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4.3: Various Prophecies



From The Eye of the World

[TEOTW: 26, Whitebridge, 327]

The prophecy of the Horn of Valere:

In the last, lorn fight
'gainst the fall of long night,
the mountains stand guard,
and the dead shall be ward,
for the grave is no bar to my call.
Translation: The Heroes of the Horn will fight against the Shadow at the Last Battle.


[TEOTW: 40, The Web Tightens, 514]

Foretelling by Elaida:

This I Foretell...and swear under the Light that I can say no clearer. From this day Andor marches toward pain and division. The Shadow has yet to darken to its blackest, and I cannot see if the Light will come after. Where the world has wept one tear, it will weep thousands....This, too, I Foretell. Pain and division come to the whole world, and this man [Rand] stands at the heart of it.
It's all pretty much occurred as she said.


[TEOTW: Glossary, Dragon Reborn, 662]

...the prophecies say the Dragon Reborn will bring a new Breaking to the world...
Fulfillment in progress. He hasn't broken it much literally, but he is doing so in a figurative sense.


[TEOTW: Glossary, Far Dareis Mai, 663]

...it is prophesied that a child born of a Maiden will unite the clans and return to the Aiel to [sic.] the greatness they knew during the Age of Legends.
Rand was born of a Maiden, has united the clans (besides the Shaido), and the "greatness of the AOL" is coming to pass--the Aiel are very famous in the lands Rand holds.


From The Shadow Rising

[TSR: 1, Seeds of Shadow, 29]

Elaida's first Foretelling:

The very first thing Elaida had ever Foretold, while still an Accepted -- and had known enough even then to keep to herself -- was that the Royal line of Andor would be the key to defeating the Dark One in the Last Battle. She had attached herself to Morgase as soon as it was clear Morgase would succeed to the throne...
Elaida interpreted this Foretelling as meaning that somebody from Morgase's line would be crucial to defeating the DO. However, since the timing of the Foretelling is not certain, it may refer to the previous Royal line of Andor, Mondrellein's line. Rand, of course, is Mondrellein's grandson, through Tigraine, and Rand is certainly key to defeating the DO. If Elaida's interpretation is correct, the Foretelling could refer to Elayne and/or Gawyn.

[TSR: 15, Into the Doorway, 177]

Snakey dudes' answers to Mat's Question (What is the fate which he must go to Rhuidean to meet?):

To marry the Daughter of the Nine moons.
To die and live again, and live once more a part of what was.
To give up half the light of the world to save the world.
Well, he's met the Daughter. He's died and lived again on two occasions, and the memories he got from the Foxes count as "living once more a part of what was. In light of other prophecies, "give up half the light of the world" probably refers to sacrificing an eyeball.


[TSR: 19, The Wavedancer, 220-1]

Jendai Prophecy (Coramoor)

He can wield the One Power ... and he holds the Sword That Cannot Be Touched. The Aiel have come over the Dragonwall to his call. ... The Stone of Tear has fallen, and war breaks over the nations of the land. Those who once ruled have returned, and been driven back for the first time. ... The White Tower shall be broken by his name, and Aes Sedai shall kneel to wash his feet and dry them with their hair.
All of this has happened except for the icky foot-washing bit. Perhaps that's just a figurative way of saying "Aes Sedai will serve him"? Note that foot-washing occurs during the Amyrlin-raising ceremony.


[TSR: 23, Beyond the Stone, 270]

Wise One Dream (Moiraine, Melaine, and Seana in conversation on Chaendaer):

We did not see Egwene or Mat Cauthon at all. It was no more than an even chance that the young man who calls himself Rand al'Thor would come. If he did not, it was certain that he would die, and the Aiel too. Yet he has come, and if he survives Rhuidean, some of the Aiel at least will survive. This we know. If you (Moiraine) had not come, he would have died. If Aan'allein had not come, you would have died. If you did not go through the rings...
Translation: If Rand hadn't gone to Rhuidean, and gained the Aiel Instant Army, he would have died, and the Aiel would have died out, too. Since Rand survived Rhuidean, some portion of the Aiel will survive. If Moiraine hadn't gone, then Rand would have been killed by Lanfear at the Cairhien docks. There was no on-screen moment where Lan saved Moiraine, but maybe it happened during one of the Shadowspawn attacks. What would have happened if Moiraine hadn't gone through the rings?


[TSR: 25, The Road to the Spear, 285-6]

Prophecy of Rhuidean:

The stone that never falls will fall to announce his coming. Of the blood, but not raised by the blood, he will come from Rhuidean at dawn, and tie you together with bonds you cannot break. He will take you back and he will destroy you.

Rand is of Aiel blood, but not raised by the Aiel. He came from Rhuidean at dawn. I'm uncertain what the "bonds you cannot break" are, maybe the bonds of history. He "took them back," revealing their history, and he is in the process of destroying them. There has already been a split between the Aiel who follow Rand and those that don't, and the latter are fraying apart. There are also those who succumb to the "bleakness." Finally, there are all the Aiel who are getting killed in battle.


[TSR: 24, Rhuidean, 281-2]

MAT'S WISHES: Holes in memory filled/a way to be free of Aes Sedai and the Power/Away and back to Rhuidean
He got all three, although not exactly in the way he expected.


From The Fires of Heaven

[TFOH: Prologue, The First Sparks Fall: 20]

ELAIDA IN CONVERSATION: "Or do any of you believe he [Rand] will go willingly to his prophesized death to save the world?"
Prophecy at least appears to say that Rand will die.


From Lord of Chaos

[LOC: 14, Dreams and Nightmares, 255]

Nicola's Foretelling:

"The lion sword, the dedicated spear, she who sees beyond. Three on the boat, and he who is dead yet lives." The great battle done, but the world not done with battle. The land divided by the return and the guardians balance out the servants. The future teeters on the edge of a blade.

The sword, spear, and seeress are clearly Elayne, Aviendha, and Min. Are they the "three on the boat"? Probably. I've yet to see a satisfactory explanation of the "he who is dead" bit, although it ties in with the King-Arthur funeral imagery of one of Min's visions, and the WOs' boat dream. The "great battle" line could refer to the Last Battle, perhaps saying that even after TG, the struggle between the Light and Shadow continues, or that there will be more fighting afterwards, or maybe there'll be a big battle BEFORE TG. The land divided by the return refers to the Seanchan invasion (Randland is rapidly becoming divided into Rand-controlled areas and Seanchan-controlled areas). The guardians and the servants are the Asha'man and the Aes Sedai. The last line is just metaphorical melodramatics--this war is crucial, duh.


[LOC: 19, Matters of Toh, 312]

Wise Ones Dreams:

"Melaine and Bair dreamed of you [Rand] on a boat with three women whose faces they could not see and a scale tilting first one way and then the other. Melaine and Amys dreamed of a man standing by your side with a dagger to your throat, but you did not see him. Bair and Amys dreamed of you cutting the wetlands in two with a sword. All three had this dream, which makes it especially significant. Rain, coming from a bowl. There are snares and pitfalls around the bowl. If the right hands pick it up, they will find a treasure perhaps as great as the bowl. If the wrong hands, the world is doomed. The key to finding the bowl is to find the one who is no longer."

The women in the boat echo the boat imagery from Nicola's foretelling, and are probably El, Min, and Avi. The scale indicates that everything seems up in the air now. Rand might win, the Shadow might, who knows? The unseen man with a dagger clearly means that there is a big threat to Rand right under his nose, which he is not seeing. This could be Taim. Some people have suggested that it should be taken more literally, and that the unseen guy is a Gray Man. Furthermore, it could be Dashiva, who Rand trusted more than Taim and who turned out to be Osan'gar. The cutting of the wetlands could indicate how Randland is polarizing into pro- and anti-Dragon factions, or it could refer to Rand's semi-successful campaign against the Seanchan in Ebou Dar. He halted their advance into his territory, but he failed to remove them from most of the territory they already controlled. This would tie in with Nicola's Foretelling of "the land divided by the return." The rest concerns the Bowl of the Winds. It has the power to bring some rain to parched Randland. The "treasure" is the stockpile of OP objects of which the Bowl was part. Note that while the good guys got a lot of those things, Sammael's raiding party may have gotten away with quite a few things as well, such as the Oath Rod he gave to Sevanna. Does "the wrong hands" refer to Sammael, or does it refer to Moridin (who sent Moggy to find the stash), or even the Seanchan? The key to finding the one who is no longer is to find the bowl. The single person most instrumental in finding the bowl was Setalle Anan--she led El and Ny to the Kin, who eventually led them and Mat to the bowl. So, the question remains, "No longer what?"


[LOC: 26, Connecting Lines, 373]

Rand's visit Behind the Red Door (in Tear):

"He [Rand] knew he had a chance to live, if a seemingly impossible one. If you would live, you must die."

We also know that he asked something about cleansing Saidin. Rand thinks about the Aelfinn's answer again in [WH: 25, Bonds, 483]: "He had been told by those he had to believe. To live, you must die."

This has a number of possible meanings. Maybe it means "if you would live future lives, you must die (physically) in this one. (cf LTT's wanting to die for good, never be spun out again.[LOC: 18, A Taste of Solitude, 299].) Or, Rand will die, but will get resurrected. Or, one of Rand and LTT will die and one will not. Or, Rand will seemingly die, but won't really.


From A Crown of Swords

[ACOS: Prologue, Lightnings, 26]

Elaida's Foretelling #2:

The White Tower will be whole again, except for remnants cast out and scorned, whole and stronger than ever. Rand al'Thor will face the Amyrlin Seat and know her anger. The Black Tower will be rent in blood and fire, and sisters will walk its grounds."

One of the AS factions will be triumphant, eventually. Either Elaida or Egwene is going to get pissed at Rand. (That's not surprising, the way he's treated the AS.) It's probably Egwene, since Elaida has a definite air of doom about her. This "know her anger" could tie in with Eg's dream about confronting Rand. The Asha'man will either undergo a split (followers of Taim and followers of Rand?), or will be destroyed (depending on how one defines "rend"). There are currently Sisters walking the grounds of the Black Tower--the members of Elaida's task force who have been captured and bonded.


[ACOS: 34, Ta'veren, 538]

Jendai Prophecy, pt 2:

Rand: "That is what the Jendai Prophecy says. The Sea Folk will serve the Coramoor."
Harine: "The Jendai prophecy says you will bring us to glory, and all the sea of the world will be ours. As we give to you, you must give to us."

Self-explanatory.


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