Timewaster's Guide Archive

Consider this an attempt to bring in the wonderfully speculative minds that Brandon's work seems to attract. I used to be on SilkLantern and Dragonmount, but it's really all the same people who think they've got every answer concrete because they've been pondering and arguing these things since the mid-nineties. I like this crowd a lot, and I do think it's relevant here, now, because a lot of things are going to come to light in the last book, and I hope we get some of Brandon's flavor in it.

Rand actually questions at some point though how the Bore could possibly be sealed as if new each turning, especially if the Creator has stepped back from the world to see what happens. Just like how many deities assimilate a human form to accomplish a goal in stories, isn't it possible that the Creator took on the persona of the Dragon to join the fight?

(I've probably lost this one, but I'm still going to try to provoke some thought.)

Don't they call him their Father? I could have sworn that came up somewhere in the vicinity of when Vin and TenSoon were talking about Kandra religion... And I don't think they're misinformed, either, as their nature as creatures is about preservation. They consume a body and take on all of it's mannerisms, thus preserving the person, in some sick sick sense. They may not being working for it though, if thats what you mean, but I doubt that they are consciously working for either force, kind of Lawful/Neutral, really.

All of my views on the characters have changed, because they've all grown as characters throughout the series.

Mat most of all, as he started out as the semi-dependable, mischievous kid who was always able to wriggle out of a situation, only to turn around and get into another one. As we watch him interact in steadily more serious situations, we come to realize that Mat isn't a bad guy at all, really just Chaotic Good. He pushes through the hard times with the dagger, his own force of will keeping him alive, then he goes on to help Rand in the Waste, showing that he really is a dependable friend, and ends up dying for it. As we see him continue to grow with more "I'm not a bloody noble!" lines popping up in the text, we see that he's still stubborn and resisting the inevitable, but when the time comes and he finally see that he can help Rand and the World by accepting his fate as Prince of Ravens, he takes it on graciously.

Perrin holds the converse honor for me. He's been the most consistent character in the books, while Mat has been growing up and shifting radically and Rand has gone on to go insane, Perrin stayed stalwart and calm-headed. Until he met Faile, he never changed much, really just staying as the voice of gentle reason, a little introverted, but always a strong leader and a strong spirit. He came back to the Two Rivers and learned that he couldn't just depend on himself all the time, and that his friends weren't always going to be there to help him back, so he took in Faile. The big change comes from his stubbornness converting itself into aggression in a wonderfully lupine way.

Elayne, Min, and Aviendha all pretty much start to gravitate toward each other as far personality shifts go, which is dramatic from their starting personas, but comes about so smoothly that you hardly notice in until you actually stop to think about it.

Egwene goes through some pretty interesting transitions, from trying to be an adult to trying to be worthy of the Amyrlin Seat, her ambitions change dramatically and yet her odd mix of stubbornness, kind empathy, and honor all stay fairly persistent, though ow she acts in accordance to them changes as she realizes new truths about the world. I think it's fairly funny, that one scene where her and Elayne are talking and Elayne says "I'm going to be Queen of Andor" and Egwene relies that she is going to be the greatest Aes Sedai ever, or something to that effect.

Moraine starts being an overpowering force of personality, almost to a point that she starts to oppress everyone else's, and really seems to be a bit of a b*tch, to say it pointedly. As it progresses, especially after she meets her sisters in the borderlands, then later in the Stone, she goes through a few personality shifts as she learns that she has to trust in her companions a bit more. It amazes me still that she finally realizes that she has to give ground with Rand in order to gain any, and she goes through with it. I cannot wait for them to rescue her from the Tower of Ghenji, and see what changes she's gone since she 'died'.

Lastly Lan and Nynaeve, the've both managed to soften each other up, and somehow they've managed to umbue each other with a deeper sense of duty and strength. Their dynamic is amazing, how they're constantly dodging and weaving from each other in a metaphorical fashion, and then they finally come together right in the middle of Nynaeve v. Moghedian.

That's all, I guess...

Well, I may have misstated that... not black out so much as obscure. We know it made the plants turn rather unpleasant colors, and there is something just not uplifting about a blazing red sun...

I just hope this one is on time, my harry potter was a week late.

It was Amazon's attempt to be merciful, that's all.

Well, bringing up the falseness of their origins, it is possible that the Kandra are just an enhanced form of Mistwraiths, and that TLR made those changes while he had the power of control from the Well still. I think you wrongly classify them as being good or evil, but as we've been talking about in the Ruin and Preservation thread lately, they don't seem so good v. evil, as Axiomatic v. Chaotic. In a lot of respects the Kandra seem neutral on a good - evil spectrum, as they seem to be reluctant to interfere unless forced to, yet they stringently hold to their agreements and laws, which indicates that they are of Preservation, to me anyways.

That and it helps Brandon emphasize just how much of bastards most of these people are... They hit their kids for an advantage over their friends and neighbors, thats a little messed up.

Vin had AMPLE chances to Snap throughout her childhood, but considering the level of trauma it took Kel (months after facing near-certain death against TLR and some Inquies), the only major situation I could point out would be when her sister got killed. Unless we want to raise the issue of  "Does everyone have a different Snapping threshold?" which would probably be the case, just like everyone has a different tolerance for pain.

I'm tired and babbling at this point, but I get this itchy feeling that that is when you lot accomplish your best theorizing... ^^

I agree with Comatose (my exact thoughts as I was reading this, actually...), it has to be something genetically pre-determined, there is probably one allele pair to determine if you have the ability or not (having the ability would most likely be recessive), and another sequence of multiple genes with multiple allele possibilities that would determine the exact power the offspring had. I don't know what to make of the all or nothing phenomena... I'll have to ask my professor.

As for the occurrence of Snapping, it makes perfect sense, it's just like Channeling in the Wheel of Time (kinda), when something happens and you absolutely need it to save you, your mind delves deep into itself and pulls up whatever it can. Only difference is that being a Misting/born doesn't inevitably try to kill you.

>.<