The Balance Scale Revisited

In my January post The Rescue: Part I - The Quest Begins, I theorized on the meaning of one of Egwene’s dreams about Mat:

“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

In that post, I surmised that this meant that Mat would have to choose between saving Moiraine and following the instructions in Verin’s letter, but that he would end up choosing Moiraine (as we know Moiraine is necessary for Rand to win according to Min’s viewing – hence the world depending on his decision).

However, I have recently come up with a variant of this theory that I believe equally plausible. The two Aes Sedai are still Moiraine and Verin, and it will be impossible for him to follow both of their letters, so he must choose. Mat will still choose to save Moiraine. At that point, the theories diverge. The new theory follows this path: upon entering the Tower of Ghenjei to rescue Moiraine, Mat will at some point encounter the Eelfinn - and he will ask them to enable him to carry out the instructions in Verin’s letter. By so doing, Mat effectively cheats his way into being able to follow both letters and choose both Aes Sedai. Both will be essential for the fate of the world.

As price for his wishes, Mat will have to give the Finns his eye, fulfilling Min’s viewing of his eye on a balance scale. The fact that both visions have balance scales – the Aes Sedai, and Mat’s eye – is further indication that they may be related. (For more on Mat’s eye, see The Rescue: Part III -The Price is Paid)

I prefer this theory to my earlier one not only because it would allow Mat to help both Aes Sedai, but also because the idea of sidestepping the rules to do the impossible fits quite well with Mat’s personality - as well as his luck.

Quote of the Day:

“We’ll talk about it,” she murmured, the bond filling with stubborn resolve.

The most dire words a woman can say short of “I’m going to kill you,” Rand thought.

-KoD, Ch. 20

Spring Cleaning

As you may have noticed, it's a new season and Tel'aran'rhiod has a new look. I hope you guys like it. It's decidedly darker than the previous theme, but I think it's fitting for tGS and the upcoming last two books of the series. I'm about to begin a tGS reread (I've been going through the entire series and have finally gotten back to tGS) and have plans for some major posts after I've gotten a chance to give the entire book a much closer examination than I did when I was hurriedly devouring it right after its release. I'll probably add a couple of smaller more general posts in the interim, but believe me, the big stuff is coming. Here's a teaser:

Coming Soon: Mesaana - the Enemy Within

Verin's Letter

In tGS Ch. 36, Verin gives Mat a letter and sets some very peculiar rules about when he can open it. So just what could be in this letter and why does she set all of these rules? Answering the second question provides a good hint for the first, and knowing that Verin was a double agent is a valuable clue.

Let’s look at the exact rules Verin lays out for Mat:

• He can’t open the letter until the tenth day after she leaves him in Caemlyn. On that day he must follow the instructions. She explains that he can’t open it yet because she might not need him to go through with the instructions, rather, that she hopes to return and take the letter back.
• If he chooses not to open the letter, he must remain in Caemlyn for at least thirty days (compromised down from fifty days originally).

Importantly, the next time we see Verin after this scene is when she reveals herself to Egwene, and has poisoned herself because she could not lay hands on the Oath Rod to remove her Black Ajah oaths as she had hoped. This indicates that Verin hoped to use the Oath Rod to remove her oaths, then return and take the letter back from Mat without him ever reading it. Having Mat open the letter and follow its instructions must be a backup plan only to be carried out if Verin cannot do it herself because she is dead. It also indicates that Verin could not carry out her plan while her dark oaths were still in place. Therefore, the letter must constitute a betrayal of the Shadow, breaking her dark oath "I swear not to betray the Great Lord, to keep my secrets until the hour of my death." This is also why she had to make Mat promise that he wouldn’t open the letter for ten days – it ensures that she will be dead by the time he opens it (if it comes to that) and therefore is not breaking her oath by leaving him with the letter.

So knowing this, what is in the letter - what are the Shadow's plans that she is betraying? First off, Verin says that she doesn't think that Mat will find her instructions harsh. Now, of course Verin can lie because she's not under the truth oath, but she does usually tell the truth (probably to avoid being found out as BA), instead just using typical AS word twisting. So it probably isn't something that Mat wouldn't want to do - it could well reveal a Darkfriend plan to kill Mat, and Mat of course would not find it egregious to be required to foil a Darkfriend plot against his own life (which could well be being orchestrated by one of the Forsaken, likely Cyndane or Moghedien following Moridin’s orders based on Graendal’s thoughts about their activities in the tGS Prologue). This idea is supported earlier in the same scene in tGS Ch. 36. She tells Mat that he and Perrin are in grave danger, to which Mat replies – big deal, he’s been in danger since he left the Two Rivers. Verin next makes an interesting statement:

“This is different,” Verin said, growing stern. “The level of danger you are in … I … Well, let us simply agree that you are in great, great danger. I suggest that you be very careful during the next few weeks.” -tGS, Ch. 36

Verin does not usually get tongue-tied, so why does she seem to have trouble getting this sentence out? Because she is trying to warn Mat, but cannot tell him exactly the danger he is in because it conflicts with her oath. It seems she may know exactly what danger he is in. This would also explain her second stipulation, that if he does not open the letter he must wait in Caemlyn. Why would Verin want Mat to wait around in Caemlyn if she dies and he decides not to open the letter? For it cannot be the reason she gives (that it may take her longer to return than she expects) because if he’s waiting more than ten days and she has not returned for the letter it means that she died. Waiting in Caemlyn must be a way to try and protect Mat. She knows that if he goes to Caemlyn he will be the personal guest of Queen Elayne and therefore be surrounded by a huge army as well as a set of channelers that have been purged of BA (due to their capture in KoD after they tried to kidnap Elayne). What better place for Mat to lay low as Verin suggested?

But it seems likely that Mat will go ahead and open the letter after ten days, based on his personality. Verin even seems confident that he would with a knowing little smile near the end of the scene. Despite all he said about not getting tied up in Aes Sedai plans, he did take the letter. Mat’s too curious for his own good, and she knows it.

We can infer that Verin’s other letters are betraying various other Black Ajah and Darkfriend plots that must be taken care of by others if she dies. She may have given a similar letter to Perrin (since she mentioned Perrin being in grave danger along with Mat). In Towers of Midnight, we will find that Verin left even more of a legacy than the Black Ajah purge – the foiling of some of the Shadow’s most important plans.

Quote of the Day:

“That, among all things, is the most sacred duty of the Brown – to arm the world with knowledge. I’m still one of them. Please see that they know, although the word Black may brand my name forever, my soul is Brown. Tell them…”

-Verin’s last words, tGS, Ch.39

The Voice of Lews Therin

Early in the series Rand has access to some knowledge from his past life as Lews Therin Telamon (LTT), but he does not yet hear the voice. However, every time he catches himself knowing something or remembering something, he freaks out a bit thinking that he must be going mad, and he refuses to accept it as a part of him. His mind can't wrap itself around the fact that he is LTT reborn and that he can remember these things - because that is something that would be hard for anyone to grasp. Not to mention that he just doesn't want to accept that he is the same man that killed everyone he loved and broke the world.

As he channels more his insanity starts to develop into a voice and personality (which are in fact based on Rand's memories of his past life as LTT) so that Rand can still see himself as a separate person from LTT. This is because he doesn't want to be LTT - he's developing multiple personality disorder from his madness. As he suffers torture in the box during his captivity in LoC the voice gets much worse and he starts talking to it more - this supports that he keeps using it as a coping mechanism and his condition progresses.

Eventually he sees this personality as so real that he sees LTT as actually being able to seize and weave saidin in KoD Ch. 19. The weaves Rand uses while thinking it is LTT in control are simply weaves coming from the memories of LTT that Rand has. This is the same as he did early in the series (before the voice) when he remembered weaves out of nowhere and used them but now he uses his coping mechanism of his "LTT" personality so that he doesn't have to admit he is the same man (and also because at this point he really is mad from the taint on saidin).

As long as he had the LTT voice he could see himself as a separate person from LTT, but in tGS Ch. 50 “Veins of Gold” he finally confronts the fact that he is the same man. He remembers the day that he killed his family, seeing their bodies, seeing Ilyena. He even remembers killing himself. And because he finally accepts that that was him, not some other guy, that did those things, the voice finally goes away.

"For they were not two men, and never had been."

Quote of the Day:

“I seem to remember dying, Lews Therin murmured. I remember how I did it. He drew deeper still, and small pains grew in Rand’s temples.”

– KoD, Ch. 19

Body Swap

“If you would live, you must die.” –KoD,Ch. 18

The Aelfinn tell Rand that in order to win the last battle and survive, he must die. Further, the Karaethon cycle states:

“Twice and twice shall he be marked,
twice to live and twice to die.” tGH, Ch. 26

This indicates that Rand will live twice, meaning he’ll live again after his death. This presents the possibility that despite all of the prophecies and foreshadowing that Rand has to die at the last battle he will somehow be able to survive. But how?

With an ever-strengthening connection to Moridin, the theory that the two will somehow swap bodies has become ever more popular. The reasons for the likelihood of this happening have been well explained elsewhere, so instead I will discuss how the actual body swap will occur – with a twist.

Many theorize that Rand and Moridin will swap bodies, then Rand or Alivia will kill Moridin (who is now in Rand’s body). I, however, believe that Rand will allow himself to be killed, but then through their connection he and Moridin will fight a battle of wills for control of Moridin’s body while Rand’s body is left an empty shell. This is indicated by Egwene’s dream:

“Logain, laughing, stepped across something on the ground and mounted a black stone; when she looked down, she thought it was Rand’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.” ACoS Ch10

The image of Rand’s face breaking like a paper puppet indicates that his body has become an empty shell and that it is no longer really him. Further, we have Min’s viewing:

“I saw you and another man. I couldn'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't.” ACoS, Ch. 33

This very nicely parallels the section of the Dark Prophecy in tGH about Slayer:

“One did live, and one did die, but both are.” tGH, Ch. 7

This indicates that Rand and Moridin will merge like Luc and Isam, and that one will live on in the body and the other will die, driven out.

Finally, there are many dreams and viewings of Rand from all different parts of the series that, when taken together, paint quite a picture:

“Three women standing over a funeral bier with you on it, black rock wet with blood…” tEotW, Ch. 15 (Min's viewing)

"The lion sword, the dedicated spear, she who sees beyond. Three on the boat, and he who is dead yet lives. The great battle done, but the world not done with battle. The land divided by the return, and the guardians balance the servants. The future teeters on the edge of a blade." LoC Ch. 14 (Nicola’s foretelling)

"Melaine and Bair dreamed of you on a boat with three women whose faces they could not see, and a scale tilting first one way then the other.” LoC, Ch.19

“A man lay dying in a narrow bed, and it was important that he not die, yet outside a funeral pyre was being built, and voices raised songs of joy and sadness.” ACoS, Ch. 10 (Egwene's dream)

As Rand and Moridin battle internally for Moridin’s body (which itself will be on the brink of death due to the internal struggle), Rand’s old body will be placed on a funeral pyre. The tilting scale seen by the Dreamwalkers represents this internal battle for Moridin's body, as does Nicola's foretelling that the future teeters on the edge of a blade - if Moridin's soul manages to hold onto the body instead of Rand, he could still unleash chaos on the world, but if Rand wins the Light will be able to hold on. For all purposes, the world will believe him dead, but he will live out his days in the body of his former nemesis.

Quote of the day:

"The Light shine on you, and the Creator shelter you. The last embrace of the mother welcome you home."

-Shienaran burial ceremony

Stilling, Burning out, and Healing

Nynaeve and Damer Flinn have both found a way to heal stilling. Further, the healing is only 100% effective if performed by a channeler of the opposite gender. However, we have yet to learn if someone who has “burned out” can be healed. In this post I will lay out my theory on the differences between stilling and burning out, and try to determine if burnout is healable.

To find the difference between stilling and burning out, we first have to discuss the actual physiology of channeling. First of all, we know that channeling is genetic and that it is a recessive gene, and that some people are born with the “spark” and will start to channel no matter what, whereas others can be taught to channel but would not start channeling on their own. Someone who is not born with the ability to channel or learn to channel will never be able to channel – if you lack the channeling gene you will never be able to channel. These three distinct classes of people (sparkers, learners, and non-channelers) indicates a genetic scheme of incomplete dominance. Someone who has both recessive channeling alleles will be a sparker, someone with one channeling allele and one dominant non-channeling allele will be a learner, and someone with both dominant non-channeling alleles will not be able to channel.

Since the channeling ability is genetic, it also has a physical component – there is something physically different about channelers. Likely this difference would be an area of the brain that provides access to the True Source – a “channeling neuron”. Those with the spark would have a fully developed “channeling neuron,” those who must learn to channel would have an under-developed “channeling neuron” that grows as they use it, and those who cannot channel do not have one at all.

So what happens when someone is stilled versus when someone is burned out? A clue to stilling can be found when Nynaeve heals Logain. She describes a “hole” when she studies Logain, and a feeling “of something cut” in Siuan, and Leane. The cut feeling indicates that stilling (or gentling) someone involves cutting off the synapse that connects the part of the brain that allows channeling. The channeler still has that part of the brain, and can still sense the Source, but they cannot activate the part of the brain that lets them channel. This is further supported in Nynaeve’s use of Fire to bridge the gap when she heals them, as this makes sense for healing the nervous system because of the electrical pulses in our brain.

Burning out, on the other hand, is different. When someone is burned out, she cannot sense the True Source at all. So what physically happens when someone is burned out? The term itself is very descriptive, and likely provides the answer. Burning out occurs when you overreach yourself with the power or are involved in some sort of traumatic event involving the power (such as misuse of ter’angreal). This indicates that the part of the brain that allows one to channel is physically damaged and destroyed. Where in stilling the connection to that area of the brain is cut, in burning out that part of the brain is just gone or dead – literally burned away. This is why those who have burned out cannot even sense the Source – they no longer have that part of the brain at all, making them as if they had been born without the channeling gene.

Because those who are burned out have lost the area of the brain that allows channeling, it is unlikely that they can be healed the way that stilling can. Healing allows the body to drastically regenerate, but it cannot re-grow something that has been lost completely. If someone has a leg cut off, healing could probably reattach the severed leg (if it was placed where it should go) but it could not cause the victim to just grow a new leg. In the same way, stilling can be healed, but burning out likely cannot.

Quote of the day:

“My name is Nynaeve ti al’Meara Mandragoran. The message I want sent is this. My husband rides from World’s End toward Tarwin’s Gap, toward Tar’mon Gai’don. Will he ride alone?”

-KoD, Ch. 20