Thoughts of WOT and Moiraine

With the new book Towers of Midnight hopefully to be published in Oct. 2010, I have been getting excited again with the Wheel of Time series. Of course this book will finally have the event most of us, that have been reading the series for 10+ years, have been waiting for: the rescue of Moiraine. I had hoped that this would appear in the Gathering Storm, but I guess I was being overly optimistic as I always am when a new book is being published. Here then are some of my thoughts about this big event.


Why is this so important to the story. We know from prophecy that Matt is:

"To give up half the light of the world to save the world."


I believe that Matt will lose an eye in his dealings with Eelfinn to save Moiraine. This is foreshadowed by Egwene's dream where Matt rolls dice with blood streaming from his eye, and Thom reaches into the fire to pluck out Moiraine's blue stone. So from this viewing, Moiraine is crucial to saving the world.


Min has a viewing as well that shows that Rand cannot win Taimon Gaidon without the help of Moiraine. This poses the question: how or why is Moiraine so important? What does she do or know that will allow Rand to save the world. It is my theory that Moiraine will be help Rand seal the Dark One's prison. Here are some possible ways this could happen:


1) Knowledge - Moiraine will gather some knowledge from the Eelfinn. Could it be that Moiraine will learn information from Lanfear that will help Rand to seal the DO's prison? We know that the Eelfinn can give memories / knowledge between individuals (Matt's holes and other men's memories). Of all the Forshaken, Lanfear would know the most about the DO's prison since she was a researcher, and she not only was the first to discover the prison, but she was also the one that helped to create the bore.


2) Ter'angreal - Moiraine will get some device that will be crucial for Rand to seal the DO prison. This could be a shield that protects against the True Power (DO's power) like the amulet that Matt has that protects him against the One Power. Lews Therin tells us that he had to touch the DO with Saidin, and this is why the Dark One was able to taint Saidin. Rand faces the same problem. Even if he uses Saidin and Saidar to mend the prison, one has to touch it; and therefore, the Dark One would taint one or even worse both of the powers. It could be a device that actually mends the Bore. Although this seems too convenient, and I do not believe this will be done. Of course Lanfear could have used a ter'angreal to create the bore, and this ter'angeal could also be used to seal the bore. Another intriguing thought is that Rand will seal the bore the same as Lews Therin did with the Cuendillar seals. Moiraine may bring with her these unused seals. (I will post a theory about sealing the bore with both Saidin and Saidar).


Of course it could have nothing to do with sealing the Bore since we know that Min has started working on this piece of the puzzle. What else can Moiraine add that will help Rand. We have seen that many characters wish Moiraine was still around as Rand's advisor (including Rand). She tempered him to some degree and she was the last AS that Rand truly trusted because of her oath to him. Rand felt more confident with her around. I do not believe that Cadsuane will return as Rand's advisor. I think Cadsuane's role has ended; therefore, Moiraine can in fact fulfill this role for Rand. But for some reason this doesn't seem to be so important as to be "saving the world". I feel she needs to be contribute more than just being a guide to Rand.


I certainly hope that Rand will have become his "true self"! He has healed his own madness fulfilling another Dragon prophecy ("What wounds of madness will he heal"). I am hoping that Rand will now be totally sane. His anger and temper will be gone. He will be sure, confident, and hopefully on his way to divinity. Certainly Moiraine will be an advisor to Rand. Someone he will trust and share his plans with, but again, I do not believe this has enough of an impact to make her crucial to saving the world. I doubt that Rand will share many of his plans. He correctly believes he has to make the decisions because he is the Dragon.

In summary, Moiraine is definitely critical to saving the world based on the different prophecies, viewings, and dreams, but how she is important or what she will do still remains elusive. I have suggested a couple of ways that she will save the world.