For the past several books, the three ta’veren see swirling colors whenever they think about each other – the earliest instance I have found with some quick research on Encyclopaedia WoT is Ch. 1 of WH when Perrin sees color swirls when he thinks of Rand. The swirls finally escalate to full blown images at the culmination of the cleansing of saidin, when both Mat and Perrin know from the swirls that Rand is causing the surge in the OP – at that time, Perrin even sees Rand and Nynaeve sitting facing each other as they cleanse the True Source (CoT Ch. 8 – Whirlpools of Color).
While Mat and Perrin have been trying to suppress these images, in tGS Rand finally puts them to use. He uses the vision he has of Perrin to help him figure out where Perrin is when Nynaeve asks him. I believe this is some foreshadowing of the color whirls greater relevance to come in the finale of the series. If the ta’veren quit ignoring the color swirls (as Rand has by the end of tGS – in Ch. 47 he is even able to see both Mat and Perrin simultaneously) they should be able to use it advantageously to coordinate their actions and this could be crucial to winning the Last Battle.
Tarmon Gai'don could take place at several different locations over a span of hundreds of miles – we will probably see Rand at Shayol Ghul, someone with armies at Tarwin’s Gap, and maybe other places along the Blightborder or even scattered throughout Randland. If the ta’veren are able to see each other in their minds via the color swirls, they could carefully coordinate events simultaneously at all of these locations. This could be a key advantage in holding back the Dark One’s forces at the Last Battle.
One thing that should also be interesting is what will happen when any of the ta’veren are actually in a room together. On directly seeing each other, will they also simultaneously see color swirl images? This sounds like it would be a very dizzying effect, to say the least. Perhaps they will be completely aware of each other, almost as if they were bonded. In any case, it is unlikely all three will be together any time soon, with Mat off to rescue Moiraine from the Tower of Ghenjei and Perrin doing who knows what.
So what is causing these color swirls? It seems to be a completely unique phenomenon. TheTwo Rivers boys seem to be hiding it from everyone around them, so we haven’t been able to get any third party opinion on the matter to let us know if this has ever happened historically, but I’m inclined to say it has not. For one thing, no one had ever heard of having three people be this strongly ta’veren at the same time, much less three tied together in the way that these are. And in that lies the key to their cause. The color swirls are likely a result of the interaction of the three’s ta’veren pulls on each other. Each is a main thread pulling the entire shape of the pattern, and in turn these three main threads pull on each other. Perhaps their threads are twisting them closer and closer together and the swirls are a side effect of this – they are literally able to see each other through the pattern. Could this be related to the Karaethon prophecy: “He shall hold a blade of light in his hands, and the three shall be one”?
Quote of the Day:
“As the Seanchan reached out the hand, Mat slashed it with the ruby-hilted dagger … Every bit of his exposed flesh was black as putrid pitch and looked ready to burst at a touch. Mat licked his lips and swallowed. Even Turak stared, openmouthed. ‘You see,’ Ingtar said softly. ‘We are no easy meat.’” tGH Ch. 45
