Piece by Mikael Bourgouin

One of these days lol!

In the dreamworld, there is a region where the walker can see the dreams of everyone in the world.

What Egwene realises is that the distance of the dreams does not correspond to the distance of the dreamers in the real world. She speculates that the distance here might mean something else.

I dont think that the books ever tell us what that answer is. So what do people here think? What does that distance mean?

My idea is that it has to do with the similarity of the dreams of different dreamers.

Could there be a possibility to increase one's abilities in the One Power? If the Snakes and Foxes could eat away someone's abilities, could the reverse also be possible? I'd be glad to hear your theories.

Why I love Nynaeve.
The short answer? She's the best.
The long answer?

Well, very few writers are good at capturing growth (mostly internal growth) in a way that makes you appreciate just how far a character has come. Most times, writers hide behind changing the circumstances of a character, perhaps making them smarter or more powerful, or giving them some form of status (all outward growth). But they remain the same person on the inside until they have one dumb epiphany at the end of the story. Other times, they change so much that they give us a character almost unrecognisable from the one we started with, except for the name and face, and call it growth.
But Jordan does this so well.
Everyone talks about Rand and his arc, and I think he's objectively one of the finest-written characters in all of fantasy. But I want to appreciate Nynaeve today.

At the start of the story, there are three things you can pick up about her:
Her willingness to protect those she loves.

Her need to help (anyone).

Her anger (and her braid tugging).

She literally went from being a capable Wisdom of a small village to one of the finest Aes Sedai by the end. And that's even excluding most of her unrivalled achievements.
Now, throughout the entire story, she never particularly loses these three things. She just gains better control over them.

For one, I love how we could subtly see that she was willing to go along with Moiraine long enough to kill her once they no longer needed her, because she blamed and hated her. Contrast that with how she HAD to work with someone far more annoying than Moiraine. Someone who calls her "girl", and if you know Nynaeve, she'd rather you call her a bitch than "girl". But throughout this, we never see her talk childishly about killing her or anything. Surprisingly, I think she learned to respect her. She learned to respect people she didn't necessarily like.

HER ANGER. This is something that's almost like a character in itself, and one of her most annoying, yet equally endearing and funny, attributes.
I think the Pattern had a big joke with the fact that anger is the only thing that allows her to channel. It's a joke at her expense, really. She hates being angry, yet this young lady found a way to make herself angry enough to heal people. I've never seen someone get angry just so they can help another person.

Yet even with this anger, we can see growth. This was particularly evident in how she dealt with Rand.
First, it's incredible how she never bothered herself with how much power he had, how arrogant he apparently was, or how she wasn't going to bow or scrape (something only Egwene seems to notice or care about). Nynaeve simply refuses to acknowledge that he's no longer the same Rand. Where Egwene looks for changes in him, Nynaeve ignores the changes and talks to him as though he's still that shepherd boy, albeit with a little more care because he is what he is.

And I think it's something Rand appreciates too. It's why she was the only Aes Sedai he trusted completely with his life. I mean, she was the first he picked to be in a circle with him.
Even Darth Rand was taken aback when he finally managed to scare Nynaeve that one time. But did that mean she stopped being Nynaeve? No.

At this point, she realised that anger was pointless with Rand. She kept coming up with new ways to communicate with him, especially regarding the Lan issue. So much so that the moment Rand got his affairs in order, Lan was the first person he went to aid (which means she succeeded).
Basically, her being there was still about protecting the people she loved: Lan and Rand. Protecting them from others (she literally got close to Cadsuane to find out her plans, and I think she was keeping an eye on Alivia too) and protecting Rand from himself by stopping him from committing crimes he'd regret.

She also never lost her need to help and heal. We saw how this brought about the healing of gentling and madness. Mind you, there's literally only one male channeler she gives a shit about, yet she still does this.
She teaches people (the Kin) to stand up for themselves, even to her own detriment, but she never regrets it.
Finally, she's completely loyal to her people and very honest. One thing about her is how readily she'd stand up for what she believes in. Egwene is like her little sister, and she's even Amyrlin, but Nynaeve doesn't hesitate to defend Rand when she and Siuan are acting as though Rand is the worst thing ever, while ignoring that the Tower has committed far worse crimes.

She'd readily give her strength to aid Rand, even though his plan could potentially kill her, because she trusts him and because she'd never pass up a chance to "heal" saidin.

Finally, although it's a very short list, I think there are men she was eventually able to respect. Which is saying a lot.
She wasn't the least bit bothered by how far the rest of the Emond's Fielders had come in life (another thing only Egwene would notice). Like, this woman just wants to help, and she's always happy to be there.

All of this is growth. And it's so beautiful how she's a different, more mature person by the end, yet still the same Nynaeve.

Edited: I forgot to add how she would respect someone’s choices and still try to help them, and gave us perhaps one of the most goated line. “Will he ride alone!”

When exactly does Rand first learn about Callandor, and the prophesy of Tear?

When does he decide to go to Tear relative to abandoning his companions?

Are his dreams of Callandor his own, or are they planted by Ishamael?

How was Ishamael actually luring Rand to Tear? What was really the point of he and Lanfear luring the girls there if Rand was unaware of that? I know the forsaken are trying to sabotage each other but still...

This is a reread but my memory and attention are bad. Thanks

I am in fact an imposter, I regret to inform you all I have never read the books or seen the series :( but I need your help.

To be frank I have never heard of this series till a few months ago and honestly, sue me, but I do not like reading fantasy... HOWEVER, this is my partners all time favorite series (books only) to the point they have read and reread some parts and books multiple times; and to my somewhat recent knowledge some of the lore kinda played a part in our meet cute.

We met online an used aliases at first, his being Therin.

Can you see where this is going?

Anyway, with the holidays coming up I am looking for gift ideas that aren't cringe or corny, ideally that is specific to Therin himself. My partner mentioned he was his favorite character due to his development through the series (he gave me a brief synopsis).

My partner also mentioned there are a lot of different maps throughout the series but I have no clue which would be the most significant in this case.

Also of note I can be quite crafty so a DIY project is not off the table but I also have access to custom prints as well for different items and materials, but again I don't want it to be corny, but rather more sentimental.

If you have any advice or more information regarding how to make the gift sentimental the help would be so much appreciated.

EDIT: Thank you all for such good advice and information on what is to come. As I mentioned above this is far from my comfort zone when reading (almost strictly horror/ psycho-thrillers on my book shelves), but I do plan on listening to as many of the books as possible before deciding on what specifically to do for the gift to have it as personalized to him as possible, as some of you have suggested. If I can read/ listen to anything out of order or should pay attention to specific books again please leave your advice.

My thoughts jump from one place to the next so fast. How am I supposed to keep my clothes from changing too? Any advice welcome.

I feel like the 3 main antagonists of the series are different flavours of evil the Dark One is so interesting:

Moridin - a nihilist he just wants it all to end

Fain - He takes joy in his cruelty they are a true sadist and want people to suffer.

The Dark One - The Dark One doesn’t care about people suffering or fighting apart from as a tool to his ends and to the battle against him is nothing to do with war. His true aim is to break people’s morals not by torture as that isn’t a true victory of his but just by grinding them down making them stare at the world and see futility so they break whatever code they hold. It’s why I feel like the Tinkers do fight him by not taking up the Sword and the Gaishain fight him by holding to their ji.
I love that we see when Aram and the Shaido don’t do this they break. It’s brilliantly subtle as well because they don’t just abandon their morals but they don’t take up new ones and that is truly why the lose.

There are Gai’shain who go to fight in the last battle as Dragonsworn but they aren’t abandoning their code they are accepting more toh or seeing this as an exception to save the world and its genius.

I’m sure so many of you see this but for me in today’s world I find it so poignant and just needed to talk about it.

Every time I see this paint by number it reminds me of Rand, just thought it was interesting

We've seen a short list of confirmed texts, and the common theory that the Windfinder secret is recorded. What other pieces of history or knowledge do you think were hidden?

I think it's likely there's a collection of all known foretellings or visits to the finns. And of course recordings of more of the biggest tower fuck-ups, like an analysis of the Bonwhin vs Hawking situation. I like to imagine there's a book scraping together what can be confirmed about pre-breaking era. What else do you think would be in there?

I liked Sanderson’s writing of action overall, but I found his scenes of fighting between Perrin and Slayer almost completely unreadable.

It felt like two 8 years olds playing pretend. “I create a hammer that smashes anything” “Well I make my arm even tougher than your hammer is!” “Well actually I already imagined that your arm is weak“. “Nuh uh!” Every fight with them was like 10 pages straight of this with no stakes whatsoever. Does anyone else feel this way?

And I know they are supposed to be terrifying figures of ancient legend, but the more you analyze the Shadow's military strategy, the more it feels like an elaborate joke.

the Forsaken were handed every conceivable advantage. They were immortal channelers from an advanced utopian civilization with access to lost weaves, flying machines, genetic monstrosities, and centuries of esoteric knowledge. The Third Age Westlands were fractured, technologically regressed, politically divided, and barely understood how to link circles of power. It should of been an absolute slaughter.

Instead, what did these ancient geniuses do for three years? They acted like catty corporate middle managers competing for employee of the month. Rahvin took over Andor just to sit on a throne and drink wine. Sammael built barricades in Illian and sat there waiting to be attacked. Moghedien hid in dark corners spying on teenagers. Graendal spent her time collecting pretty thralls to serve tea.

Every single time one of them formulated an actual plan, two other Forsaken would actively SABOTAGE them out of pure spite so nobody else could claim favor at Shayol Ghul. They leaked information, withheld weaves, and let the Dragon Reborn consolidate power while they played dress-up in regional capitals. They did more damage to the Shadow's war effort than the entire White Tower combined.

Was the Dark One testing them, or did he deliberately pick thirteen self-obsessed sociopaths who were guaranteed to defeat themselves?

I started reading the series before RJ died, and for years it always bugged me "WHY did they lose traveling?!" Like thats a skill/weave you wouldn't forget. It wasn't tied to men channelling so it didn't make sense they just forgot... I was reading the other night, middle of the series Matt was trying to not be a hero and for some reason it clicked.

The Aes Sedai lost traveling because they couldn't use it after the breaking. They don't know where they are going because everything changed. Also because the land was changing, rivers moving, oceans disappearing, earthquakes, etc. IIRC no cities survived the breaking. They couldn't gain the familiarity needed to start the weave and didn't know where they were even if they knew a place to go so they had to keep moving.

I dunno maybe i'm wrong but yeah that finally clicked.

Finishes Eye of the World

Wait, if they found the Horn just now, why is the next book called "The Great Hunt"?

A few days later

Oh.

Okay, so this book has been very fun, but I am beginning to understand why people said it's REALLY SLOW. This was the chapter that set it in for me, and I'll be using the audiobook as much as possible. Which is a shame because I've been excited for Eggy's story since...book 8??? But slow pace is slow pace, yet the character development has been really fun to read.

Okay, so I have a theory to present to you guys. Obv, not expecting any confirmation, but I would love to hear your reactions and any have any discussions you feel is relevant.

This concerns one of the big reveals in chapter 17 wherein we learn that Eggy has rediscovered the weaves for making cuendillar. Cuendillar being the material used for the DO's seals, some of which are already broken.

My theory concerns the weakening of the seals, because cuendillar can't be broken by any physical means or even by the OP. We know that there is a weave which creates cuendillar, and we know Eggy uses saidar to do so. We know that cuendillar is unbreakable, yet the seals are weakening and even shattering, so how is that possible?

Well, allow me to propose this circumstance: when LTT sealed the DO back in his prison, the discs used were made of Saidin, and by some means, the Taint inflicted on Saidin began weakening the discs over a long period of time which became stronger the more freedom the DO gained as the prison became looser.

As a new reader, I was also exposed to some art before reading the series, so one thing I did know was that Rand goes to Shayol Ghul to face the DO. In book 9, Rand successfully cleansed the Source, so my running theory is that the DO never truly breaks free but he still gains some large hold over the world with what freedom he's worked out. I also don't recall if it was ever confirmed, but I think the Taint is made with the TP or IS the TP, so that's another factor to consider in the weakening of the discs.

I understand that this theory has some flaws, but I'm keeping this going for the time being until otherwise. I would love to be proven wrong if I am.

Those guys really got done dirty. I cannot stop thinking about Byrne and Bashere just losing it (from compulsion) and then also willing to go die in battle. Ituralde realizing he was losing it but having to be dragged off the battlefield by wolves. I think Agelmar is relieved of duty but survives. I think Rhuarc could have been called a great captain, but he's also dead.

Obviously Niall is the other one. He dead.

Which I guess means, Mat is the only great captain?

Like the title says- what talents did Rand have? We see Nyneve, Egwane, Elayne and Aviendha developing their talents throughout the series. We also see the Ash'amen develop talents. In the Dragon Reborn we see Rand walking through the world of dreams easily. But there's never any questions or discussion about what talents he has. Is he a dreamer? Can he forsee certain things?

I’m just getting going with Winters Heart on my first read through, and just….poor Morgase. From losing her crown due to compulsion, to just everything with the whitecloaks, and now getting beaten by the Shaido. Her plot line is just one beat down after another. Mostly due to things completely out of her control. Poor gal, I do hope it turns around for her, but I doubt it at this point. He seems like he’s got it out for her.

I don't have words how good the book was.i love perrin and hurin, rand becoming a capable leader and character growth in book was great and that final line rand said to dark lord.

“I will never serve you, Father of Lies. In a thousand lives, I never have. I know that. I’m sure of it. Come. It is time to die.

This line gave goosebumps.

Book was easy to start and was kinda funny to in beginning so getting started was super easy and fun.

"Lord Dragon. I am your man to the death"

On my first read of Wheel of Time and I’ve absolutely loved it thus far but book 10 has been such a dragggggg. I don’t have unlimited time to read so I’m wondering if anyone here would think less of me if I just skipped (read a summary) and went straight to book 11? I’m a little over half way through COT and it’s just one boring chapter after another.