Wheel of Time Books

Soul transmigration is central to the WoT-universe. It's a necessary part of channeling ability though there's also a genetic component. The soul even influences details like specific skills at Healing, etc. Similarly, it seems to influence musical ability, strategic gifts, sword skills, archery, weapon preferences, bent for research,thinking patterns, career choices, etc. How far does this "soul influence" extend? Can a person with specific training break free from it or are people in WoT "doomed" to repeat variations of the same things in each of their lives? I'm speculating about this partly as a broad universe-building concept. Also specific questions: …

hey guys how is everyone doing? this is my first topic post and i just wanted to throw my two cents in on a couple things really. I havent done a re-read in a long time so im not gonna be able to exactly quote or reference chapters or anything but the vast majority of you guys are smart and will know the parts im talkin about. so this is just basically me saying i have never really been keen on the whole body swap theory. it seemed left field to me and a strange way to make it all work out in just a lil convenient kind of way to me, but now i begrudgingly think it a little more likely. really the part to me that did it too was when avi's kids are being described.…

Hi all, Not sure if this has been brought up before. I have just reread LOC and strongly believe that Taim is Demandred!!! I think that RJ has already stated that this is not the case, but what if he is using a Aes Sedai loop hole whan answering the question. What if Demanderd killed Taim, then made himself the imposter Taim. This would make RJ 100% true when saying it is not Taim (because its not its Demandred) This would also explain why Bashere does not recognize him in Caemlyn. Any thoughts on this topic?

It appears that many plots that are detrimental to the allies of the Light have Dark origins. If we are to assume, for example, that opening the Book of Translation is not beneficial to the Light then indirectly the mere mentioning of it tends to make one suspicious of the Ogier promulgating such a decree. Could a Forsaken be ruining one of Rand's great successes by successfully inflitrating Stedding and removing the seals on the Ways (or through DF Ogier, perhaps?)? Ever since the obvious return of the Forsaken, the Stedding have played relatively little roles in the plot (and are merely shaken off as being of no account due to Loial and Karldin's interference) which mak…

Alright, so as much as I love theories, and literary discussions, I thought it'd be a good change of pace to do something, well just FUN. So here's the idea: Give me your best insult, as rude, mean, or dirty as you want, BUT obviously, it must be in common word usage form from Randland. I'm not asking for your favorite quotes of characters cursing, but your own original quote extrapolated from Randland vocabulary. Here are some with I came up with: "The Shadow consume you, you milk drinking Daughter of the Sands!" "The Light burn your bones to ash, you goat kissing shea dancer!" Just some starter material... AND GO! Could you come up with one to make Ma…

For those of you who are attending JordanCon this weekend, the rest of us would appreciate any news that is shared regarding A Memory of Light. I understand that Harriett will be reading from the book and we would all like to know what the passage is about. Thanks

Okay, this is a loose sort of theory, but here it is... recently when I sat down with Brandon, I asked the following. The reason I asked this question was because I've always wondered about Verin and Seanchan. Verin studied the Seanchan, we even see she has made notes and annotations much like she did with the Black Ajah. And it occurred to me to wonder... Verin is one of the most capable plotters in the Wheel. Subtle, patient, methodical. In this scene RJ intentionally paints clear how seriously she takes the threat of the Seanchan--directly comparing them with the Shadow, they other great target she has set herself--and in addition during events at Fal…

I was just reading the interview DB and found a really detailed biography about Cadsuane from RJ. http://www.theorylan...vmain.php?i=652 After reading this, I can't help but think that Cadsuane was once a ta'veren, though she isn't anymore. What do yall think?

I have seen two kinds of topics about Taim in the forums 1. Is he a Forsaken or not (Moridin vs Demandred) 2. Is Logain gonna kick Taim's ass. I have just completed my second reading of the entire series (skipping all chapters dealing with Kin, SeaFolk, Elayne). Right now I think that this whole Taim business is a red herring. Of course he is jealous about Rand being the real Dragon Reborn and him turning out to be a false dragon. (C'mon how will you feel if at the end of series it came out that Rand was a false dragon?) He has done exactly what Rand asked him to do ... he even saved Rand in Dumai's Wells. On the other hand the only negative things we have he…

Alright, first of all, this theory is about Egwene's actions primarily in ToM. I refused to put it in the title for obvious reasons, all the bashers and defenders would flock here and end up ruining the whole thing. Probably will still do so, but I try. So, I introduced the WoT to my aunt about a year and a half back, she has since read through once and is on her second read. I tell her about the theories and public opinion about certain topics, and as you can imagine, Egwene in ToM is one such topic which generates much interest. (A theory I have adapted with my experience and knowledge which, although it is far from perfect, is more so than said family member.) …

The game of Sha'rah, a game that was ancient in the Age of legends, sort of the ancestor of stones in the 3rd age, what is going on here? The Fisher King, a black and white piece with a bandage blinding it's eyes and one hand pressed to it's side with drops of blood dripping through the fingers, obviousy resembles or symbolises Rand. Morindin ponders that it may have been designed on a previous dragon incarnation, but why would it symbolise Rand so very very obviously, both figuritvley(the theory that he was blind to what he was doing/becoming, and his blood on the rock of Shayol Ghul) and literally, his vision problems after the encounter with Semmirhage and his side…

My main question posed is this: What is Rand experiencing while he is dead? I know, we may get no insight into his thoughts while he's dead, but I think there is a good chance that he has to accomplish something meaningful while he is dead. First, some set up: Not sure how much all of you compare the WoT to other Epic Fantasy, which then relates to ye olde Epic Poem. However, I don't think it is enough that Rand simply dies for a time, he must accomplish something while dead. Why? Well, mainly because when it comes to main Protagonist in an Epic Story, there is almost always a journey through the Underworld. Not just the main character dying and then resurrecti…

ToM, Prologue: "It soon became obvious, even within the stedding, that the Pattern was growing frail. The sky darkened. Our dead appeared, standing in rings outside the borders of the stedding, looking in. Most troublingly, trees fell ill, and no song would heal them."

The Great Lord acted too soon. He should have waited for Rand to finish killing Min before granting him access to the True Power. Perhaps the pain of her death may have given Rand's journey towards the Shadow the extra fuel it needed to be complete. Unless, of course, it was the Creator Himself who granted the access, in which case the timing of it would make a little more sense to me. If Rand had killed Min, he may not have needed any more temptation.

I'm not sure if this has been talked about, i couldnt find it but what is the deal with Sleete. He seems to get alot of air time for just a warder. For awhile i was thinking that he was a Darkfriend that would play some devious role, i.e. trying to will Gawyn but since his Aes Sedai has retaken the oaths and sworn that she is not a Darkfriend i guess that probably isnt he case. So does anyone know why he gets as much time as he does?

I have wondered whether it would be possible for the Black Ajah to bond a myddraal or gray man as a warder and what the side effects would be because that would be awesome.

This has been on my mind recently. How exactly did the Seanchan tame creatures of the Dark One's worlds? The AS on Seanchan must have had some considerable skill with Portal Stones (the change from AS to damane severely hampered any collective knowledge, unfortunately), yet the purposeful domestication (to some extent) of the Dark One's creatures to fight against other creature of the Dark One to rid the Blight of constant threat seems counterintuitive. Could it also be that the greater pre-Luthair population on Seanchan was Dark? That being that Trollocs on Seanchan Blight were transported over to Randland (perhaps during the Trolloc Wars) and were replaced by these …

Before starting my reasoning, note this is pure speculation. I have no evidence for this. I think the dark one's defeat will be through the true power. In the books there is always spoken of a 'connection' to the true power/one power. A connection doesn't mean A---->B, but A<----->B. It works Both ways. Robert Jordan never puts anything in the books without a reason. Why would he even make Rand able to touch the true power unless meant as a red herring or a deeper meaning? I think Rand will defeat the dark one using that connection (that works both ways) with the True power, ergo the DO. Now as I said before, I have evidence to base this on, I just go…

Have been considering Lews Therin and the Age of Legend, and i've been trying to figure out if Ilyena was an Aes Sedai. From memeory, im pretty sure i read somewhere that Lews Therin and Ilyena got married 50 or so years before the war of power(i could be wrong), which means that when she died, she'd have been one old gal. Lets just set a hypothetical age for her when she got married, 17(trying to go as early as possible), but if she as an Aes Sedai it could have been far later. Add on 50 years(possibly), and then on top of that however long the war of power went for (from the perspective of Rand's ancestors, it looks to have continued across 2-3 generations) before t…

As you well now there are threads and threads on characters alot of forummers despise. So let's try and shift the goalposts a little for a change. I despise quite a few characters but i will focus on the most important. Perrin: He seems to be a loyal husband. How can anyone resist berelain? Lan: He certainly has a lot of passion even for things as pathetic as craving for death Elayne: She's a hot beautiful bimbo. cant think of anything else. Rand: This is quite hard you know. I am really trying here. Actually there was a scene in book 6 when he was kidnapped by the elaida sisters. he was getting beaten up black and blue and there was a point as he was …

One of the apparent implications my friends and I take for granted is that Shaidar Haran can channel, and I had assumed that everyone felt the same. However, since posting on the message boards it has come to my attention that I was wrong, this is indeed not the case. So I would be interested in hearing peoples thoughts on the subject. He creates black flames to destroy a spear He has created black globes of light He made himself taller when confronting Mesanna Those are three very clear cases of channeling to me, and the black theme is an indication of the True Power. Not to mention, wouldnt it make sense for the Hand of the Dark to also be able to channel the …

Apologies if this question has been asked and answered elsewhere (I have looked but couldn't find it), but during my re-read of tSR, something caught my eye. It's when Rand emerges from the ter'angreal in the Stone of Tear and is confronted by Moraine about what the Aelfinn said to him. He says that he couldn't understand: "They brought a...woman...to interpret, but she talked like an old book. I could hardly understand some of the words". Is Rand's hesitation because he's unsure of the gender of the Aelfinn? Or is he talking about some other being, or even captive inside their world? I suppose it's not hugely important to the wider story but it just struck me as …

I thought Rand booby-trapped this one and a couple of others. Don't have the books handy to read. Am I wrong?

This is from TGH chapter 15, when Ishamael's busy being the man of Rand's dreams (self eye-role): "I am not the Dargon! My name is Rand al'-".... "Oh, I know the name you use now, Lews Therin. I know every name you have used through Age after Age, long before you were even the Kinslayer." [stuff about him being all eye-flamey] "I know you, know your blood and your line back to the first spark of life that ever was, back to the First Moment." This seems like a very weird conversation to me in terms of WoT. It's been said a number of times that LTT killed 'everyone bearing a drop of his blood' (which always seemed suspiciously specific), but here it seems as though…

Encyclopedia A. Where has Demandred really been all this time? B. Callandor, 2 women and 1 man. C. Cyndane, Mierin's fate, where she is now and her bargain. D. The truth about the Great Lord, his prison and the Creator. E. Balefire, the only reason F. Padan Fain and his hate. G. His blood on the rocks of Shayol Ghul A. Where has Demandred really been all this time? Every theory I have read all say that Demandred is/was with the Borderlanders... but that thing is just far to simple. I mean we have seen Sammael think that what was happening in the Borderlanders was something done by Demandred... so it would just be to obvious.…

As a bookend to the entire struggle, do you think the Creator will pop up and give us a wee victory speech of some sort? I'm thinking a God-about-Jesus style "THIS IS MY CHAMPION AND I AM WELL PLEASED" sort of thing. Or has the fact He spoke at all in EotW been a bit Retconned?

Discuss.

I remember when I was first reading TGH a few years ago, I was on holiday with my friend. And I remember telling her how I was reading the most depressing books ever. Purely because of the way Rand's friends, and Mat in particular, were abandonning him. I mean, Mat had literally been best friends with Rand his whole life, and he seemed to feel no sadness whatsoever when he found out what had happened to his friend. It would be the equivalent of discovering your best friend has turned into a vampire, and kinda going, "Meh. Stay away, if you don't mind." I found it depressing in an uncomfortably realstic sort of way. And of course, this is far from the only example of Mat's…

I was just wondering....what about the man and Cadsuane for instance? They could be an interesting couple...

in LoC we see Sammael send a messager to Rand asking for a truce. rand says no and then the messager dies, and the way he dies apparently tells him the answer a few chapters later we see him telling Graendal that he got a yes, Rand will not attack him and he will not attack Rand. it's very possible that he was lying, but i don't really see what good that would do. and it is also possible that he's an idiot and misread the death of the messenger and he really believes it. so what is it?