiptoes, shuddering, howls chasing Egwene's as they climbed higher and higher.<br /><br />Lanfear had travelled across the waste, day after day, seeing Aviendha by Rand's side, had heard her talking about Elayne to Rand, knew her name even. And now she doesn't recognize her from Egwene? The height difference alone should have distinguished them apart, aside from the hair length and color.<br /><br />In TFoH, &#8220;To Teach And Learn,&#8221; HB edit., p. 592., Nynaeve, Elayne, Birgette and co. have arrived in Salidar. Nynaeve and Elayne have just come from meeting Sheriam and her council. Thom, Juilin and Uno are talking to them. &#8220;Birgette was leading Jaril and Seve to their mother, keeping her out of it. Min knew what the men were up to, too, by the rueful look she gave them; she seemed about to say something, but in the end she only shrugged and joined Birgette.&#8221;<br /><br />In WH, &#8220;A Lily In Winter,&#8221; HB edit., p. 296, Min sees Birghette again. &#8220;Coming toward them was an apparition that made Min's jaw drop. Consternation pushed Rand beyond awareness. From comments she had known that the Captain-General of Elayne's Guards was a woman, and Elayne's warder to boot, but nothing else. This woman had a thick, intricate golden braid pulled over one shoulder of her short, white-collared red coat, and her voluminous blue trousers were tucked into boots with heels as high as Min's. Auras danced around her and images flickered, more than Min had ever seen around anyone, thousands it seemed, cascading over one another.&#8221;<br /><br />This one hardly needs any explaining at all. Could this Min not recognize Birgette with all those auras if she had met her in Salidar?<br /><br />In TEotW, &#8220;Dust On The Wind,&#8221; HB edit., p. 260, Rand, Mat and Thom, have escaped Shadar Logoth, made it on board the Spray, and are introduced to Bayle Domon. &#8220;&#8216;I am a gleeman, you understand, Thom Merrilin by name.&#8217; He shifted his cloak so the multihued patches stirred, as if the captain could have missed them.&#8217;&#8221; They were on board for days, With Thom playing his harp and flute and telling stories.<br /><br />In TSR, &#8220;A Cup Of Wine,&#8221; HB edit., p. 446, Nynaeve, Elayne, Thom and Juilin disembark the seafolk ship in Tanchico. Before they go very far, Bayle Domon yells at them. &#8220;&#8216;You! It do be you!&#8217;<br /><br />&#8220;&#8216;Master Domon?&#8217; Nynaeve said after a moment, giving her braid a sharp tug. &#8216;Bayle Domon?&#8217;<br /><br />&#8220;He nodded. &#8216;Aye. I did never think to see you again. I...did wait as long as I could in Falme, but the time did come when I must sail or watch my ship burn.&#8217;&#8221;<br /><br />Skip ahead to p. 447. &#8220;She half expected some protest out of Nynaeve, yet the older woman only nodded thoughtfully and made introductions among the men. Thom's cloak made Domon's eyebrows rise, but Juilin's Tairen garb brought a frown that was returned in kind.&#8221;<br /><br />Here we have Bayle Domon recognizing Nynaeve and Elayne, whom he met once in Falme, and call out to them. Yet, when he sees Thom, wearing his gleeman cloak again, a man who spent days on his ship entertaining his crew, he has to be introduced to him. And not a mention of, or indication of recognition on Thom's part either. It's obvious they have never met.<br /><br />Those are the &quot;mistakes&quot; that I have found. Taken individually, they don't seem to amount to much. Collectively, they point to a pattern. We never know when RJ switches from the real world to a mirror world, unless we catch the subtle clues he has left. The real brilliance, I thought, was starting it early in TGH, before he told us about the possibility. That way, we would look for it later, and catch us unaware.<br /><br />There is also the possibility that when Rand used the Portal Stones to go to Toman Head, the mirror world Rand used them at the same time, and the two switched places. This might account for that surge of the OP. This might be employed for that &quot;Twice Dawns the Day&quot; prophecy.<br /><br />A little more Light in the Night!</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> From the quotes you provided, I'm not sure the Merillin-Domon part is actually a discrepancy.  The fact that Thom was introduced does not, by itself, mean that Thom needed to be introduced.  Could not Bayle Domon have been raising his eyebrow <i>because</i> he recognized Thom and his cloak?<br /><br />And I have strong doubts about the Moiraine part.  It seems simpler to me to say that there's something in this world that we don't know than to say that the problem must be solved by dragging in a new world.  <i>Fain</i> could have told another person about the dagger, so all we really need to explain is how Fain came to recognize someone other than Moiraine.  Maybe Liandrin snooped about and had an opportunity to talk with Fain.  Moreover, if all this happened in another universe, then everything from Fain's stealing of the dagger to Mat's regaining of it must be in another universe.  If that is true, then, in the <i>other</i> universe, how and why did Rand get to Falme where he had his very public fight against Ishamael?<br /><br />Nevertheless, I suppose the universe-switch idea could be true for the definite discrepancies.  If it comes to that, though, RJ is going to have to do something pretty extensive to convince me that he's not just trying to explain away his mistakes.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-10-08 17:41:36
subject: Moridin's future killer
body:
<p>There is an interesting passage in TDR.  Egwene visits Verin to get information about the Black sisters that fled the Tower.<br /><br />TDR, A World of Dreams, pg 237 (paper back)<br />Verin - <br />&quot;It is a direct translation, mind, and reads almost like a bard reciting in High Chant. Listen.<br /><br />'Heart of the Dark. Ba'alzamon. Name hidden within name shrouded by name. Secret buried within secret cloaked by secret. Betrayer of Hope. Ishamael betrays all hope. Truth burns and sears. Hope fails before truth. A lie is our shield. Who can stand against the Heart of the Dark? Who can face the Betrayer of Hope? Soul of shadow, Soul of the Shadow, he is-' <br /><br />It ends there.&quot;<br /><br />What we know:<br />-Ishamael is the Betrayer of Hope according to the glossary<br />-Ba'alzoman means 'Heart of the Dark'<br />-Ishamael uses the name Ba'alzoman<br />-Ishamael is now Moridin<br /><br />This passage is clearing refering to Moridin/Ishamael and talks about the who will face him.  So who does Soul of shadow, Soul of the Shadow refer to?  The number one suspect is Padan Fain/Mordeth.  <br /><br />Why it is Fain<br />-We know Fain is possesive of Rand, and wants to be the one to kill him.  We know the WhiteCloak attack on Rand in Caemlym was Fain's work and that he would have been VERY unhappy if any of those Darkfriend WhiteCloaks (DarkCloaks?) has succeeded. Sorry I didnt find the exact quote.<br />-We know that Moridin is another prime suspect for trying to hurt/kill Rand, which might just make Fain jealous. I read a theory about that once from this site.<br />-We know that Fain is a darkfriend which could be 'Soul of THE Shadow'<br />-We know that Mordeth is from Aridhol, which is now called Shadow Waiting which could be 'Soul of shadow'<br /><br />Conclusion<br />-Fain might kill or at least try to kill Moridin in order to stop him from killing Rand as per the above quote.  <br /><br />Side note<br />-I suspect that the whole &quot;a lie is our shield&quot; thing refers to Ishamael not being truely trapped.<br /><br />Any takers?</p><p><b>StoneDogAiel says:</b> I like this concept. I think that you may have struck the &quot;heart&quot; of the matter. Fain is a very good suspect for those reasons you so nicely laid out. I'll have to agree with this one.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-10-13 21:13:47
subject: Mazrim Taim is Demandred Reborn
body:
<p>Yes, I know Demandred isn&#8217;t dead yet, but let me explain!<br /><br />People get replaced with each new Age as the Wheel turns.  However, this is not as simple as saying that each person will die and be born again in 3,000 year intervals.  The current Forsaken were sealed inside the Bore, OUTSIDE the Pattern, so they did not die in the Age they should have died in.  They belong in the previous Age.  Being trapped inside the Bore is apparently similar to a stasis box, where time does not pass.  Aginor and Balthamel were trapped close to the surface, so they aged.  This was made clear at the end of Vol.1.  We can infer that the rest of the Forsaken who stayed young-looking did not experience the passage of time at all (with the known exception of Ishamael, who seems above and apart from the rest).<br /><br />The Forsaken have literally *forsaken* their place in the Pattern of the Wheel by *choosing* to serve the Dark One.  Meanwhile, the Wheel (the Creator) has to cover its losses, right?  I theorize that the Pattern spits out a decent replacement when one is needed if the old soul does not show up to be reborn.<br /><br />You ask, &#8220;don&#8217;t you need the same soul to be reborn?&#8221;<br /><br />I present you with an alternative idea for the WOT universe; the TRINITY theory.  It works like this:<br />1)	Souls are basic archetypes of a person, rather than the sum of an individual&#8217;s personality and memories.  The soul is a thread in the Pattern; a character role.  The same thread (soul) is born and reborn as hundreds of different people.<br />2)	This means that two completely separate people can share a soul as long as they fulfill the same role in the Pattern.<br />3)	Under extremely rare circumstances- for instance, spending 3,000 years outside of time-  these separate people might live concurrently.  This would result in a trinity situation.  Person A and Person B have the same soul, which is C.<br /><br />Okay, evidence.  Here we go!<br /><br />#1) A soul is an archetype rather than the exact same person reborn.<br /><br />Birgitte pretty much said this.  She claimed that she was a &#8220;different woman&#8221; in each one of her past lives, and went by different names.  I plan to find a quote for this when I have time someday.<br /><br />Rand and Lews Therin are another example of an archetype being a reborn soul:<br />&#8220;Yet one shall be born to face the Shadow, born once more as he was born before and shall be born again, time without end. The Dragon shall be Reborn&#8230;.&#8221; [Prologue, tGH)<br />So the Dragon is an archetype &#8220;born to face the Shadow&#8221; and not the exact same person each time.<br /><br />#2) Two completely separate people can share a soul if they fulfill the same role in the Pattern.<br /><br />Rand and Lews Therin Telamon are both the &#8220;Dragon,&#8221; but they are not the same person.  They started out with almost no intrinsic similarities.  It has been mentioned that LTT had certain habits, such as tugging on his earlobe, or whistling when he sees a pretty girl, that Rand does not have.  LTT loved only one woman, as far as we know.  LTT was an artist whereas Rand has no artistic ability.  LTT and Rand cannot be genetically related since LTT killed his kin.  On top of all this, LTT speaks in Rand&#8217;s head as though he is a completely separate man sharing the same body.  In fact, when Rand tried to break the Seal that Bashere gave him, it seemed as though LTT had taken possession of Rand&#8217;s body.  Rand is the Dragon, but he is not Lews Therin.<br /><br />#3) Two people sharing the same soul can coexist under extremely rare circumstances.<br /><br />I theorize that &#8220;merging&#8221; is a result of this condition when only one body is available.<br /><br />One example of merging is Rand and Lews Therin.  They are beginning to have access to each other&#8217;s memories and personality traits.  Rand blurts out things from LTT&#8217;s life such as &#8220;I&#8217;ll be buried in the Can Breat!&#8221;  Min said to Rand, &#8220;I saw you and another man. I couldn&#8217;t make out either face, but I knew one was you. You touched, and seemed to merge into one another, and.... one of you dies, and one doesn&#8217;t.&#8221; (ch33, aCoS)<br /><br />Egwene had two dreams to indicate that Rand and another will merge:<br />&#8220;Logain, laughing, stepped across something on the ground and mounted a black stone; when she looked down, she thought it was Rand&#8217;s body he had stepped over, laid out on a funeral bier with his hands crossed at his breast, but when she touched his face, it broke apart like a paper puppet.&#8221; (p.249-251, aCoS)<br />and<br />&#8220;Rand, wearing different masks, until suddenly one of those false faces was no longer a mask, but him.&#8221; (p.308, PoD)<br /><br />If you accept that the voice in Rand&#8217;s head is really Lews Therin and not the taint madness, and Rand and LTT are each an incarnation of the Dragon, then we have an example of two people sharing the same soul and coexisting.<br /><br />Another example of merging is Slayer.  A Dark Prophecy states that &#8220;Luc came to the Mountains of Dhoom.  Isam waited in the high passes....  One did live, and one did die, but both still are.&#8221; (tGH)  We know from Winter's Heart that Slayer is both Luc and Isam and can appear as either one.  In order to merge body and mind like that, it seems logical that they would need to share something else, such as a soul... or a lack of soul.  Slayer is a creature of the Shadow and seems soulless.  (The soulless Gray Men prove that this condition can occur in the WOT universe).<br /><br />If Luc and Isam lost their two different souls in order to merge, then it is no stretch to imagine that two people who share a soul could also coexist and merge.<br /><br />_____________<br /><br />So there is the TRINITY Theory.  If you can accept that two different people sharing a soul could live at the same time, then you might ask, &#8220;Why Demandred and Taim?&#8221;<br /><br />Well, let&#8217;s go into the circumstances which might bring about a coexistence of two people living who share a single soul:<br />1)	The Dark One&#8217;s taint on saidin infects your mind and brings to life a ghost of your former incarnation.  (Rand and Lews Therin)<br />2)	You are ripped from the Pattern and spend 3,000 years in an alternate plane of existence, such as the Tower of Ghenjei, the Bore, or a stasis box.  Meanwhile, the Wheel weaves on and your next incarnation is born.  Then you reenter the world and the Pattern, having never actually died.<br /><br />Of course, if this theory is correct, then every one of the current Forsaken must have a replacement waiting in the wings.  There will have to be a &#8220;Netweaver Reborn&#8221; and a &#8220;Daughter of the Night Reborn&#8221; and so on.  These new archetypes will be separate people, just as Rand is not really Lews Therin and Perrin is not really an ancient king of Manetheren.<br /><br />Let me spew out a few new names here:<br />SHAIDAR HARAN as Ishamael reborn and remade<br />ALIVIA as Lanfear reborn<br />SHARINA as Mesaana, Graendal, Moghedien, or Semirhage reborn<br />MAZRIM TAIM as Demandred reborn<br /><br /><br />1) Shaidar Haran.<br /><br />Shaidar Haran said, &#8220;When I speak, you may consider that you hear the voice of the Great Lord of the Dark.&#8221; ... &#8220;I am his hand in this world, Graendal. When you stand before me, you stand before him.&#8221; (New Alliances, PoD)<br /><br />Sound like Ishamael?  And don&#8217;t forget that Moridin (Ishamael) was recently named Nae&#8217;blis, but Shaidar Haran never mentions this or orders Moridin around.  If they are two incarnations of the same soul- and aware of that- then this would make sense.  They serve the Lord of the Grave, so they should know all about souls and reincarnation.<br /><br />There is evidence that Shaidar Haran may use the True Power, like Moridin.  When Graendal was visited by Shaidar Haran, &#8220;a ball of...something...appeared in the air, a dead black globe, but a silver light filled the room.&#8221; (New Alliances, PoD)<br /><br />In Mindtrap (Vol. aCoS), Shaidar Haran- who was the first person to hold the mindtrap- tells Moghedien to close her eyes, then throws her out of her strange prison.  Another person tells her to look and she opens her eyes to see that she is in front of Moridin, who now has her mindtrap.  What was she not supposed to see?  Undoubtedly it has to do with the connection between Shaidar Haran and Moridin.  I think it is similar to the Isam - Luc - Slayer thing.  An unholy trinity!<br /><br /><br />2) Alivia.<br /><br />When Alivia was introduced, I was sure she was Lanfear&#8230; until she battled Cyndane (Lanfear) one on one.  Now all the female Forsaken are accounted for and we know that Alivia is not any one of them.  So she&#8217;s a good guy, right?<br /><br />Maybe not.  She recovered from 400 years of Seanchan slavery awfully fast, didn&#8217;t she?  And what kind of a Seanchan pet name is &#8220;Alivia?&#8221;  That sounds like a decent name, unlike &#8220;Pura&#8221; or &#8220;Lidya.&#8221;  For someone who is so extremely powerful, you&#8217;d think she would be a damane for the Empress or Tuon, but she was not.<br /><br />According to a Min viewing, Alivia will help Rand die.  That sounds like what Mierin (Lanfear) did to Lews Therin when she accidentally drilled the Bore, and when she grew jealous of his love affair with Ilyena.<br /><br />Rand asks, &#8220;Have you had any viewings of her [Alivia], Min?&#8221;  Min replies, &#8220;All the time, but not the kind you mean, nothing I understand.&#8221; (ch22, WH)  This is precisely what one would expect Min to view from a major character, but she often understands her own viewings&#8230; except when she views a potential Darkfriend.<br /><br />Later Min says, &#8220;Rand, I like Alivia. But she is going to kill you.&#8221;  Rand replies, &#8220;Helping me die isn&#8217;t the same as killing me. Unless you&#8217;ve changed your mind about what you saw.&#8221;  It seems strange that Min would change her wording like that unless RJ is giving us some foreshadowing.  The fact that Min likes Alivia sounds similar to the relationship between Egwene and Halima.<br /><br /><br />3) Grandmother Sharina.<br /><br />Here is another powerful channeler who suddenly appeared in the story.  I would think that any extremely powerful channeler would have the potential to become a powerful enemy.<br /><br /><br />4) Mazrim Taim.<br /><br />He is the most obvious candidate for a new young Forsaken.  We know all the similarities between them from the Taimandred theories.	  While I do not believe that Mazrim Taim is Demandred, I think that he is the Demandred archetype.  He will probably fulfill the role that Demandred played against Lews Therin 3,000 years ago.<br /><br />A Darkfriend named Howal Gode said, &#8220;It is written that when he [Dark One] awakes, the new Dreadlords will be there to praise him.&#8221; (Four Kings in Shadow, EotW)<br /><br />New Dreadlords?  And perhaps new Forsaken&#8230;.<br />Mazrim Taim is the second-best-and-bitter-about-it guy.  He has the potential to become a Dreadlord, if he is not already, and he shows ambition as well as self-restraint.  As the leader of the Asha&#8217;man, he can easily lead a new generation of &#8220;Chosen&#8221; Reborn against the Dragon Reborn.<br /><br /><br />What about Sammael, Rahvin, and the others?  I submit that their reborn counterparts have not yet appeared in any obvious way.  It is also possible that the Pattern does not need 13 replacements.  This time around, perhaps only 4 new Forsaken are needed.</p><p><b>StoneDogAiel says:</b> I like the whole trinity idea. You showed really good support of all your ideas. I'll only bite on Taim being Demandred reborn. Alivia might be Lanfear reborn, but I don't think Sharina is anybody reborn. All in all I think you may have it right. The only hole I can really see is that not all of them been reborn yet. But I think you may be right.<br /><br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-10-18 12:07:10
subject: The Nature of a Foretelling
body:
<p>When cruising through websites both here and elsewhere, a fairly regular suggestion is that the foretelling Lidya the damane gave Tuon was specifically to do with Mat. Given the many mentions of this that I have found, I was most astonished that this theory, which is just as plausible, if not more so than many others, does not have an official post in the theory section of wotmania. I feel that this should be rectified. Judging from the interest generated from another theory about Tuon, I feel that it is only fair that theory fans should have all the evidence for this suggestion laid out before them. I also believe, after looking at various theories, that this one appears to not only be the most comprehensive, it is also the most plausible, though it may not appear that way at first<br /><br />To begin with, we cannot say for sure just exactly what was said, but we can still determine a few things about this foretelling. Tuon was very upset, which means that it was probably unpleasant. She thinks that &quot;...if any of the Blood had heard, they would all have been chattering behind their hands about her fate.&quot; I believe that this sentence is crucial to the understanding of the fore-telling. Chattering means to talk quickly, incessantly, and indiscreetly (dictionary meaning), but there are connotative meanings associated with the image of people chattering behind their hands. It usually means that they are gossiping. This in turn implies that it would not make other people upset or angry. It might shock them just a little, and it might amuse them as well, but it would not make them angry at all. For this reason, I believe that the foretelling was of a personal nature. This means that we can rule out anything about Tuon being exiled, Tuon betraying Seanchan, sul'dam being able to channel (and by extension, Tuon), defeat in battle and so on. I don't think that the Blood would chatter about that. Tuon would certainly be worried about other reactions if this were the case. While it may seem a bit much to base all of this on a single sentence, it is important to remember that the author is well aware of what was said, and is sure to use words appropriate to the context of the situation.<br /><br />Mat as the subject of the foretelling explains Tuon's rather strange behaviour. The first meeting between Mat and Tuon has several points of interest (Winter's Heart, Pink Ribbons). She asks if he fought the Seanchan, and whether he has sworn the oaths. It may be possible that Tuon was told that Mat was an oathbreaker who had fought, or would fight against her people. This would explain the questions, but there is much difficulty in that we know next to nothing about Seanchan marriage customs, whether it would be acceptable for Tuon to marry a commoner (I would go out on a limb and say that it would not be approved of), and how authority is distributed within the marriage. However, it is also possible that she is just curious. It is what happens next that is very interesting. Tuon begins to examine Mat from head to toe, paying especial attention to his clothes, in particular the embroidery and the lace. Again, I might be reading too much into this, by Tuon thinks that Lidya's words were &quot;cryptic&quot;. In other words, she wasn't told about hair color or anything like that. Lace and embroidery are designed in patterns. Perhaps Tuon is looking for a pattern of sorts, and I believe she finds it. She appears to be particularly interested in Mat's ring, which is distinctively carved with ravens. It is after this that she offers to buy him. Remember, too, that Mat bought the ring by chance, and that this &quot;chance&quot; buy may be very significant. I believe that the ring may be a sign that she can identify him with, and that the ashanderei may be another such sign. <br /><br />As for why she is interested in Mat in the first place, I think that we should rule out the possibility that she thinks he is good-looking. She may think that, but bad manners and temper tantrums are not attractive at all. I think that the foretelling may have mentioned that his relationship with Tylin in some way or another; perhaps that he is her boytoy or however you want to say it. Of course, Tylin would not have been mentioned by name.<br /><br />It is also worth mentioning Tuon's pleasure when she finds out that Mat is kind to damane (Winter's Heart Three Women). This is probably because she is fond of damane herself, but it could also be the she is pleased to hear that he is a good man. Knowing that he is thoughtful of those below him says something very positve about his character. Related to this is Tuon's own character. I think that we have been very wrong to judge Seanchan nobility by Suroth's example. We do this naturally enough because we have come to be most familiar with her character, but we must not forget that Suroth is a Darkfriend. She is cruel, she is immoral, and she lacks integrity (The Shadow Rising, Seeds of Shadow Ch 1). This does not mean that other Seanchan Blood are like her. Tuon certainly is not.<br /><br />Another plausible theory for Tuon's interest in Mat is that she saw an omen in his ring, and another in his ashanderei. This would explain her interest, but doesn't explain the foretelling. It is likely that the two are related, but that does not mean that they are.<br /><br />Another theory commonly mentioned about the issue is that Tuon is interested in Mat because she knows of the connection between him and Rand. I believe, after much thought, that this is implausible, because there is no means for her obtain this information. Explanations are (1) the foretelling (2)Tylin (3)General Info (4)Suroth and (5)Anath/Semirhage.<br /><br />To begin with (1)I still maintain that the foretelling is personal. The Dragon Reborn is a political issue. If it had been mentioned that Mat would lead her to the Dragon Reborn, I think that she would have been pleased, not angry.<br /><br />(2)Tylin does not know. Mat is not so stupid that he would tell her this. He doesn't want anyone to know. If anyone thinks she does know, then you will have to prove it to me, as I definitely won't believe it unless I can read a quote with my own eyes.<br /><br />(3)It is not general information. Rand has not showed up in Altara, and remember that there is no internet, telephone or television in the Westlands.<br /><br />(4)Suroth may be a Darkfriend, but Darkfriends are only told what they need to know. Suroth may have been instructed by Ishamael to take Nynaeve and Egwene back to Seanchan, but she was not told why. Basically, she probably does not know, and would not risk her own life by imparting critical information to a non-Darkfriend.<br /><br />(5) (This section will treat the evidence that Semirhage is Anath as conclusive.) Of course, Semirhage is going to know who Mat is, but there are several reasons she would not tell Tuon.<br />     (a) What many people are not picking up on is the following. In The Eye Of The World, Ishamael is after all three boys, until it is conclusively proven that Rand is the Dragon Reborn. He has sets Jaichim Carridin after all three of them, but he himself specifically concentrates on Rand, relegating the other two to a lower priority. Jaichim Carridin is now dead. Fades may speak of tripod legs, but the only tripod leg the Forsaken seem to be intent on eliminating is Rand. Not that they haven't had their chances to do away with Mat and Perrin. The only exception is Sammael. He sent Melindhra, the Aiel, and the gholam. He was breaking all sorts of rules, and now he is dead, too. Semirhage is likely interested in Mat, she may not consider him to be as high a priority as Tuon - a decision that shows wisdom, but will probably prove a mistake in the long run. Semirhage may still have had something working on him too. You never know.<br />     (b) Semirhage would have to take the risk of letting Tuon take action in her own way. Semirhage thinks her charge is wilful and obdurate (LoC Ch 6). If you read all of the conversations between Tuon and Anath, you will notice that Tuon listens, but still makes up her own mind about what to do. Given Semirhage's thoughts on the matter, it is plain that she does not trust Tuon to act on her advice.<br />     (c) Tuon would probably be suspicious if Anath were to give her such information. Anath isn't supposed to be a spy. Remember that Semirhage is in territory controlled by people who put channellers on leashes. Her ability to channel is strictly curtailed. Tuon does not appear to have ever been under compulsion, and besides, Semirhage appears to be too patient and methodical to get sloppy and compulse everyone in sight. She is playing a tricky hand, and she needs to exercise extreme caution. Besides, she might need Tuon to get to Rand, but she doesn't need Tuon to get to Mat. He is in the palace and not going anywhere - or so she thinks. Remember that Anath is on retreat when all this planning and rumours of Mat leaving are going around. She probably did not think he would kidnap her charge.<br /><br />Well, that's that. Please feel free to deliver feedback, as I am very interested. Thank-you.</p><p><b>Vercingetorix says:</b> A nice summary of the situation.  Good job.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-10-20 12:01:15
subject: Laras Revisited
body:
<p>Laras is worth serious reconsideration as Mesaana's identity.   The counter arguments for this theory generally run along the lines of Laras' assumed long employment, an assumption supported by statements such as &quot;Laras, the Mistress of the Kitchens - she was really the chief cook, but so many had used the other so long that it might as well have been her title-&quot; (TDR, Chapter 29, &quot;A Trap to Spring&#8221;<i></i>), and also doubt that someone in Laras' position would have the capacity to manipulate the Tower.  Hopefully the argument I'm about to make will be convincing enough to cause us to seek explanations for these objections.  (Editorial note: ellipses in the text play an important role in this theory.  When this author inserts them to cut text, he will place them in square brackets like so: [&#8230;]) <br /><br />This theory was inspired by recent theories analyzing Compulsion used on Noal, Morgase, and Asunawa.  RJ gives subtle clues that Laras has used Compulsion on both Siuan and Min in tSR 47 &quot;The Truth of a Viewing&quot;.  Not coincidentally, the first blatantly explicit use of Compulsion to occur in the series (Jordan's way of saying &quot;Hey, everyone, don't miss this application!&#8221;<i></i>), occurs in the previous chapter:<br /><br />&quot;Elayne released the True Source.  There was something very commanding in those dark eyes, in the halo around her, the pale radiance of the One Power.  She was the most regal woman Elayne had ever seen.  Elayne found herself hurriedly curtsying, flushing that she had considered. . . . What had she considered?  So hard to think.&quot; (TSR, Chapter 46, &quot;Veils&#8221;<i></i>)  Moghedien uses Compulsion on Elayne and Nynaeve, and Jordan supplies us with the tell-tale sings; namely the worshipful attitude and, more important for the present theory, the ellipsis of thought - really the inability to follow a train of thought  <br /><br />An ellipsis is present in almost every PoV from someone under Compulsion that we have, from Alteima (FoH, Chapter 1, &quot;Fanning the Sparks&#8221;<i></i>) to Morgase (FoH, Chapter 19, &quot;Memories&#8221;<i></i>) to Noal (CoS, Chapter 17, &quot;The Triumph of Logic&#8221;<i></i>).  The wandering of thoughts that accompanies this ellipsis is what I wish to emphasize. I recommend looking at all of these passages and paying close attention to those below when you start to doubt this theory.<br /><br />Now, in &quot;Fanning the Sparks&quot; we see the following from Morgase's PoV: <br /> <br />&quot;Stop being stubborn, she [Morgase] chided herself, then wondered why.  She had told Gaebril she was tired, and. . . . Or had he told her?  She was the Queen of Andor, and no man told her to do anything.  Gareth.  Now why had she thought of Gareth Bryne?&quot; <br /><br />Recent theories have interpreted episodes such as this one as the subject's attempt to reconnect with a familiar past from which the strength to fight the Compulsion might be drawn.  Likewise the episode that sends Morgase to Lini (&quot;Memories&#8221;<i></i>) and Asunawa's recourse to Mentelar's The Way of the Light (&quot;Glimmers&#8221;<i></i>).  While Morgase certainly is fighting the Compulsion, and I like this theory as a theory for how one fights compulsion, it should be pointed out that this battle takes place under the constraints of the Compulsion.  Morgase's mind is still forced to wander when it questions Gaebril; it's just wandering to a place that may give her the strength to fight more.<br /><br />Indeed, our first example of someone breaking Compulsion, Nynaeve in the tSR, shows Nynaeve forcing her mind <i>not</i> to wander: <br /><br />&quot;Of course, it did not matter if the woman saw her; she was certainly no one on their list of Black sisters.  And yet she seemed somehow. . . . Nynaeve realized she had taken hold of a handful of braids again.  The woman. . . . Of its own accord her hand pulled - hard - and she stared at it in amazement; her knuckles were white, her hand quivering.  It was almost as if thinking of that woman. . . . Arm shaking, her hand tried to yank her hair out of her scalp.  Why under the light?<br /><br />The mist-clad woman still stood in front of the distant white pedestal.  Trembling spread from Nynaeve's arm into her shoulder.  She had certainly never seen the woman before.  And yet. . . . She tried to open her fingers; they only clamped down harder.  Surely she never had.  Shivering from head to toe, she hugged herself with the one arm she had free.  Surely. . . . Her teeth wanted to chatter. The woman seemed. . . . She wanted to weep.  The woman. . . .&quot; (TSR, Chapter 52, &quot;Need&#8221;<i></i>)  At that point Nynaeve remembers.<br /><br />Thus, The Shadow Rising, the first book in which Compulsion is treated in such a direct manner, establishes its essential characteristics: worshipful attitude, ellipsis of thought, and wandering mind.   From this angle Laras' role in  &quot;The Truth of a Viewing&quot; should arouse more suspicion than I have seen to date.  Others have commented on the oddity of Laras obtaining Min's intentions to free Siuan and Leane from her (Min herself is uncertain how Laras was able to).  The actual text reads as follows:<br /><br />&quot;[&#8230;] she had found the massive woman looking for her [&#8230;] She still was not sure how Laras had wormed her intentions out of her [&#8230;] In truth, she was grateful to Laras in more ways than one.  It was doubtful she could have readied everything by herself, or even found some of it, surely not this quickly.  Besides which. . . . Besides, which, when she ran into Laras, she had already begun telling herself she was a fool even to think of doing this, that she should be on a horse and off for Tear while she had the chance, [&#8230;] Why won't this bloody key turn?  Maybe Laras can-&quot; The key turns.<br /><br />Laras went looking for Min; Laras wormed Min's intentions out of her; Laras readied everything very quickly (perhaps she was prepared?).  Min is feeling grateful (though not exactly worshipful) and even a little dependent on her, as her interrupted thought indicates -  Min was no doubt going to ask Laras to make use of her girth to turn the key.  What interests me is the turn of Min's thoughts.  Min is able to feel grateful to and dependent upon Laras, but when she starts wondering about Laras' actions, her thought wanders, signaled by an ellipsis, to calling herself a fool and running to Tear.<br /><br />Normally I would not have thought much of this isolated instance of elliptical thought, except for Laras' suspicious behavior and the fact that this ellipsis comes immediately after the chapter with Elayne discussed above, establishing it as a mark of Compulsion.  So I looked for other elliptical connections to Laras.  I found one at the very beginning of the same chapter as Min's ellipsis:<br /><br /> &quot;[&#8230;] Laras seemed to think watching accounts was beneath her since her title had been changed officially from simple chief cook to Mistress of the Kitchens [&#8230;] Laras would be more difficult [than Danelle] to discipline; she was not Aes Sedai, so her authority with undercooks and scullions and potboys could be swamped all too easily.  But perhaps she, too, could be sent for a 'rest' in the country.  That would. . . .<br /><br />With a snort of disgust Siuan threw her pen down, grimacing at the blot it made of neatly totaled columns [&#8230;] It was not Laras' weight that had her temper jumping, and she knew it [&#8230;]&quot;<br /><br />Siuan's thoughts also wander, as signaled by an ellipsis, when they dwell too long and too unfavorably upon Laras.   Is it pure coincidence to find two such elliptical wanderings of thought connected to Laras, in the chapter immediately following the one in which Jordan establishes such wanderings as a symptom of Compulsion?   For that matter, how often does Jordan employ ellipses outside of dialogue in general?<br /><br />This development casts a new light on Laras' other behavior in tSR.  She takes Min under her wing and shadows her, watching Min closely and making her uncomfortable.  Min is even driven to thinking, &quot;Doesn't she have something to cook, or some scullion to yell at?&quot; (TSR, Chapter 17, &quot;Deceptions&#8221;<i></i>).  We know the BA was interested in Min; someone tortures and kills the novice Sahra for information about Min in the same chapter Laras is noted for shadowing Min.  Wouldn't it make sense for Mesaana to take Min under her wing, if possible, for close inspection?  Laras, at any rate, seems to be able to act outside her capacity as chief cook, and even to spend a great deal of time away from her station to watch Min. <br /><br />Furthermore, and others have commented on this point as well, Siuan's and Leane's freedom certainly worked to sow chaos.  The divided White Tower has removed the focus of the Aes Sedai on Rand and the world and considerably impaired the most powerful force for Good around; I personally believe it to be a brilliantly orchestrated and executed BA plot.  To me this indicates Mesaana, so I find it doubly suspicions that Laras was the prime mover of Siuan's escape, from coaxing Min to quickly readying everything necessary and sending the three off.<br /><br />I don't know when Mesaana as Laras (or anyone else) would have had the opportunity to place Siuan under Compulsion.  Mesaana as Laras must have had plenty of opportunity with Min, but I think it likely she waited until she had to force Min to act quickly to spring Siuan's escape.  In both cases I think she was extremely subtle - it wouldn't do to risk exposure by having subjects under as heavy Compulsion as that used by Graendal and Rahvin floating around the Tower.  That surely would have been noticed, and very likely fought by the subject herself.  The risk involved with Compulsion also explains Mesaana's circumspection, choosing to keep a watchful eye on Min and learn about her indirectly by questioning Sahra.   <br /><br />Laras' fishy behavior in tSR, combined with the elliptical signposts Jordan gives us, has caused me to rethink Mesaana's identity (I am a former believer in Danelle).  Yet how can one answer the objections raised at the start of this theory?  It seems to me there are two possibilities:<br /><br />1) Laras was always Mesaana.  Ignore indications that she has been around too long to be one of the Forsaken.  I do think this a viable option.<br /><br />2) Mesaana disposed of Laras at some point and assumed her identity.  Siuan connects her thoughts of Laras' irresponsibility, quoted above, to when Laras was named Mistress of the Kitchens in The Dragon Reborn (&quot;A Trap to Spring&#8221;<i></i>).  Does this newfound irresponsibility reflect a sudden change of character, echoed in the manner in which she appears to shadow Min to the neglect of her kitchens?  As I understand the current speculations, most of the Forsaken were loosed and began establishing themselves during the time period encompassing The Great Hunt and The Dragon Reborn.  According to the Guide Mesaana went to the Tower after she was released, so the chronology seems about right.  Does anyone else think that Laras tapping a wooden spoon on her apron (&quot;A Trap to Spring&#8221;<i></i>) is reminiscent of Mesaana tapping her lips with her forefinger (though, as others have mentioned, Theodrin has the exact mannerism)? <br /><br />In conclusion:  Is Danelle just a smoke-screen?</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> Granted, there were ellipses when they thought of Laras.  But it didn't seem to me that their thoughts were wandering all that much, and certainly not to comfortable memories.  Min, for instance, seems to have finished her thought just fine, though it shouldn't have been too difficult to make her thoughts wander, given her struggles with the key on top of the situation she was in at the moment.  Of course, maybe that is just because the mildness of the Compulsion and Min's strength of mind.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-10-22 18:49:34
subject: Elayne's &quot;Assassination&quot;
body:
<p>I've submitted this theory before, but without the supporting evidence. This time I hope to get it right.<br /><br />When Daved Hanlon and darkfriends made their so-called attempt on Elayne's life, they had some inside help. The persons who put the forkroot tea on Elayne's tray are unknown at this time, and are not the subject of this theory anyway.<br /><br />The person who helped Hanlon that we can identify is Dyelin Taravin.<br /><br />When we look at the information we have on Hanlon's plot, the properties of forkroot tea, and the specific events of Elayne's momentous lunch, it's easy to see Dyelin's complicity.<br /><br />Hanlon's Plot - Daved Hanlon never intended to kill Elayne. He tells Lady Shiaine that, &quot;It went exactly as I planned it, of course...You are speaking to the Captain of the Queen's Bodyguard.&quot; (WH, &quot;A Plan Succeeds,&quot; pg. 249 HB). Hanlon plainly was trying to worm his way into Elayne's confidence by &quot;saving&quot; her.<br /><br />Properties of Forkroot - When Ronde Macura dosed Elayne and Nynaeve with forkroot in Mardecin, it acted very quickly. After a few sips, both girls started feeling sleepy and quickly passed out (TFoH, &quot;A Signal,&quot; pgs. 216-217 PB). <br /><br />When you combine these two facts, you'll see that the conspirators needed to enter the room where Elayne was eating after she had been incapacitated by the forkroot and before she passed out so that not only could Hanlon rescue her but so that the rescue could BE SEEN BY ELAYNE. The time window for the three stooges to start the assault and Hanlon to then save Elayne while Elayne was still awake was very small due to the speed of the forkroot. To enter the room in a timely fashion, Hanlon and the three stooges needed a lookout already inside the room. The only person in the room besides Elayne was Dyelin.<br /><br />Elayne's Lunch - The rest of the information used in this theory comes from WH, &quot;A Cup of Tea,&quot; pgs. 21<img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/smackhead.gif" border="0" />221 HB.<br /><br />Here are the parts of the story that make me believe that Dyelin helped Hanlon:<br /><br />1. Dyelin &quot;stormed into the room like a whirlwind in a green riding dress, breathing hard.&quot; Why? The information that Dyelin brought about the army from the borderlands was important, but not of immediate importance as it was in Braem Wood which is on the border of Andor and a few weeks away from Caemlyn due to the atrocious winter weather. Since she didn't need to run because of her information, she must have run for another reason.<br /><br />Her reason was that Elayne didn't order her lunch as she usually would have. Mistress Harfor sent it up to her. When Dyelin found out that the lunch was on the way, she had to get a move on or be late and utterly ruin the plan.<br /><br />2. When Dyelin was told that Elayne had been &quot;poisoned,&quot; she grabbed the hilt of her belt knife BEFORE any of the &quot;assassins&quot; entered the room. Why? A belt knife would be of no help in an attempt to defeat a poisoning.<br /><br />The only two reasons that I can think of for grabbing her knife hilt before the stooges entered the room are: (1) she knew the knife men were coming and that she would have to fight one of them to put her above suspicion, grabbing her hilt early tipped her hand (so to speak), or (2) putting her hand on the hilt may have been the signal (that Elayne was incapacitated)to the man who &quot;hesitantly put his head in&quot; the door to Elayne's room. He didn't enter the room until his eyes looked back and forth between the two women, and his dagger didn't come out until he was completely in the room. <br /><br />Either of those two reasons could be true, but both tend to point toward Dyelin's complicity.<br /><br />3. Hanlon's three stooges needed someone inside the room to tell them when Elayne was incapacitated.<br /><br />Maybe it was a signal to go ahead (hand on hilt of the belt knife) or a signal to wait/abort in case Elayne didn't drink the tea.<br /><br />4. Someone in the room other than the stooges had to be the one to signal Hanlon to make his entrance before Elayne passed out. As a guard, he wouldn't have had a &quot;reason&quot; to enter the room unless Dyelin yelled, &quot;Murder!...Guards! Murder! Guards!&quot; The would-be assassins wouldn't be expected to draw attention to themselves and Elayne would already be affected by the forkroot. Again, Dyelin had a function to perform.<br /><br />In summation, Dyelin was part of Hanlon's plot because any good ambush needs an advance scout to signal when the party to be ambushed enters the trap. The only person in the whole scene who could do that was Dyelin.<br /><br />Flame away! <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/flaminggrin.gif" border="0" /></p><p><b>Burr says:</b> I think you are correct that they need some kind of witness available at the time of the assassination.  At the risk of overusing a solve-all answer, maybe Dyelin was Compelled to approach Elayne at that time.  I don't even a strong mind would shake such a command off, since Dyelin wouldn't have any especially good reason <i>not</i> to go discuss things of state with Elayne.  The assassins wait for her to approach and then begin serving Elayne's meal.  When Elayne is poisoned, Dyelin grabs the hilt of her knife because there are assassins nearby who would obviously want to finish the job they started.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-10-24 14:06:40
subject: Lews Therin Never Died
body:
<p>My previous theory &#8220;The Nature of Ta'veren&#8221; stated that <i>ta'veren</i> are like magnetic threads in the pattern.  Building upon that premise it is reasonable to presume that the thread remains magnetic no matter how often it is woven in and out of the pattern and therefore the same soul is always a <i>ta'veren</i> every time it is woven into the pattern.  If this were true, the advent of a <i>ta'veren</i> as strong as Rand/Lews Therin would be necessary to bring about and be the cause of a new age.  Therefore the soul of Rand/Lews Therin is woven in and out of the pattern only once per age.<br /><br />So how does this relate to the theory title &#8220;Lews Therin Never Died&#8221;?  None, except as a preliminary argument why previous theories that Raolin Darksbane, Guaire Amalasan, or Yurian Stonebow were incarnations between Rand and Lews Therin are incorrect.  This is so because none of these men were <i>ta'veren</i>.<br /><br />So the question then is, why was Lews Therin's soul not woven back into the pattern prior to Rand?  It is my assertion that Lews Therin did not actually die.  Yes his physical body died when he drew in too much of the One Power and smote himself with the largest lightning bolt you'd never want to see.  The first clue to this non-death is given at the very end of the prologue of <i>Eye of the World</i>:<br /><br /><i>Then he was gone, and the mountain and the island stood alone.  Waiting</i><br /><br />Waiting.  Who was waiting?  Ishmael was gone.  Lews Therin had killed himself.  The <b>soul</b> of Lews Therin was waiting.  <br /><br />We know from Birgitte that the Heroes of the Horn, and perhaps others, remain in <i>Tel'aran'rhiod</i> between being woven back into the pattern.  It is also known that the entrance to <i>Tel'aran'rhiod</i> is a weave of pure spirit when using <i>ter'angreal</i> and also when channeling a &quot;gateway&quot; for physical entrance.  Is it therefore also not possible that a powerful weave of Spirit could trap the soul thus preventing it from returning to <i>Tel'aran'rhiod</i> after the body dies?  This leads to the basis of this theory, that the soul of Lews Therin did not return to <i>Tel'aran'rhiod</i> like others do when they die, but that his soul was trapped in the Dragonmount.  This soul found a vessel out of the mountain only when the first child in over 3000 years was born on that spot.  <br /><br />The amount of the One Power needed, particularly spirit, to trap a soul would seem to be massive, but the circumstances fit.  Was Lews Therin strong in spirit?  As noted by Moiraine on page 94 of the soft cover edition of <i>The Dragon Reborn</i>:<br /><br /><i>&quot;Those who can channel the One Power, those who are particularly strong in spirit, can sometimes force their dreams on others.&quot;</i> <br /><br />This was in reference to Rand's dreams of Callandor and illustrated that Rand (and therefore by extension Lews Therin) is particularly strong in spirit.  We know that Lews Therin was channeling a vast amount of power, enough to bore through the crust of the planet to the magma beneath and form the Dragonmount.  Finally to trap the soul it is reasonable to presume that the weave would have to strike at the same moment the body died.  It is therefore my assertion that what struck the mountain was a powerful mixture of weaves of fire, earth, air, water and spirit.  In his anguish Lews Therin tried to obliterate himself with every scrap of power that he could summon and ended up trapping his spirit in the newly formed Dragonmount when he destroyed his physical form.<br /><br />So what evidence do I have to back this up?  We know that Rand was born on the Dragonmount.  We also know that those with with the ability to foretell in the Age of Legends created the prophecies that stated where the Dragon was to be reborn.  This was probably why the <i>Aes Sedai</i> chose the newly formed island to establish Tar Valon.  They wanted to be present when the Dragon was reborn so that they could prepare to do battle with the Dark One and his minions.  It only makes sense that the Aes Sedai located Tar Valon where they could watch for the return of the Dragon into the world.  It is reasonable to assume that average people would stay away from the Dragonmount thinking it taboo, cursed, or worse.  I believe that we can be fairly certain that no child had been born on the slopes of the Dragonmount since its formation prior to Rand.<br /><br />Secondly. Lews Therin continually begs for death or says that he deserves to die.  So much so that he speaks like one who has great regret over his actions and has never actually died.  The other heroes of the horn held no regrets over their past lives.  I didn't see Artur Hawkwing bemoaning his conquest of the world or his siege of Tar Valon.  They all know that they will be reborn over and over, sometimes doing good sometimes not.  But Lews Therin is still stricken with grief over killing Ilyena, not realizing that she will be reborn again (who the soul of Ilyena is, is a completely different theory! <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/wink.gif" border="0" /><i></i>).<br /><br />Keeping on with the Heroes of the Horn brings me to the second reason that Lews Therin had not been previously reborn.  In <i>The Great Hunt</i> all of the heroes of the horn refer to Rand as Lews Therin and not by any newer name.  Artur Hawkwing is always referred to as Artur Hawkwing and not the name he held in the Age of Legends.  Birgitte as Birgitte and not any of the other names she has held throughout the turnings.  It is as if the name that was last held is the name now used.<br /><br />Fourthly Rand seems to be able to draw on Lews Therin's knowledge of the One Power, especially under duress.  As shown many times throughout the book, Rand often does things and then has to try to figure out what he did after it is done.  Page 153 of the soft cover edition of <i>The Shadow Rising</i>:<br /><br /><i>&quot;Not usually.  I just take what I need to do what I want.  Fumble for it, mostly.  It's very strange.  Sometimes I need to do a thing, and I do it, but only afterward do I know what it was I did, or how.  It's almost like remembering something I've forgotten.&quot;</i><br /><br />Fifthly Lews Therin's memories are all from the Age of Legends.  He has knowledge of the Forsaken and events from Lews Therin's life, but is completely taken aback by the bond with Alanna.  It is as if the possibility of the bond was completely foreign to him.  Page 281 of the soft cover edition of <i>The Lord of Chaos</i>.:<br /><br /><i>Alanna nodded in satisfaction.  And suddenly the warmth was heat, one great flash of it, as if he stood for a heartbeat in the middle of a roaring furnace.  Even after it passed, he felt odd, aware of himself as he never had been before, aware of Alanna.  He swayed, head light, muscles watery.  <b>An echo of confusion and unease rang from Lewis Therin</b></i><br /><br />And later on page 282:<br /><br /><i>He knew little of Warders, certainly not how to break the bond, or if it could be broken.  All Rand felt from Lews Therin was a sense of stunned shock.</i><br /><br />And yet later on page 293:<br /><br /><i>Lews Therin's voice muttered indistinctly, distantly.  Alanna waited silently, patiently, in the back of his head.  The voice seemed afraid of her.&quot;</i><br /><br />Lews Therin's memories and knowledge seems to be limited to the Age of Legends and do not appear to have anything from the breaking to the present.<br /><br />Considering these many points, I believe that it is safe to conclude that Lews Therin's soul never returned to <i>Tel'aran'rhiod</i> and was not reincarnated prior to Rand.  Had Lews Therin been returned to <i>Tel'aran'rhiod</i> or been previously reincarnated one or more of these points would fail to hold true.<br /><br />Thanks for taking the time to read this, please let me know what your thoughts are.<br /><br />Geer</p><p><b>Burr says:</b> I really like the idea that he was trapped in Dragonmount.  That creates a balance with the Forsaken and Dark One being trapped in the Pit of Doom, and it fits a common fantasy archetype as well.<br /><br />Do we know if Birgitte was the most recent name Birgitte had?  She was called Teadra, or something like that, in the AoL; has she appeared since then?<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-10-25 11:10:06
subject: The Proof of Genetic Channeling
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<p>This is the Combo Theory<br /><br /><b>What is the Combo Theory? </b><br /><br />The Combination Genetic Theory states that it takes more than one set of genes to make a channler able to channel in the WOT world.  In my example I have used four pairs of genes but may more could be used.   Channeling is a genetic recessive trait found in humans.  This Example uses the AABBCCDD genome.  <br /><br />To Channel in this example a person would need to have the first two pairs of the Combo Genome recessive &#8220;aabbXXXX&#8221;.  No single gene in the first two pairs can be dominant or it's no dice.  <br /><br /><b>The Soul and Body Transfer</b><br /><br />Many of you will flame my Theory on the basis of the DO moving dead Forsaken into different bodies.  OK the DO is at least a Demigod and I don't think that any rules will apply to him or his actions (Maybe Balefire).  I have put forward several times that the bodies that were chosen for the Forsaken more than likely were geneticly sound to handle the OP or the TP.  Then someone screams HALIMA, HILIMA, HILIMA!  Well as I said some rules just don't apply to the DO.  <br /><br /><b>The Break down</b><br />In the Combo Theory I used two Heterogeneous pairs to create the pundit square.  Both where carriers with the genome of  &#8220;AaBbCcDd&#8221; and could not Channel or sense the OP. This Crossing Created a 16x16 square with 256 offspring.  <br />The Data is as follows:  <br /><br />239 Heterogeneous Carriers, 48 of which are gateway carriers, 2 are super carriers <br /><br />15   Heterogeneous Channelers, 3 of which are potential wilders <br /><br />1     Homogeneous Non Carrier  &#8220;AABBCCDD&#8221; <br /><br />1     Homogeneous Channeler  &#8220;aabbccdd&#8221;         <br /><br />	Key						<br />	&quot;A&quot; Gene= Gateway gene promoting the ability Channel and to Sense the source.				<br />	&quot;B&quot; Gene= Ability to Channel the One Power					<br />	&quot;C&quot; Gene= Strength Gene 1			<br />	&quot;D&quot; Gene= Strength Gene 2						<br /> <br /> <br /><br /><b>Training and Natural Ability</b><br /><br />This Chart only reflects the natural ability or the potential of the channeler.  It does not reflect training and experience.  Example: An untrained Channeler with a Genome of &#8220;aabbccDd&#8221; may not be able to manipulate flows as well as an Aes Sedai with the Genome &#8220;aabbCcDd&#8221; who has been instructed on how to do it properly.	<br /><br /><br /><b>Saidar vs. Saidin</b><br />In the Combo Theory it is assumed that once an &#8220;aabbXXXX&#8221; is established the body would just refer to the X or Y-chromosomes. XX would get Saidar and XY would get Saidin by default.<br /><br /><b>Wilders</b><br /><br />I would wager that all wilders and potential wilders would have in addition to the &#8220;aabb&#8221; would be recessive in the D pair ( &#8220;dd&#8221; ).  This would explain their rarity. They are marked in the Chart in Italics.<br /><br /><br /><b>Carriers, Gateway carriers, and Super Carriers</b><br /><br />In the Combo Theory, Carriers are any one who has any recessive genes in the Selected Genome.  These carriers will be as normal humans.  Gateway Carriers are any carriers with the &#8220;aa&#8221; gene but not the full &#8220;bb&#8221; required to channel.  The Combo theory assumes that from this you would find many talents and &#8220;strange&#8221; abilities.  Sensing when some one is channeling, Min's viewings and even Tam's ability to find the void could stem from the gateway gene.  Super Carriers would be anyone with the &#8220;aaBbccdd&#8221; Genome.  I feel that this genome IS the Tar'veen gene structure.  This genome could also open many &#8220;doors&#8221; for other phenomena such as Mat's luck and Perrin being a Wolfbrother. BUT, even if some one is a Gateway or Super Carrier no evidence of this HAS to show up.<br /><br /><b>Two Rivers and Heredity</b><br /><br />The Two Rivers area is a closed loop.  Most people marry from the same stock that they grew up with.  I would put forth that there is a large amount of Gateway carriers in the TR area.  This fact would greatly increase the amount of children born with the &#8220;aabb&#8221; needed to channel.<br /><br /><b>Where did it come from?</b><br /><br />I don&#8217;t know. But my first answer would be to look to the unused portion of human&#8217;s genetic code the introns.  I believe that these introns were turned on in the First Age.  I think that this is the answer to the &#8220;Cats and Dogs&#8221; Theory posted by Lathendross on 08/28/02.  He assumed that just because cats and dogs could sense channeling that channeling was engineered form their DNA.  Not a bad Theory but complicated.  I would say that all Cats and dogs naturally have the same gene group AABBCCDD that humans do, but they are naturally recessive &#8220;aa&#8221;.  This recessive first pair, by my rules, would allow them to sense the OP but not be able to channel themselves.<br /><br /><b>Chart is available for your perusal.</b><br /> <br />The Pundit Square that I used to pull all the data off of is available via email from me.  Just email me at Clydesmech@aol.com and put OP Genetics in the Subject line. I do, however I live in Hawaii so the Time difference is wacky, but I will send it to anyone who wants it.<br /><br />Have Fun Ripping it apart.<img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/jordan.gif" border="0" /><br /><br /> <br /> <br /><br /></p><p><b>Moridin_2000 says:</b> Wow! Excellent theorising. Unfortunately I don't know much about biology, so I'll take the vast majority on trust. <img src="http://www.msu.edu/~mackertm/wotmania/images/biggrin.gif" border="0" /> Very nice, all the same.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-10-25 11:22:20
subject: Ter'angreal, Gholam, and Cuendillar
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<p>I believe Mat's foxhead medallion is a ter'angreal.  Maybe you think this is a given, but I think it is necessary for my theory.  If it were just an item that the One Power coul not touch, then there would be no reason to believe the same would be true for Mat.  But when he has it, it works for him.<br /><br /><br />My theory is that this medallion is a small version of the Far Madding ter'angreal that creates an artificial stedding.  This would explain why it works.<br /><br /><br />Also, there is the question of the gholam.  I thought for a second that maybe the gholam also is an artificial stedding, but then why would the medallion hurt it?  I like the other theories about it being made from the One Power and it being vulnerable to silver, but I propose a third idea.  Maybe it is living cuendillar.<br /><br />Hang with me for a second.  We have seen that ter'angreal are created by...altering...normal items (Aligning the Matrix, I think someone suggested) so that they...change.  We don't know how cuendillar was created, but perhaps it was a similar process.  Taking a normal item and changing its properties.<br /><br />And suppose the Forsaken (Aginor?) thought to themselves, &quot;Hey, cuendillar can't be harmed by the One Power, so why not make a person into cuendillar?&quot;  I admit this seems too odd, but hey, they did a lot of odd things back then.<br /><br />So a person is changed into cuendillar.  I would guess the process would so radically alter the person that the Forsaken would be able to use him/it as a weapon.<br /><br /><br />So the gholam is hurt by Mat's medallion.  The nature of cuendillar is that the One Power cannot harm it, but just add to its strength, or something like that.  But in a stedding the One Power cannot touch anything.  So maybe there is an opposite affect on cuendillar, that the are damaged, or in the case of the gholam, hurt.<br /><br />I am not totally sold on this, even though it's my idea, since one would assume they would have discovered this Achilles Heel of cuendillar in the AOL.  Also, I think my idea here isn't that far off from the gholam being made from the One Power.<br /><br />And no, I'm not suggesting anything about the seals on the DO's prison.<br /><br />Thoughts?</p><p><b>Moridin_2000 says:</b> Another Gholam theory, and another interesting one at that. To me, this seems very viable indeed. We do know that AoL scientists could make One Power constructs like the Nym, so perhaps the Gho'lam is a mutated version of cuendillar. The Nym, after all, are a mixture of plants, animals and the One Power.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


created: 2002-10-30 10:27:43
subject: Seanchan and sul&#8217;dam
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<p>There are several issues involving sul&#8217;dam and their place within Seanchan that this theory will address.  I have not seen these points raised elsewhere, but if they have, my apologies to those authors.  And now for the theory:<br /><br />Sul&#8217;dam can learn to channel, this has been made abundantly clear.  What hasn&#8217;t been touched upon is the life span of a sul&#8217;dam.  We know that damane Slow and have much longer life spans.  This is evidenced by the damane Alivia who was captured during Rand&#8217;s defense of Illian, given with other prisoners to Elayne, and later finds her way into the group with Cadsuane in WH.  The first part of this theory addresses the question of whether or not sul&#8217;dam Slow and if they have longer life spans. <br /><br />Slowing is an effect of the Power.  We know that strength does not affect how long the person lives.  The glossary of CoS states &#8220;Sorilea: The Wise One of&#8230;. Barely able to channel, she is also the oldest living Wise One&#8230;&#8221; This shows that no matter how weak someone is, they will Slow and have a longer life span.  Considering how weak Sorilea is, we can addition conclude that the amount of Power used cannot be a factor in how long someone lives or how much they Slow.  Otherwise Sorilea could not be the oldest living Wise One.  The stronger Wise Ones would be much older.  Thus weakness in the Power cannot be a reason why sul&#8217;dam do not Slow.  <br /><br />Another possible reason sul&#8217;dam would not Slow is that they might never Embrace the Source, never channel the Power.  However, evidence from LoC shows that this is very unlikely.  The a&#8217;dam forms a link between the sul&#8217;dam and the damane.  In LoC we are given a description of how a link is made.  <br /><br />&#8220;Snapping her mouth shut, Nynaeve tried to put herself on that brink where you embraced saidar, on the moment of surrender.  It was not easy.  Twice she felt the Power flow not just into her, but through her into Anaiya, and twice it snapped back&#8230; The third time was like being seized by the scruff of the neck.  Saidar swept through Nynaeve to Anaiya, and when she attempted to pull back - it was her, she realized, not the flow itself - her flow was held, melting into a larger.&#8221; (LoC, &quot;Dreams and Nightmares,&quot; pg 352, paperback).<br /><br /><br />Since the a&#8217;dam is just an involuntary link and the Power flows through everyone involved, the sul&#8217;dam must have the Power flow through them, they must channel.  Otherwise there would be no link, and then any woman at all should be able use the a&#8217;dam.  The sul&#8217;dam touch the Power, and they should/do Slow and have longer life spans.  This may play a role when the truth about sul&#8217;dam is revealed to all the Seanchan.<br /><br />Since the sul&#8217;dam Slow and live long, why haven&#8217;t the Seanchan figured out that sul&#8217;dam are as much marath&#8217;damane as the despised Leashed Ones.  Evidence seems to suggest that the Seanchan are simply living in denial of the fact that sul&#8217;dam can channel, this is the second part of the theory.  Almost every Seanchan PoV has mentioned that the power of the Empire is based on the use of damane.  Without that power base (ba dum cha!), such a large empire would not be able to hold together.  So the Seanchan have convinced themselves that sul&#8217;dam must be different.  More evidence is as follows:<br /><br />In WH, during a conversation between Bethamin and the Seeker, the phrase (this is not exact) &#8220;may we live long in the service of the Empress&#8221; is used.  Although such a phrase seems innocuous and obvious, we all know that Jordan likes to subtly play with his readers.  I suspect that instead of not mentioning the longer life spans of the sul&#8217;dam, Jordan has shown us it in subtle ways.  Another possible clue is that every time the Empress is mentioned, &#8220;may she live forever&#8221; is attached to her name.  Remember that Tuon is able to learn to channel, we know this because she trains damane.  Thus it is logical to assume that her mother, the Empress, may she live forever, is also able to learn to channel.  In case anyone finds this a long shot, remember the Empress, may she live forever, finds it amusing to attach a&#8217;dam to male members of the Blood.  Some men die horribly painful deaths, others are not harmed.  Considering the pain Rand and Halima experienced when touching an a&#8217;dam, it seems safe to assume that these men of the Blood are able to at least learn to channel.  Thus there are enough channeling genes floating around the Blood that Tuon and the Empress, may she live forever, being able to channel is very believable.  <br /><br />The honorific of &#8220;may she live forever&#8221; may be the Seanchan way of dealing with the fact that their Empress could be over a hundred years old.  This is a text book case of denial.  Tuon also appears young for her years, perhaps this is Slowing as a result of training damane.  If the power of the empire is based on the sul&#8217;dam, that perhaps the Seanchan consider their longer life spans a reward for their very necessary service to the Empire.  Thus the &#8220;may we live long in the service of the Empress.&#8221;  I think that removing the denial will play a role in the Seanchan overcoming the revelation that the sul&#8217;dam are the same as damane.  It is also interesting to note that the Seanchan who know the truth about sul&#8217;dam and damane (like Egeanin) figured it out very quickly after being shown the evidence.  The revelation of the truth about sul&#8217;dam will shatter Seanchan society, but the seed of knowledge is already there, and it will help the Seanchan overcome this revelation and play a part in the last battle.  <br /><br />The third (and final) part of this theory is about the role of Tuon in the series.  Most theories about Tuon agree that she will lead the Seanchan to Rand.  Other theories include the male a&#8217;dam and using it on Rand.  Personally, I like both theories, but I must disagree with the first.  The reason is that although Tuon isn&#8217;t a sul&#8217;dam, she does train damane.  When the news that sul&#8217;dam can channel is revealed to all of Seanchan society, there will be an enormous backlash against sul&#8217;dam.  Remember that to the Seanchan, the a&#8217;dam and the sul&#8217;dam are all that stops the damane from killing people and possibly breaking the world.  To the Seanchan, marath&#8217;damane are not much better than men who can channel.  Suddenly, pillars of the Empire&#8217;s power will become the most feared and despised thing in Seanchan society.  Riots, sul&#8217;dam murders, damane murders are likely to result after the revelation.  Why would Tuon be spared?  It is interesting that as the revelation comes closer, Mat and Tuon are escaping from Seanchan controlled territory.  This makes it more likely that Tuon will be the Seanchan woman with Egwene, this is a Dream Egwene had that is copied from wotmania&#8217;s faq:<br /><br />&#8220;Rand confronting her, and the women with her, and one of them was a Seanchan.&#8221;<br />-The Dragon Reborn, Following the Craft<br /><br />But why would Tuon even want to hang around with Egwene?  What part will Tuon play if she doesn&#8217;t bring the Seanchan to Rand?  The answer to this starts with another Dream, again from wotmania&#8217;s faq:<br /><br />&#8220;A golden hawk stretched out its wing and touched her, and she and the hawk were tied together somehow; all she knew was that the hawk was female. &#8220;<br />-A Crown Of Swords, Unseen Eyes<br /><br />There is a strong possibility that the golden hawk is Tuon, since the sign of the imperial family is the golden hawk.  I think that Egwene and Tuon will be tied together because Tuon will bring the sul&#8217;dam and the damane to the White Tower.  Consider the following, Egwene wants every woman who can channel tied to the Tower.  After the backlash against sul&#8217;dam in Seanchan society, the sul&#8217;dam will be desperate, not wanting to live like damane and temporarily unable to be a part of Seanchan society.  With their options limited, I think that the sul&#8217;dam and the damane will run and end up finding/joining Tuon and Mat.  The group will then head towards the Tower.  This has already started with the 3 sul&#8217;dam escaping with Egeanin.  The treatment of damane is horrific, as the books have mentioned many times, and I don&#8217;t think that the Seanchan will be able to join the &#8220;good guys&#8221; while they are doing something that is portrayed as horrible and evil.  Admittedly, there is not tons of strong evidence suggesting that Tuon will lead the sul&#8217;dam and damane to the White Tower.  But all the dots are there, waiting to be connected.  This scenario solves the problem of the damane while also temporarily disabling the Seanchan war machine.  The natural question now is how the Seanchan will be joined to Rand.  Perhaps Tylin will hold the Seanchan together and deliver them to Mat, who will then deliver them to Rand.  Perhaps Berelain being a descendant of Hawkwing will be the path from the Seanchan to Rand.  Either way, Tuon leading the Seanchan sul&#8217;dam and damane to the White Tower works very well at solving moral problems and fulfilling prophecies.<br /><br />Overall, the sul&#8217;dam, their place in Seanchan society, and their future role in the books are interesting enigmas.  I hope these observations/predications the Seanchan prove interesting and accurate. <br /><br />Any takers?<br /></p><p><b>Burr says:</b> &quot;May [he or she] live forever&quot; is a rather common honorific where extremely powerful rulers are concerned.  However, I've got to admit that the &quot;may we live long...&quot; line makes me suspicious.  The unoriginality of the honorific may be an intentional disguise, or else Jordan might have started with the honorific and decided to innovate its meaning.<br /><br />Still, I question whether a huge social change could come about (at least in a well-written fashion) in time for the Last Battle.  If Tuon leads damane to the White Tower, I don't think it will be all of them.<br /><br /><br /> </p>


