Tel'aran'rhiod, or the Unseen World, is the World of Dreams in Robert Jordan's the Wheel of Time. With the Talent of Dreaming, which is closely linked to Foretelling, one can predict future events from their reflections in dreams. In this blog, we attempt to sift through the mists to find the true Pattern of the Wheel.
I'm currently re-reading Winter's Heart, and I came across the scene in Ch. 12 where Elayne, Min, and Aviendha bond Rand. Immediately after the bonding Aviendha exclaims,
"The veins of gold. Oh, the veins of gold. You do love me, Rand."WH, Ch. 12
Then Elayne thinks she feels, laced through his hardened emotions, veins of gold when he looks at any of the three.
There are two possibilities: either Veins of Gold was just a very clever reference to Rand remembering love, or it could have bigger implications. It could be that these veins of gold being his connection to the three women could be the key to his survival. I’m rather more inclined to believe it was just an amazing reference, however, of which WoT has plenty. I believe Harriet did the chapter titles, so I've really got to give her major props on this one.
Quote of the Day:
"Lead me to this oosquai of yours Aviendha. I don't know about you two, but I intend to get drunk enough to ... well ... to take off my clothes and dance on the table. And not a hair drunker."
“Thus is our treaty written; thus is agreement made. Thought is the arrow of time; memory never fades. What was asked is given. The price is paid.” – Ashanderei inscription
Despite cheating, the rescue attempt will be extremely dangerous. In her letter Moiraine explains that she saw in Rhuidean that while they may succeed in rescuing her, there are many paths where some or all of them will die; she even said they could all be captured for the rest of their lives. From the sheer number of stipulations she put on the size of the rescue party and even on when Mat could see her letter, we know there is maybe just one path where they succeed and down all of the rest they fail. Clearly, it is a treacherous mission. But just exactly what dangers will our heroes face?
First, let us recall one of Egwene’s dreams:
“Mat throwing dice with blood streaming down his face, the wide brim of his hat pulled low so she could not see his wound, while Thom Merrilin put his hand into a fire to draw out the small blue stone that now dangled on Moiraine’s forehead.” tFoH, Ch. 15
This vision is pretty clearly about the rescue since it features Mat, Thom, and Moiraine all tied together.Thom may be hurt – Egwene’s dream of him putting his hand into fire indicates that much, but I suspect he will survive so Moiraine will be reunited with her “dearest Thom.” Noal, on the other hand, may not be so lucky. Noal is a strange character – it is widely believed in fandom that he is actually Jain Farstrider rather than merely Jain’s cousin. When he speaks so harshly about Jain, it seems a bit too warm for merely a cousin’s concern. Rather, it smacks of guilt and regret. I could see him dying in the rescue attempt – a tragic figure, finding redemption by dying for a noble cause.
Then, there is the question of paying a price in order to have your requests granted. When Mat goes through the doorway ter’angreal in Rhuidean and encounters the Eelfinn, this happens:
“Fool,” a woman said in a whispered growl, and others repeated it. Fool. Fool. Fool.
“Wise to ask leavetaking, when you set no price, no terms.”
“Yet fool not to first agree on price.”
“We will set the price.”
They spokes so quickly he could not tell which said what.
“What was asked will be given.”
“The price will be paid.” tSR, Ch. 24
And the next we see Mat, he is hanging from avendesora (the Tree of Life, ironically), only revived by Rand taking quick action. It seems that if you do not set a price for a request from the Eelfinn, they’ll just set your life as their price.
Now, why does this matter for the rescue, if they’re going to be trying to avoid the Finns? Because several of Egwene’s dreams, and even something the Aelfinn said, indicate that Mat is going to pay a high price indeed to rescue Moiraine.
Let’s look at Egwene’s dream again:
“Mat throwing dice with blood streaming down his face, the wide brim of his hat pulled low so she could not see his wound, while Thom Merrilin put his hand into a fire to draw out the small blue stone that now dangled on Moiraine’s forehead.” tFoH, Ch. 15
Note the blood streaming down Mat’s face – the wound causing this is likely found in this earlier dream:
“Those about Mat had been even nastier. Mat, placing his own left eye on a balance scale. Mat, hanging by his neck from a tree limb.” tDR, Ch. 25
Mat placing his own eye on a scale seems to indicate Mat weighing it out as a price, perhaps paying to have Moiraine released – the fact that the price has to do with the Finns is strongly indicated by it being immediately followed by a vision of the first price he paid the Finns – his hanging. Further, it would fit quite nicely with this statement about Mat’s fate made by the Aelfinn on their first encounter:
“To give up half the light of the world to save the world!” tSR, Ch. 15
Giving up his eye in order to save Moiraine (whom Min has seen that Rand will surely fail without) would literally be giving up half the light of the world to save the world. Quite a cleverly worded prophecy on Jordan’s part, for at face value this seems more like Mat will do something that gives up half the good of the world as Light in WoT lingo instantly makes you think of the overall good in the world/the Creator.
And so, in giving up his own eye, Mat completes his transformation into the Odinic wanderer of Norse mythology – carrying a staff, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, and having only one eye, the father of victory shall summon the dead heroes to fight once more.
“A final point. Remember what you know about the game of Snakes & Foxes. Remember, and heed.” –Moiraine’s Letter,KoD, Ch.10
The game of Snakes & Foxes is based on ancient dealings with the Finns, so Moiraine’s advice makes sense. However, it is repeatedly stated throughout the series that there is no way to win the game without breaking the rules. It should be noted, however, that Mat remarks in Ch. 33 of LoC that he never rolled the dice when Olver played the game so as to prevent his luck taking a hand. His luck may actually go a long way toward the success of the rescue, but it’s still indicated by the repeated statement that there is no way to win without breaking the rules that it isn’t merely so improbable as to have never happened for anyone who’s ever played, a 1 in a billion chance say (meaning Mat’s luck could make it happen anyway), but rather that the rules of the game make it literally impossible to win. So to rescue Moiraine, we know that they’re going to have to cheat somehow. To establish how, let’s first examine the game and what it means about actual dealings with the Finn.
Much of what we know of the game comes from when Mat plays it with Olver in Ch. 33 of LoC (notably titled “Courage to Strengthen”). The board is round; obviously it represents the Tower of Ghenjei, which is also round. Players start in the middle of the board and must reach the outside edge via a web of lines before returning to the center without being caught by the snakes or the foxes to win the game. This actually seems very much like the rescue our heroes are about to attempt: they will enter, have to get Moiraine, then return to the exit, all without being captured by the Finns.
Further, the board has arrows that indicate some paths allow travel in only one direction and others in both. This could represent obstacles within the tower itself, but I’m more inclined to believe it has to do with the very nature of Finnland. In Mat’s trips through the doorway ter’angreal we see two very different worlds even though both are supposed to be in the Tower of Ghenjei. In tSR Ch. 15, the land of the Aelfinn is described as being all curves with no straight lines anywhere. Mat also notices that he keeps passing the same room, but on different sides of the hallway and some other things that would make no sense in our world – clearly the laws of nature are different there. In tSR Ch. 24, however, the land of the Eelfinn has no curves, it is all straight lines and sharp angles. Every doorway seems to lead back to where Mat entered (again indicating some freaky physics going on). Perhaps the land of the Aelfinn is the spiraling part of the web of lines on the board, while the Eelfinn inhabit the straight lines running from the center outward? In any case, it seems it will be a confusing maze to navigate.
Now for the rules. The opening of the game of Snakes & Foxes involves making the symbol used to enter the tower and saying the poem:
“Courage to strengthen, fire to blind, music to dazzle, iron to bind.”
Fire, music, and iron are forbidden in Finnland – both sets of Finns ask Mat if he has any of these things when he goes through the ter’angreal and indicate that this is part of an ancient agreement. Why are they forbidden? Clearly, they must be things that can be used against the Finns, that can make them vulnerable – in essence, a way to cheat. This is supported by the fact that when Rand creates a sword of fire in Finnland, the Finns are quite frightened:
“They wouldn’t even look at it. Shied away. Hid their eyes.” tSR, Ch. 15
This matches the “fire to blind” line of the poem and shows that the poem is a hint on how to beat the Finns. Our group is already a courageous lot, especially Mat despite all his protestation that he is no bloody hero. Fire could easily be brought via Aludra’s strikers (matches) or Mat will bring some fireworks of some sort. Music is obviously going to be Thom’s harp.
But iron... why iron? The other parts of the poem are fairly straightforward – the Finns are frightened by bright lights, and perhaps loud noises (or are entranced by the music), but “iron to bind” is a strange rule. Steel seems just as dangerous as iron, but they don’t seem to care about that. Perhaps the Finns are “allergic” to iron, meaning they have a certain sensitivity to it because of the natural laws of their realm. For all we know, it may burn their skin on contact or be extremely painful for them to touch, rendering them weak. It may have to do with Noal, since the other two cheats seem to be tied to Mat and Thom. He could bring iron weapons or chains and shackles for this purpose. This also seems to tie into drawing the symbol on the tower with a bronze knife – the Finns definitely wouldn’t want you to get in using an iron one.
We all know it’s going to happen – Mat is going to try and rescue Moiraine from the Finns (probably in Towers of Midnight simply because of its title). A few people have argued on discussion boards that maybe Mat won’t, depending on what exactly is in Verin’s letter. That’s just plain wrong – while Verin’s letter could give Mat pause, he will try this rescue no matter what for a couple of reasons:
·He promised Thom. And as Nynaeve has repeatedly told other characters, once Mat makes a promise he keeps it no matter what the cost to himself.
·Moiraine has to be rescued because Min’s viewings always come true. As Min has had a viewing about Moiraine that has yet to be fulfilled, she will be back somehow. Period.
However it does raise an interesting point – Verin’s letter may force Mat to make a difficult decision, which is indicated by one of Egwene’s dreams:
“Mat, weighing two Aes Sedai on a huge set of balance scales, and on his decision depended...She could not say what; something vast; the world, perhaps.” –tPoD, Ch. 15
But in the end he will choose Moiraine, for Min’s viewing indicated Rand would fail without Moiraine – the world hanging in the balance for true.
Now for the actual expedition. By tGS, we know that Domon knows where the Tower of Ghenjei is and is going to take them there. We also know the three in the rescue party will be Mat, Thom, and Noal Charin. (Jain Farstrider off for one last adventure, seeking redemption for his lost love?)
Finally, we know how they can get in – in Ch. 10 of KoD we learn that Birgitte told Olver that to enter the tower, one must use a bronze knife to draw the opening symbols of the game of Snakes & Foxes. There must be a reason that Olver is mentioned playing Snakes & Foxes so much. While it could just be a device so that readers could become familiar with the game since it reflects dealings with the Finn, it is likely that Olver himself may provide a little insight before they set off, as he did by passing on the aforementioned gem he heard from Birgitte. Further, the setup for the quest gets even better when we know that 1) Birgitte knows things about the Tower of Ghenjei from her time in tel’aran’rhiod and from past lives, and 2) Mat is going to be in Caemlyn, where Birgitte is staying, for nearly a month per his agreement with Verin. This gives plenty of time for Mat to pump her for information about the tower and the Finns.
Now that the stage is set for the rescue, what will happen once they get inside the tower?
In The Dragon Reborn, after being healed from the taint of the Shadar Logoth dagger and his extraordinary luck makes its first appearance, Mat begins to feel the sensation of dice tumbling in his head. While he eventually decides the dice mean something important is happening, he often has no clue why they start and stop or what they mean. Many believe that the dice are tied up in his luck, or merely indicate that Mat is coming to an important decision. However, the dice may be more significant. There is evidence that they are no less than the pattern’s tug on Mat’s thread.
We know that Mat is ta’veren. Ta’veren are woven more strictly by the Wheel– not only do they pull on the threads around them, but they are kept more strictly to the pattern laid out for them because the Wheel uses them to guide the whole weaving. Now that we have several books of information since the dice in Mat’s head first started, we can figure out what they mean by looking at specifically what events have caused them to stop rolling and then why those events ended up being significant later on.
As an illustrative example we will look at some places where the dice stop in ACoS, WH, and CoT and see how these events turned out to be important in later books (for a complete listing of dice events see the page on Mat on http://www.encyclopaedia-wot.org/).
·The dice stop when Mat agrees to move into the Tarasin Palace. We now know that this directly led him to meeting Tuon.
·The dice stop when a wall falls on Mat in the chaos of the Seanchan attack. This kept him from leaving the city, again making sure he meets Tuon.
·The dice stop when Mat meets Tuon. Obviously because she is the Daughter of the Nine Moons and he will marry her.
·The dice stop when Tuon and Mat agree to terms guaranteeing she will not try to escape. This continues to ensure the series of events that lead to the completion of their marriage ceremony.
The sequence of events above all led toward Mat marrying Tuon, as well as the course he has taken in getting to Caemlyn. For example, he would have left the city if the wall hadn’t collapsed on him. The events are all ways that his path has been set out before him, the Wheel tugging him into being in the right place at the right time. The dice appear to start when his course begins to be pulled by the pattern, then stop when he’s been tugged into place.
Perhaps a better question to ask is, if the dice are the pattern pulling Mat as a ta’veren, how come Perrin and Rand don’t feel the same thing? Well, each sort of does in his own way. Perrin has felt Rand’s pull before, or felt he had to be somewhere, and Rand often has similar hunches. However, Mat’s more acute awareness of the pull may in fact be the interaction between his luck and his ta’veren nature, or it may be a Talent all its own like Min’s viewings. Importantly, Mat starts hearing the dice at the end of tDR, before he has gone through either of the doorways to Finnland, so we know it has nothing to do with the Finns. Likely the exact reason he hears the dice will not be answered until we learn more about the exact cause of Mat’s luck, which will require its own discussion.
