Reference Library Updates after The Gathering Storm: Foretellings

By Linda

The article in the Reference Library on Foretellings has now been updated with information from The Gathering Storm. No new Foretellings were made in The Gathering Storm, but previously made Foretellings were re-evaluated.

Reference Library Updates after The Gathering Storm: two more articles updated.

By Linda

Two articles were updated with information from The Gathering Storm today:


The Aelfinn and the Eelfinn


Information about the Eelfinn given by Brandon Sanderson.


Fate, Free Will and Divining the Pattern

Three characters each react differently to Min's viewings of their fate in The Gathering Storm.

Reference Library Updates after The Gathering Storm: Egwene's Dreams

By Linda

The article in the Reference Library on Egwene's Dreams has now been updated with information from The Gathering Storm. Quite a bit of new material was added.


I have posted two of the updated dreams below.


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She had dreamed of the Seanchan, too, of women in dresses with lightning bolts woven on their breasts, collaring a long line of women who wore Great Serpent rings, forcing them to call lightning against the White Tower.

- The Dragon Reborn, Questions

The great serpent ring is worn by both Aes Sedai and Accepted. In The Gathering Storm the Seanchan raided the White Tower and captured nearly forty initiates of which more than two dozen were Aes Sedai (The Gathering Storm, Bathed in Light). That’s a good start on their “long line of women”.

The dream is interesting for another reason. Aes Sedai are bound by the Three Oaths not to use the One Power as a weapon unless against Shadowspawn or unless their lives, their Warder's life or that of another sister is in great danger. Thanks to Joline, in Knife of Dreams, the Seanchan learned that if the Aes Sedai damane fears for her life of that of another sister, she can use the One Power as a weapon (see theory).

She [Egwene] was climbing another path along a cliff shrouded in clouds, but this was a broad ledge of smoothly paved white stone, and there were no rocks underfoot. The cliff itself was chalky white and as smooth as if polished. Despite the clouds, the pale stone almost gleamed. She climbed quickly and soon realised that the ledge was spiralling around. The cliff was actually a spire. No sooner did that thought occur than she was standing on the top of it, a flat polished disc walled by mist. Not quite flat though. A small white plinth stood centred in that circle, supporting an oil-lamp made of clear glass. The flame on that lamp burned bright and steady, without flickering. It was white too.

Suddenly a pair of birds flashed out of the mist, two ravens as black as night. Streaking across the spire-top, they struck the lamp and flew on without so much as a pause. The lamp spun and wobbled, dancing around atop the plinth, flinging off droplets of oil. Some of those drops caught fire in midair and vanished. Others fell around the short column, each supporting a tiny flickering white flame. And the lamp continued to wobble on the edge of falling.

Egwene woke in darkness with a jolt. She knew. For the first time, she knew exactly what a dream meant…the Seanchan attacking the White Tower. An attack that would shake the Aes Sedai to their core and threaten the Tower itself. Of course, it was only a possibility. But the events seen in true dreams were more likely than other possibilities.

- Crossroads of Twilight, In The Night

This dream is more detailed, as though the Seanchan attack has become more likely. Certainly, the Seanchan war leaders were studying maps of the Tar Valon area as early as The Path of Daggers.

Egwene does a fair job of interpreting this dream herself. The white cliff with shining walls represents the White Tower and the lamp with the white flame fuelled by oil is the flame of Tar Valon fuelled by the Aes Sedai. The two ravens represent the Seanchan (more ravens would perhaps refer to the Shadow) and they did attack the Tower in The Gathering Storm. A number of Aes Sedai were killed, with perhaps more to come, since four Bloodknives are at large, and nearly forty initiates were collared; these are the drops of oil that catch fire and go out and are lost to the Tower.

Interestingly, the dream also indicates that when Egwene understands what the dream refers to while she is dreaming it the dream skips to the next scene and thus perhaps shows more of the future. This particular dream is one of Egwene’s most detailed and this may be a direct result of her comprehension of its metaphors while she was dreaming them.

Reference Library Updates after The Gathering Storm: two more articles updated.

By Linda

Two articles were updated with information from The Gathering Storm today:


Forsaken and their Deeds and Plans

More deeds of the Forsaken were added, both historic and recent, and their locations and current plans updated.


Elaida's Embassy To Rand

Three more Aes Sedai were added, one of them Black, and two Warders.

Reference Library Updates after The Gathering Storm: Min's Viewings

By Linda

The article in the Reference Library on Min's Viewings has now been updated with information from The Gathering Storm. Quite a bit of new material was added.


I have posted two of the additions below; the first is of an old viewing now fulfilled and the second is of a new viewing not yet fulfilled.


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Sheriam

Sheriam’s tilted green eyes fixed immediately on Min’s face. Rays of silver and blue flashed about her fiery hair, and a soft golden light; Min could not say what it meant.

-The Fires of Heaven, Sallie Daera

Fulfilled at Sheriam’s execution:

They'd placed her head on the block and taken it off, just like the others. That scene would always be vivid in Egwene's mind—her former Keeper, lying with her head pressed against the stump, blue dress and fiery red hair suddenly bathed in warm golden light as a thinner section of clouds moved in front of the sun. Then the silvery axe, falling to claim her head.

- The Gathering Storm, The Tower stands

All three colours are there: Sheriam in blue and the silver axe, bathed in golden light. They are positive colours because her death was a positive event, removing a leader of the Black Ajah.

Beldeine

For instance, the black knife that spun around Beldeine's head recently could mean anything.

- The Gathering Storm, Reading the Commentary

It looks like an assassin’s knife. The knife might be that of a Bloodknife trying to kill her as a marath’damane. Beldeine left Cadsuane’s presence precipitately at the end of The Gathering Storm, due to being rebuked. Perhaps she returns to the Tower, where the Bloodknives are loose and one tries to kill her.

Reference Library Updates : Who is a Darkfriend? - link added

By Linda

The article in the Reference Library on
Who is a Darkfriend has now been updated with information from The Gathering Storm.

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The newly identified Darkfriends are almost all Aes Sedai, apart from Verin’s Warder.

Below is an analysis of Darkfriend deaths:

An End to Darkfriends

Being a Darkfriend is a capital offence, and many have died after being exposed. Few Darkfriends renounce the Dark, even those tempted to usually fear the Shadow’s retribution too much to do so. They could also still expect stiff punishments from those who walk in the Light for their crimes, possibly even execution.

There have been 116 Darkfriend deaths so far in the series:

Killed by accident – Comar, Gode, Madic, Rochaid
Killed in a duel – Cowin Gemallen, Ishamael, Rahvin, Ryne Venamar, Semirhage (though it could be described as self-defence), Toram Riatin
Killed by another Darkfriend – Amico, Carridin, Barthanes, Kadere, Isendre, Ispan, Jarna, Joiya, Osan’gar
Killed by Fain/Mordeth - Changu, Gedwyn, Kisman, Nidao, Torval
Killed by another powerful ‘being’ – Balthamel, Lanfear, Sammael
Ambushed – Asmodean, Be’lal, Graendal?
Killed in a fight/battle – Adden, Asne, Coke, Spar, Vane, Zaired Elbar
Killed in self-defence – Melindhra, Merean
Killed in revenge - Careane
Executed – Elza Penfell, Jen/Torwyn Barshaw, Moria Karentanis, Paitr Conel, Sheriam Byanar, 68 other Black sisters
Self-destructed by overuse of the Power - Aginor
Repented and sacrificed self – Ingtar, Tomas, Verin

Most of the Darkfriends’ deaths are banal, not “noble”, in keeping with Jordan’s uncompromising stance against evil and refusal to either glorify it or excuse it.

Other Darkfriends have been enslaved. Five known so far:

Galina, Liandrin
Cyndane, Moghedien
Suroth

Plus an unknown number of Black sisters collared as damane by the Seanchan

Reference Library Updates after The Gathering Storm: Perrin's Wolfdreams

By Linda

The article in the Reference Library on Perrin's Wolfdreams has now been updated with information from The Gathering Storm. The main addition has been re-posted here under the spoiler tag.

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Mat vanished, and it was Rand. Perrin thought it was Rand. He wore rags and a rough cloak, and a bandage covered his eyes.

-The Shadow Rising, To the Tower of Ghenjei

This vision seems to have connections to Min's viewing in The Eye of the World of Rand with a beggar's staff. It should also be noted that the Fisher figure in Moridin's Sha'rah game is depicted with a blindfold and is an allusion to, or ‘dim memory’ of Rand according to Moridin (The Path of Daggers, Deceptive Appearances).

Brandon Sanderson confirmed on The Gathering Storm book tour that this dream was fulfilled in the latter part of The Gathering Storm when Rand wandered alone in Altara after nearly killing Tam. He stayed with Tinkers outside Ebou Dar, from whom he acquired the ragged cloak and staff:

Last night, he had traded his fine black coat to a Tinker for a common brown cloak, ragged on the bottom and stitched in places. Not a Tinker cloak, just one that a Tinker had sewn up for a man who had never returned to claim it. It made him stand out less, even if it did require him to carry the access key looped to his belt, rather than his deep pocket. The Tinker also gave him a walking staff, which Rand used as he walked

- The Gathering Storm, Just Another Man

The staff shows Rand has begun a pilgrimage, and needs not only spiritual guidance, but support. Exchanging his black coat with the pocket to hold the ter’angreal for a humble cloak symbolises a need to step back from the destructive role of being the Asha’man and from his link to Moridin (death), both of which have tainted him. Rand has seen too much death and dealt too much death. As a result, his access key, the link to almost unlimited power, becomes a more obvious and inconvenient burden now that it can’t be carried close to his chest, hidden against his heart. RJ said that Lews Therin had ‘ultimate power’ in the Age of Legends. Yet while Lews Therin was able to save the world, it was at more than personal cost: the whole world is still paying. How telling that Rand received both the cloak and the staff from a benevolent and completely non-violent people whose ancestors served the Aes Sedai and were referred to as Children of the Dragon.

Trauma, death and his burdens have blinded Rand. Humbling himself was the first step to ‘meeting his toh’ and restoring his honour as an Aiel would, and the shame he felt in Ebou Dar when people innocently showed concern for him while he secretly considered committing genocide underlined this. Finally after an intense spiritual struggle at his birthplace Rand became conscious of his blindness and saw where he had gone astray:

And Rand opened his eyes for the first time in a very long while.

- The Gathering Storm, Veins of Gold

Hopefully he won’t be blind again.

Reference Library Updates after The Gathering Storm: three more articles updated.

By Linda

Three articles were updated with information from The Gathering Storm today:


Ages of the Characters

Likely ages for eight characters were added, including Captain Chubain, Harine and Hurin.


Animal Symbolism

Most of the entries were for Siuan and Bryne, although there was one for Rand.



Number Symbolism

Three new numbers were added and some others were augmented.



All further information is under the spoiler alert.


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One of the new numbers is Twenty-two:

It was on the twenty-second level of the White Tower that Egwene fought the Seanchan and drove them away. Twenty two is twice eleven, a double helping of excess, sin, danger, conflict and rebellion (Jack Tressider, Symbols and Their Meanings). Quite apt really, considering Egwene’s role in The Gathering Storm and the savagery of the Seanchan raid she repelled.