The Dark One - A Necessary Evil?

Here is an interesting thought I had recently while rereading Rand and Moridin's fireside chat in tGS (Ch. 15). Can we be sure that it is saidin and saidar that work with and against each other to turn the Wheel, and not the One Power and the True Power? Everyone in Randland believes that it is just the two halves of the One Power turning the Wheel, and it's been said by many characters, but how can they know for sure?

In a series about balance, the True Power seems like the balance to the One Power (the balance of destruction and creation), and it seems like these two could go together to turn the Wheel as they are exact opposites. Further, one could argue that for the world to exist there must be both good and evil - that both are necessary and that both always exist. Even in the Age of Legends when the Dark One was locked away from directly touching the world there still was some evil in the world - Semirhage did truly evil things even before the creation of the Bore. And just because the Dark One didn't directly touch the world at that point it doesn't mean he couldn't be part of the turning even while locked away.

While I was reading this is what jumped out at me to trigger this idea:

"There is a way to win Moridin," Rand said. "I mean to kill him. Slay the Dark One. Let the Wheel turn without his constant taint."

Moridin gave no reaction. He was still staring at the flames. "We are connected," Moridin finally said. "That is how you came here, I suspect, though I do not understand our bond myself. I doubt you can understand the magnitude of the stupidity in your statement." - tGS Ch. 15

So, Moridin could just be saying that Rand is an idiot for even thinking it would be possible to kill the Dark One, or he could just be posturing and calling Rand a fool for being on the side of the Light. But just maybe he's actually saying that Rand's last statement is actually paradoxical - Wouldn't it be ironic if the Dark One is a necessary part of turning the Wheel, that his constant struggle to break free and to destroy the pattern is actually an integral part of keeping the wheel turning? This would certainly mean that Rand had said something stupid indeed, as there would be no way to "Let the Wheel turn without his constant taint," because then the Wheel wouldn't turn at all. And Moridin is someone who might actually know this, since as Elan Morin Tedronai he was a great philosopher and as Nae'blis he seems to be the only one who knows exactly what the Dark One is after.


This could have interesting implications - is the Dark One wanting to destroy the pattern to stop his endless part in turning the wheel? Is it just some Sysiphean task he's had, turning the wheel, and he wants out?

Quote of the Day:
"THE CHOSEN DWINDLE, DEMANDRED. THE WEAK FALL AWAY. WHO BETRAYS ME SHALL DIE THE FINAL DEATH ... EVEN I CANNOT STEP OUTSIDE OF TIME." - The Dark One, LoC Prologue

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

Rand and the True Power

One of the biggest twists in the Gathering Storm is when, in Ch. 22 “The Last That Could Be Done” Rand channels the Dark One’s True Power. Aside from possibly being the most terrifying and gripping chapter in the entire series, this resolution to the situation was completely unexpected. It has also sparked a lot of debate among fans as to exactly how Rand was able to do this. Many believe that Rand was allowed to channel the TP by the Dark One as part of some plot, which could be somewhat true, but they also think that he was simply able to channel it on his own. However, there is textual evidence that definitively points to Rand’s channeling of the TP being directly related to his connection with Moridin. This is what happens when Rand very first detects and reaches towards the new source of power in his desperation:

“A clouded face flashed before Rand’s own, one whose features he couldn’t quite make out. It was gone in a moment.” – tGS, Ch. 22, p.354

Sound familiar? Throughout the past few books Rand has had a man’s face appear in his mind, the man who helped him at Shadar Logoth, and earlier in tGS (Ch. 15) it is confirmed that this is Moridin. In addition, we know from meetings of the Forsaken that Moridin is the only person who is being allowed to wield the TP by the DO. This conclusively points to Rand’s channeling of the TP being directly tied to his connection with Moridin.

However, this still leaves the issue of whether or not this event was part of a plot by the Dark One. I personally like to think not. Semirhage was given the Domination Band (the male a’dam) as the result of the intervention of Shaidar Haran. All this time, going back to the first book, the DO’s main goal has been to have Rand playing on his side and the Domination Band would do just that. Allowing him to escape (albeit by corrupting and mentally scarring him) doesn’t seem to make sense when Rand was already completely helpless in their hands – Rand even thinks to himself that they’ve won and pictures the horrific consequences that would be wreaked by his hands as a tool of the DO. It seems to me strange then, that the DO would provide him the means of escape willingly when he had him so perfectly trapped.

On the other hand, to play devil’s advocate (or in this case, Dark One’s advocate), it could be part of a very intricate plot by the DO. His purpose would be the same – to control Rand and have him working for the dark. The DO could have intended for Semirhage to fail all along (and thus be killed as punishment for her prior failure in KoD) by allowing Rand access to the TP and forcing him to use it by putting him in an impossible predicament. This would mean he was counting on Rand’s encounter with the TP to corrupt him in the way it started to in the book, and just maybe was hoping to push him towards the scene in tGS ch. 50, “Veins of Gold” where Rand very seriously considers destroying the entire Pattern for all time, stopping the turning of the Wheel, the DO’s deepest desire. If this is the case it was some extremely prescient thinking on the part of the Dark One. I question if this precise prediction of Rand’s actions would be possible from a being so cut off from the world and of whom Demandred even thinks in the prologue of LoC,

“He was never sure how much the Great Lord knew of the world. He had been as startled by ignorance as by knowledge.”

However, Occam’s razor would suggest it would have been much simpler for the Domination Band to simply be used to force Rand to fulfill the DO’s whims. The only support I can see for the “Dark One planned it” theory would be that you need two women to control the Domination Band and, while the DO has several female Forsaken at his disposal, perhaps none of them would be able to be talked into destroying the entire Pattern – a world that they would much rather rule than destroy.

This brings me to my final point – what will all of this mean for Tarmon Gai’don? Whether the DO has intentionally or unintentionally allowed Rand access to the True Power, he may have just handed Rand the key to sealing the Bore. Earlier in the very same chapter (Ch. 22 tGS) Rand remembers through Lews Therin how the Bore was sealed in the Age of Legends:

“We used saidin, but we touched it to the Dark One. It was the only way! Something has to touch him, something to close the gap, but he was able to taint it. The seal was weak!”

Could Rand use the Dark One’s own True Power against him by using it to seal the Bore instead of saidin? It seems a tempting theory, and could tie in with various merging/body swap theories about the Moridin link. This kind of resolution to the series would also have some very pretty figurative meaning as Rand would use the Dark One’s own evil power against him, causing evil to destroy itself. Though perhaps it’s too obvious since it’s mentioned right there in the same chapter... or maybe I’m just getting too suspicious from reading so much WoT.

Quote of the Day:

“Till shade is gone, till water is gone,
into the Shadow with teeth bared,
screaming defiance with the last breath,
to spit in Sightblinder’s eye on the Last Day."

-Aiel saying