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2.7.6: Mis-steps (Errors along the way)

NB: Typographical errors are, in general, not listed. There are too many of them, and they are often corrected in later editions.

The Eye of the World

Q: What about those Warders in Caemlyn around Logain in TEOTW? [TEOTW: 42, Remembrance of Dreams, 535] Didn't Moiraine say that they were all Red sisters? Reds don't have Warders! RJ's answer, as reported by Tony Z: Moiraine never mentioned the sisters escorting Logain (not all of whom were Red). The ones with Logain weren't in Caemlyn at the time (evidently they stayed with the army, which stayed outside the city). Moiraine was referring to those that were in Caemlyn.

The Great Hunt

Why does Moiraine wear her great serpent ring on her left hand in [TEOTW: 2, Strangers, 22-3] and [TDR: 3, News from the Plain, 26] and on her right hand in [TGH: 4, 46, Summoned, 39]? I can think of four possible reasons:

1. a cunning plan by Jordan to make us believe sweet, innocent Moiraine was at the Darkfriend social.
2. Moiraine has an evil, identical twin sister who wears her ring on the other hand.
3. It's Moiraine's ring and she can wear it on whatever hand she damn well pleases.
4. none of the above. [Damien Cole]

When Rand returns Thom's harp and flute to the gleeman in Cairhien, Thom grumbles: "You could at least have kept it (the harp) in tune" [TGH: 26, Discord, 323]. For travel, harps (and many other stringed instruments) are ALWAYS detuned -- the tension on the strings is reduced to prevent string wear and possible snapping. [Erica Sadun] {NB: In later printings, this has been corrected, with Thom saying, "At least you were't fool enough to try keeping it tuned."}

The Dragon Reborn

In [TDR: 41, A Hunter's Oath, 388] Perrin is remembering a confrontation between Moiraine and Zarine. "Once she learned the girl thought they would lead her to the Horn of Valere, ...then her cold blue stare had taken on a quality that made him feel he had been packed ..." Which left me wondering whose cold blue stare? Both Moir. and Zarine have dark eyes.[Aline Thompson] The quote continues "The Aes Sedai said nothing, but she stared too often and too hard for any comfort.", implying that it refers to Moiraine. [Joe Shaw] [TEOTW: 2, Strangers, 22], [TGH: 4, Summoned, 38], [TDR: 6, The Hunt Begins, 55], [TSR: 3, Reflection, 71] and [TFoH: 2, Rhuidean, 68] all describe Moiraine as having "dark eyes", and [TDR: 33, Within the Weave, 319], [TDR: 35, The Falcon, 333], and [TSR: 2, Whirlpools in the Pattern, 40] describe Faile as having "dark, tilted eyes".

Metallurgy Mistake, from John Palmer and Don Harlow: Maybe others have noted this metallurgy mistake, as a engineer this bugged me. In the Dragon Reborn, when Perrin takes a day at the Smithy, he notes the three quenching media: "As soon as he had made the hot-cut, he tossed the glowing metal into the salted quenching barrel. Unsalted gave a harder quench, for the hardest metal, while the oil gave the softest, for good knives." [TDR: 50, The Hammer, 506] Wrong. In order of resultant hardness, it goes Oil, Water, Salt Water, with Salt water yielding the hardest blade because of best heat transfer and higher boiling point than plain water. Oil is softer because of slower heat transfer but is commonly used for cutlery because it causes less thermal stresses and a tougher blade. (won't break from shock) Salt water quench is definitely a harder quench than fresh water. It's due to the higher boiling point of salt water precluding the formation of an insulating vapor layer over the steel which slows heat transfer from the steel to the water.

Hey, what's the scoop with Shadowman steel? First, Thom Merrilin runs into a Fade and it left him "a little present of a stiff leg." Then after the fight where the Aiel come to the rescue of the girls: [TDR: 39, Threads in the Pattern, 382] "Shadowman steel kills," Aviendha said, "it does not wound." Finally, Rand's thought while fighting a Fade: [TSR: 10, The Stone Stands, 132] "That black metal could make wounds that festered, almost as hard to heal as the one that ached in his side now." Is there something that I'm missing, like it just kills Aiel, or does this qualify as a Jordan mis-step? [Dash Wendrzyk] {NB: the obvious explanation is that the Fade did not stick Thom with its sword; the Fade just smacked him one, instead.--Pam}

The Shadow Rising

Courtenay Footman tells us more about the Siuan's Warder incident: This has been the subject of extensive discussion here. The consensus has come down to three possibilities: 1) Jordan screwed up. 2) Being shielded interferes with the bond. IMHO, this last is refuted because Jordan gives a different explanation: 3) Siuan was distracted by other things going on at that moment: [LoC, 30, To Heal Again, 427], Siuan thinks "Alric, her Warder. Her dead Warder, murdered when Elaida deposed her. She could lie--the Three Oaths were still gone--but some part of her bond to Alric, a bond flesh to flesh and mind to mind, had been resurrected. The pain of his death, the pain first masked by the shock of what Elaida intended and then buried by stilling, that pain filled her to the brim."It seems to me that there is no choice but to accept this statement. Whether one believes that Jordan meant this all the time, or that this is just an after-the-fact rationalization of a mistake, seems to me to be a matter of personal opinion.

The Fires of Heaven

In [TFoH: 36, A New Name, 409], Birgitte tells Elayne "You saved my life, Daughter-Heir of Andor. I will keep your secret and serve you as Warder." But later in [TFOH: 47, The Price of a Ship, 550] Birgitte verbally scolds Elayne for telling Cerandin she was heir to a throne, and doesn't believe it until Nynaeve makes an offhand comment in [TFOH: 49, To Boannda, 570].

Rand balefires Rahvin, erasing his actions, etc. However, none of Rand's injuries, all sustained at the hands of Rahvin, disappear--they were instead Healed by Nynaeve afterwards. [TFOH: 55, The Threads Burn, 672-3] [Sean Hillyard] (This is arguably an effect of either Tel'aran'rhiod or balefire.)

Lord of Chaos

In previous glossaries, it says that the AS cannot sense in what direction her Warder is. In LOC, Alanna does just that. What gives? Edward Liu says that, at a signing, RJ said that the ability is not exact, but something like they can only sense distance (and I guess) direction in that the feeling of the other person becomes stronger or weaker. Tony Z. said RJ said the Glossaries are in error, and that there are references in other books to AS sensing the direction of their Warders. (Anybody find such a thing? I can't think of one). Joe thinks RJ changed his mind, to put it charitably.

In [TFOH, 52, Choices, 624] when Moiraine hands Rand two letters, just before the Big Scene at the docks, their (the letters') seals are described as having the imprint of Moiraine's Great Serpent Ring. Later on, in [LOC: 40, Unexpected Laughter, 516], when Thom receives his letter from Moiraine, the seal is now some sort of wide-spreading tree topped with a crown. [A.M. Gabutero]

In the LOC Glossary, under linking, it says that in mixed circles less than 13, a man must control the flow, and that there must be more women than men in circles greater than two [TFOH: 34, A Silver Arrow, 390]. However, In TFOH Nynaeve overhears Lanfear, Graendal, Sammael, and Rahvin discussing their plan against Rand. In particular Sammael is to tempt Rand into attacking and the other three would link to overwhelm him. [Emma Pease] At a signing, RJ said that the LOC glossary entry is wrong. It is certainly different in the ACOS entry: 43 vs 34, and the numbers where men can equal or exceed women are changed. Still doesn't explain the TFOH gaffe. [John Novak]

A Crown of Swords

We encounter more closely two of Liandrin's 13 in this book: Falion Bhoda and Ispan Shefar and learn Falion was white and Ispan blue. We also have a mention that Rianna was also white (which had been mentioned in earlier books). However, Joiya Byir was also white which means we now have three former whites among Liandrin's 13, yet we are told that two and only two of each Ajah except red went with Liandrin. What gives? First could it be a simple typo? I don't think so as both Falion and Joiya acted as I would expect whites and because Rianna is mentioned several times as being white. Second, could it be a Jordan error? Possible, but I would think it a fairly major blunder as I would hope he would have who is who in Liandrin's group clearly marked from the beginning. Third could it be deliberate? If so, this means either Verin is mistaken about who was from which Ajah and I can't see Verin making this mistake, or she deliberately gave the girls misinformation. [Emma Pease] {NB: In later printings of TSR Joiya is transformed from a "cold White" to a "characteristic cool Grey". No doubt RJ wanted her as a White personality, but when it came out in the FAQ he had three, he went "Oh shit. Now which one did I kill off already so I can change her to something else?" At any rate, the suspicions connecting this with Verin ought to be erased, since it's been retroactively corrected. [Michelle Haines]}

Timing problem: There is an inconsistency in ACOS regarding Colavaere's coronation. In [ACOS: 4, Into Cairhien, 117], Dobraine says, "The ninth sunset after her coronation already. She wasted no time." However, in [ACOS: 5, A Broken Crown, 125], Colavaere says, "Nine days ago at sunrise I was crowned Queen of Cairhien." This is a contradiction because the first statement includes the current day as one of the nine, while the second doesn't. [Steven Cooper]

In [ACOS: 13, The Bowl of the Winds, 263], Aviendha introduces herself as "Aviendha of the Nine Valleys sept of the Taardad Aiel." She's previously been from the Bitter Water sept, from when we first meet her [TDR: 38, Maidens of the Spear, 361] onwards. Now here's the interesting bit. The Maiden that Nynaeve heals in [TDR, 38, Maidens of the Spear, 368] (Dailin) is first referred to as being from Aviendha's sept and clan; i.e., the Bitter Water Taardad. Later, she's referred to as being from the Nine Valleys sept. So what gives? Two errors that are fortuitously similar, or a particularly odd attempt at retconning an old error? [Andrea Leistra] {NB: This error has reportedly been corrected in later printings to give Aviendha's sept consistantly as the Nine Valleys Sept.}

The Path of Daggers

The chronology of the Seanchan attack on Ebou Dar is inconsistent between ACOS and TPOD. In ACOS, the finding of the Bowl, the Seanchan invasion, and the wall falling on Mat take place on the day after the Festival of Birds. In TPOD, chapters 1-6 are described as taking place two days after the Festival. Since these events must clearly all take place on the same day, one of the books is wrong. From other evidence, it's clear that TPOD is the one that's in error. [Steven Cooper]

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