Subject: What? A WH FAQ Update Already? (SPOILERS)

From: [email-masked] (Billy Todd)
Date: Fri, 10 Nov 2000 09:27:54 GMT

In my zeal and desire to not work on homework I've combed
through the FAQ and updated things that can pretty safely
and without much thought be brought up to Winter's Heart. 

In case you're an idiot: 

THERE 

ARE

SPOILERS

IN 

THIS 

POST

There. 

Here we go. This isn't intended to be official or anything. Just
an overall sketch of facts. I'll leave it to others or myself
in the future to work on the prose. 

FAQ UPDATE: 
1.1.1 Forsaken: 

Aginor: Clearly, without question, Dashiva. Pretty surely killed by
Elza. (WH, 645; WH, 653). 
Demandred: Probably not Taim after all, since he didn't know some of
the Asha'man. (WH, 644). 
Lanfear: Clearly Cyndane. (WH, 649) This is beyond doubt. 
Sammael: May or may not be ordering Slayer around. 
Semirhage: Clearly Anath, advisor to Tuon, the DotNM. (Numerous
descriptions in WH). 

1.1.5
Sammael may be Slayer's master. (WH, 449). Whichever of the Chosen he
is, he is trying desperately not to be known. Sounds in keeping with
Sammael's current hiding strategy. Also in keeping with his "Kill
Rand" strategy as well. 

1.1.6
Evidence in WH mounts against the Taimandred theory. He doesn't
recognize the Asha'man at the end (WH, 644). Kisman, one of the
Renegade Asha'man, recieved the order to kill Rand in Cairhien
_before_ Demandred received the OK from Moridin. (WH, 441-2). 
If we posit that Sammael is alive (and ordering Slayer) then Taim
could be under _Sammael_'s thumb. 

1.1.7
Slayer: We now know that Slayer does in fact do hits for the Chosen
(WH 449), meaning he could have pulled the trigger at, say, Graendal's
behest. We also know that he can, for all practical purposes, Gate to
and fro via T'A'R like Egwene did in LoC. (WH, 448). I think this
is clearly enough to put him back into the Suspect category at the
very least. 

Lanfear/Cyndane: Cyndane's WH POVs indicate she was "held" by the
*Finn (WH, 649). Since Asmo was killed the _day_ she disappeared, I
would consider her to be excluded, finally. 

1.1.8
Lanfear/Cyndane: Cyndane's WH POV clearly indicates she wants Rand to
die. (WH, 649). 

1.2.1
Osan'gar is/was Dashiva. (WH, 645)

1.2.2 
ObAaron: Yes. (WH, 645). 

1.2.4: Who is Moridin? 
He's fucking Ishy, ok? Demandred doesn't think Moridin is any saner
than he was before he got his new body. He likes to kill rats.
Demandred is also thinking of a way to keep him from reincarnating
_again_. Balefire? 

1.3.7
We now know that Blacks can hide their Evil Deeds by masking the bond
for a little while. 

1.4.2 : Slayer
We now also know that Slayer is something of an Uber-Hitman for the
Dark. He gates in and out of T'A'R at will. He is spying in Cairhien
when the Wonder Girls meet for a T'A'R pow-wow. He's eager to kill
Rand and Min at the behest of an unknown Forsaken. The Isam/Luc shift
seems to be instantaneous, random, and not limited to whether or not
he's in T'A'R. 

1.5.4 Sheriam
Well, now we know that Slayer killed at least one of the Grey Men. Did
Slayer notify her? This has established a connection, however tenuous,
between Slayer and Sheriam. Could he be the one visiting her and
beating her up? He can't channel though. 

1.5.6: Who's not a DF? 
Add Verin and Cadsuane. (WH, 495; WH, Entire last chapter.)

1.6.1: Fain. 
Fain and Toram Riatin show up in Far Madding. Fain kills Kisman and is
defeated in a scuffle with Rand. He, of course, escapes. Riatin is
presumably killed by Lan in a fight so easy it didn't even get more
than a sentence in the book. 

2.1.1 Mat's Ring. 
I betcha  5 Tar Valon gold pieces that Mat doesn't get dug out from
under the wall by Seanchan. Time to delete that paragraph. 

2.2.3: The Old Ebou Dari geezer
Jain Farstrider anyone? More and more evidence in WH. Noal is clearly
the same man. He's widely traveled and tells stories very well. He
knows about Gholam. He knows about Shadar Logoth. He claims to have
been to Shara, enough to make (IIRC) Thom half-believe it. 

2.2.4: Setalle Anan
She can't channel. The adam didn;t work for her in WH. She's also very
hellbent on helping free Aes Sedai from the sul'dam. Sounds like she's
burnt out. 

2.2.7: Verin Black? 
No. By the Light, if we don't know now, we never will. WH is chock
full of  "Verin is a good person! Really!" anecdotes. Chief among
them: Not poisoning Cadsuane. Runner up: Not killing Rand. 

2.3.02 The Sad Bracelets. 
Dammit. They're back in enemy hands. In Suroth's hands. And thusly in
Semirhage's hands. Good job, Bayle. 

2.3.03 Effects of the Oath Rod. 
OATH ROD = AGELESS LOOK! was the verdict arrived at by the
wondergirls. (WH 238). Egwene is adamant that she and all other 
Aes Sedai will still swear on it though. 

2.3.13: Cadsuane's Hair Thingy
Her hair thingy is mentioned again in WH (page 631). Elza believes
that Cadsuane must possess an angreal of some kind due to the amount
of power she's channeling (WH 639). This is confirmed on page 642:
"Without the aid of the angreal that looked like a shrike hanging from
her bun, she would not have been able to hold the shield up." Sounds
like that settles it. 

2.4.4: Where is Jain Farstrider? 
Sounds like he's Noal. 

2.5.2: Who is Julin's honey? 
It's Amathera alright. WH, 574: "Right now, Juilin would be making his
way to his precious Thera." 

2.5.3: Who is the DotNM?
I nominate this question being removed from the FAQ in protest. We've
known fordamnever that the DotNM is Seanchan, and now, by the Light,
it cannot possibly be any clearer. WH, 588: "It's death by slow
torture to lay hands on the DotNM!" This after Mat has tied her up.
Can't get any clearer than this, folks. Anybody _still_ want to say
it's Berelain? 

2.5.7: Is Avi pregnant? 
Doesn't look like it, but Min has forseen children for her -
quadruplets. That's some seed there, Rand! Oddly enough, Min has
forseen twins for Elayne but not necessarily any for herself. (WH,
294-5). 

2.6.1: Whassup with Callandor? 
Sure enough, Jahar Narishma _does_ use Callandor in defense of the
cleansing operation. (WH, 642). Does this qualify as "following after"
after having been the one "who draws it out"? 

2.6.6: What was going on at the end of PoD? 
Clearly Taim ordered the attack. We know this from Kisman's own POV.
(WH, 441). What is not mentioned is Dashiva's role in the attack, only
that he had vanished afterward. That makes sense since: 
Dashiva was Osangar the whole time. He planned to kill Rand before
Moridin's OK as well. Which raises the question: Why? And if Sammael
and Osan'gar, why not Demandred too? 

2.7.5
The anchor on chapter 21. Egeanin? 
The flag of Far Madding: Chapter 23 and others. 
The bird of chapter 6 and others. Berelain, or Manetheren? 

3.05: Anath

4.01: Egwene's dreams: 
Mat has now met up with the Seanchan. 

Mat has again met up with Aludra and is getting along with her quite
well. 

"Rand confronting [Egwene], and the women with her, and one of them
was a Seanchan." - could this be Alivia, the newfound (and, oddly,
highly trusted) former damane? Egeanin?

"Mat wrestling with a Seanchan woman who tied an invisible leash to
him" - He does physically wrestle/fight with Tuon to subdue her in the
escape. And clearly she will "leash" him. 
 
Matt again: "In another, a woman, face shrouded in shadow, beckoned
him toward great danger; Egwene did not know what, only that it was
monstrous. " Anath/Semirhage? 

"Elayne and Min and Aviendha, sitting in a silent circle around him,
each in turn reaching out to lay a hand on him." Sounds like the
bonding ceremony to me. 

"Mat sat on a night-shrouded hilltop, watching a grand Illuminator's
display of fireworks, and suddenly his hand shot up, seized one of
those bursting lights in the sky. Arrows of  fire flashed from his
clenched fist, and a sense of dread filled her. Men would die because
of this. The world would change." - See also: Aludra chapters in WH. 

"Mat, weighing two Aes Sedai on a huge set of balance scales, and on
his decision depended....She could not say what; something vast; the
world, perhaps. " - the rescue of the Aes Sedai in WH? The mystery of
who wrote the letter? 

4.02 Min's Viewings: 
EDESINA: "[...] a silvery collar suddenly appeared, snug around the
woman's neck, and as suddenly seemed to shatter. Min shivered. She did
not like viewings connected to the Seanchan. At least Edesina would
escape somehow." Matt escapes with her in WH. 

4.05: The Karaetheon Cycle: 
Moiraine: "....What 'wound of madness and cutting of hope' has he
healed? " Clearly this referes to the taint. Does that satisfy the
cutting of hope as well? 

That's it so far. I'm sure once the dust settles we'll have a more
elaborate "Slayer killed Asmo" argument as well as a more clearly laid
out "No, dammit, It. Was. Not. Lanfear." essay. Some of the prophecy
may have slipped through but I don't think so. The exact goings on of
the TPOD Palace Kegger Crashing may still need to be sorted out. 

The more I think about it, the more I wonder how conclusive the
anti-Taimandred evidence is in WH. Only the "He's an Asha'man?!!"
reaction from Demandred at the end serves as any real, concrete
evidence for me. Not that such evidence is insignificant. 

Anything anyone think I left out? Anything inaccurate? Am I a bit
presumptuous to post such a document? Who cares. Here it is. 

----------------------
Billy Todd            [email-masked]
"But with help from the 'people' in rasfwr-j, I'm sure
we can sink lower than whale shit."-Reverend Sean O'Hara

---

From: [email-masked] (P. Korda)
Date: Sat, 11 Nov 2000 01:34:07 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>,
>and without much thought be brought up to Winter's Heart. 

Bless your little heart. And I see you included page numbers, too.

>Sammael's current hiding strategy. Also in keeping with his "Kill

Agreed. I have not seen this brought up in the posts I've read, but it
seemed pretty obvious to me. Who else among the Forsaken would need to
hide his identity, and not want the others to know anything about him?
Moridishy is already the Main Man, Demandred clearly has his own
channels for Rand-killing, and Osan'gar is just too lame.

Question is: does Moridin know that Sam is not dead? If so, does Sam
know that he knows?

>could be under _Sammael_'s thumb. 

No, I don't think so. If Taim is not Demandred himself, I think that
he is working for/with Dem. (Will post more on this later.) 

I don't think Taim is under _anybody's_ thumb, that's for sure. He is
evil out of his own free will

>would consider her to be excluded, finally. 

Good point. Although I will probably leave her there, just because
old theories never die.

>than he was before he got his new body. He likes to kill rats.
                                         ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

And that is a conclusive piece of evidence which I didn't even
notice. :)

>under the wall by Seanchan. Time to delete that paragraph. 

Oh, bite me.

>hellbent on helping free Aes Sedai from the sul'dam. Sounds like she's

Yes. We only know of five categories of channelling status: 1) able
channellers, 2) stilled channellers, 3) burned-out channellers, 4)
trainable channellers, and 5) non-channellers.

We have seen other instances of 1, 2, and 4 connected to the bracelet
end of the a'dam, and the Seanchan have plenty of exeperience with
5. None of them produce the kind of seizure Joline had when SA wore
the a'dam. The only other option is 3.

>I nominate this question being removed from the FAQ in protest. We've

Well, it will be, but bit in protest, but because it is answered
explicitly in the book. Likewise Dashiva.

>Doesn't look like it, but Min has forseen children for her -

Avi is DEFINITELY not pregnant. From Nynaeve's Delving of Rand in WH,
we know just how thorough an examination that is. Ny Delved Avi at the
start of TPOD, after the Gateway exploded. She'd have noticed a
pregnancy. Not to mention, the "woman pregnant with Rand's baby" plot
potential is filled by Elayne. Having Avi pregnant would just be
redundant.

>forseen twins for Elayne but not necessarily any for herself. (WH,

Well, Min doesn't have viewings of herself.

>and Osan'gar, why not Demandred too? 

As I said, I think Dem is handling Taim, even if he is not Taim himself.

>The bird of chapter 6 and others. Berelain, or Manetheren? 

Faile. The bitch finally has her own icon.

>highly trusted) former damane? Egeanin?

Probably Alivia. 

>monstrous. " Anath/Semirhage? 

Probably.

>each in turn reaching out to lay a hand on him." Sounds like the

Oh, I hadn't even though of that. Good call.

>world, perhaps. " - the rescue of the Aes Sedai in WH? The mystery of

Well, I don't think this has happenned yet. He will probably have to
choose to save one of the AS and not the other, in the future.

>escape somehow." Matt escapes with her in WH. 

Not yet. We last saw them all hanging out in the Tarasin Palace. There
is still plenty of potential for them to not escape. (I think they
will, though. That's the only way Mat will be able to get to know the
Daughter. 

>evidence for me. Not that such evidence is insignificant. 

I actually think that the multiple orders to Kisman is stronger
anti-Taimandred evidence. Failure to recognise Flinn can be put down
to there being 500 Asha'man, and that Flinn was not dressed in
uniform, and that Dem saw him through heavy woods. 

>Anything anyone think I left out?

Well, if you get bored, you can always list the new prophecies
>from WH, with page numbers.

--pam

---

From: "John Johnson" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 10 Nov 2000 23:04:55 -0700

"Billy Todd" <[email-masked]> wrote in message
news:[email-masked]...
> Elza. (WH, 645; WH, 653).

I don't think that there's really any doubt that he's not toast.

> Demandred: Probably not Taim after all, since he didn't know some of

Agreed.

> Lanfear: Clearly Cyndane. (WH, 649) This is beyond doubt.

Her PoV, plus that of Graendal?(Can't remember now, the scene where the
Forsaken meet to plan the attack) indicate such.

> Sammael: May or may not be ordering Slayer around.

I think that one candidate for Slayer's boss is Moridin, who seems to be
pulling all the strings lately.

> Semirhage: Clearly Anath, advisor to Tuon, the DotNM. (Numerous

I don't think there's any real doubt on this one either, even though I
completely missed it the first time around.

> could be under _Sammael_'s thumb.

Whoever Demandred is, he's obviously someplace where he can keep an eye on
Rand. Now that the ability to invert a weave so that no other channeler can
discover it, it's quite possible that Demandred is disguised as somebody
else.

> is clearly enough to put him back into the Suspect category at the

This would definitely place him in the suspect list. He's known to the
Forsaken as a hit man, whose speciality is taking care of traitors, he has
the power to apper and re-appear, and it seems that he's not above taking
special requests from those who aren't his current employer. Asmodean would
know this, and the sudden appearance of Slayer in Caemlyn would be more than
enough to warran Asmo's response.

> Lanfear/Cyndane: Cyndane's WH POV clearly indicates she wants Rand to

She may still be around. There isn't enough evidence in WH to point towards
her death.

> Osan'gar is/was Dashiva. (WH, 645)

The only Forsaken who we know is toast.

> We now know that Blacks can hide their Evil Deeds by masking the bond

I wouldn't be surprised if they used a bit of Compulsion as well, similar to
what Verin used.

> seems to be instantaneous, random, and not limited to whether or not

Actually it appears as if he's Isam in T'A'R and Luc in the real world, or
rather that in T'A'R, he can be who he wants, but in the real world he
becomes Luc.

"He could not use Tel'aran'rhiod the way the Chosen could, but here was
where he felt most free. Here, he could be who he wanted to be." (Out of
Thin Air, pg 448 Tor edition)

 "Stopping beside the bed, he carefully unsheathed the two poisoned daggers
and stepped out of the Unseen World in to the waking. AS he did, he became
Luc. It seemed appropiate." (Out of Thin Air, pg 449 Tor edition)

> than a sentence in the book.

Does this make Toram a Darkfriend, or simply a stooge?

Also, how has the destruction of Shadar Logoth and the Taint affected Fain?
There seems to be a few different options:

1.)He's around, and as hale and hearty as ever.

   Not very likely imo. It's hard to imagine that someone who's powers are
dependent on Shadar Logoth would be affected by that destruction.

2.)The destruction of Shadar Logoth destroyed him as well.
   Another unlikely scenario. The destruction of the source of corruption
does not necessarily entail the destruction of the effects of the
corruption. (I really don't like that sentence but can't describe it any
other way.)

3.)He survived, but is weaker.
   This seems to be the likeliest result. I'm betting that the destruction
of Shadar Logoth caused his system quite a bit of shock.

2.1.6: LTT and Rand

It definitely appears as if LTT is a separate entity that's merging with
Rand. I used to be of the opinion that LTT was a result of the taint, but I
appear to have been wrong. Rand's new ability to draw, being able to play
songs that he shouldn't, and his comments that LTT seems saner now all
indicate that LTT is a separate person. Rand seems to have accepted LTT as a
separate entity, while at the same time picking up many of his mannerisms.

"The tune was called 'Lament for the Long Night,' and he had never heard it
before in his life. Lews Therein had, though. It was like the skill at
drawing.Rand thought that should frighten him, or make him angry, but he
simply sat and played while Lews Therin wept." (Bonds, pg 481 Tor edition)

This raises some other questions:

A.How did LTT's soul get into Rand's head?

B.Are they going to eventually merge?
  I.) If so, how?
  II) If this merger takes place, what result will it have on Rand? How
'bout Min, Elayne, and Avi? Will they be affected still? Heck, would they
still be bonded if that happened?

On a completely unrelated note, is the bond tied to the body or the soul?

And on another compltey unrelated note, did LTT play the flute, or is Rand
good enough to be able to play a song after hearing it once?

> after having been the one "who draws it out"?

On a related issue, what was up with Elza using saidin? "Dashiva raised his
hand toward the hill where she stood, and she drew as hard as she could on
Callandor in Jahar's hands. Saidin seemed will suited to destruction, to
her. A huge ball of coruscating fire surrounded the other hilltop, red and
gold and blue."  When the Bowl of Winds was used, saidin was involved, but I
thought that was a side effect of the Bowl, not actual usage by Nyn and co.

With Elza being able to use saidin, and Rand able to use saidar, does this
mean the day will soon come when men and women will be able to draw from
both? What if the TP is nothing more than a combination of saidin and
saidar?

> escape. And clearly she will "leash" him.

Not only that, but I think she has some ulterior plan going on. From Chapter
31, right after Mat tied her up. "At last, Tuon showed expression. She
smiled, as if she suddenly knew a secret. She smiled, and he shivered. Oh,
Light, how he shivered." (pg 590 Tor edition) So, what is it that Tuon
knows? I'd love to have had her PoV right then.

> monstrous. " Anath/Semirhage?

Quite possible.

> each in turn reaching out to lay a hand on him." Sounds like the

Yup.

"Mat being followed by a man who was not there . . .or maybe more than one,
but in some way there was no one there."

The common interpretation has been that this referred to the Gray Men? What
if it actually refers to the gholam? It just seems that the Gray Men really
didn't stalk him long enough to warran a Dream about it. The gholam, on the
other hand, would.

"Rand sitting down in a chair, and somehow she knew that the chair's owner
would be murderously angry at having her chair taken."

What if this isn't the throne of Andor at all, but the Seanchan throne?  I
doubt that Elayne would get "murderously angry" over her throne being sat in
(especially since she's now bonded to him), but you can bet that the Empress
of Seanchan would be.

"A dark young man held an object in his hand that shone so brightly that she
could not see what it was."

Could this possibly be Narishma using Callandor?

"Rand, wearing different masks, until suddenly one of those false faces was
no longer a mask, but him."

With the appearance of that third voice, this could very well refer to him
choosing between LTT, that voice, and himself, and eventually becoming all
three of them.

> 4.02 Min's Viewings:

Could Berelain's man in white be the good looking gai'shain that helps
Faile?

4.03

Are the prophecies from the *finn folk supposed to happen in the order that
they occur? If so, Mat still needs to "live and die and live again"

> healed? " Clearly this referes to the taint. Does that satisfy the

I don't think so, but the "bind the nine moons to serve him" could very well
refer to him sitting on the Crystal Throne and using it's power of
Compulsion on the royal family.

--
John Johnson

---

From: [email-masked] (Laura M. Parkinson)
Date: Sun, 12 Nov 2000 07:25:08 GMT

>in the future to work on the prose. 

And to jump in a bit as well...

>FAQ UPDATE: 

1.1.2 Mesaana:

No real new theories about who she might be, but under evidence/hints,
we might be able to add the fact that she doesn't show up either for
the big meeting with Moridin and the other Chosen, as well as the fact
that she doesn't show up at the big showdown at the end, either.

1.2.3:

As far as Egwene's headaches go, it also seems that she may be
starting to show the signs of Compulsion. Doing a sudden 180 (for the
worse, methinks) on the issue of the Oaths and thereby risking
crippling the Aes Sedai, who would be much more effective (and more
trustworthy, honestly, IMHO) without them, as well as on some other
issues.

1.2.5 as well, obviously... the whole Lanfear/Cyndane thing.

1.3.2: Fifty Ways to Kill a Gholam:

I still like the idea of opening up a Gateway on the edge of Far
Madding (or even a Stedding) and letting the thing run through...

>seems to be instantaneous, random, and not limited to whether or not

As a quick note, I wouldn't say that the shifting is random, rather
that it's under Slayer's will. 

Also note that we now know (or at least it seems) that he has two
personalities that are somewhat blended, rather than just the Isam
personality, and that the Luc half seems to be just as twisted and
evil. 

1.4.8: Who killed Adeleas and Ispan?

I'd say that Slayer should be added as at least one of the possible
killers, although he'd probably have an accomplice.

1.5.1: Is Aram a Darkfriend?

We get at least a bit more view of Aram here, and he seems to be
devoted to Perrin, Faile, and Rand... and possibly even to Masema in a
way, because of Rand. It's seeming less likely that he's a Darkfriend
(although still possible), but we're getting some more alternatives as
to how he can spell doom for Perrin... such as he could fall in with
the Prophet, in order to help Rand, but end up hurting Perrin instead.
(In fact, don't the Aes Sedai and others with Perrin see doom in
letting Masema live?)

>than a sentence in the book. 

Also Fain now seems to have at least some form of illusion and/or time
re-playing power. 

2.1.5: Mat's memories

Just to point out, Mat is now apparently regaining at least a few of
his memories. (He didn't remember Mordeth's disappearance before,
apparently, but recalled it when he saw the gholam stretching out to
escape.)

>hellbent on helping free Aes Sedai from the sul'dam. Sounds like she's

Also remember the weird reaction that she got with the a'dam...

2.3.09: Dreamers and Dreamwalking

Should Perrin's soul completely leaving his body when he's searching
for Faile be added to this section?

2.3.12: The Weirdness in Ebou Dar

Maybe this shouldn't be in the same section since it's not the cause,
but from what we see of all the damane/sul'dam stationed in Ebou Dar,
is the Weirdness completely done with? Was it just temporary?

>her bun, she would not have been able to hold the shield up." Sounds

Not to mention the other ter'angreal we see... the well, the
location-detector for channelers. 

2.4.10: Tigraine = Shaiel

If we *really* needed any more conformation of this, The "Luc" half of
Slayer specifically thinks of killing "his nephew" in Ebou Dar, which
would have to be Rand. Thus making Tigraine Rand's mother.

2.7.3: How old is everyone?

How old is Jain bloody Farstrider, anyhow, if he took part in the Fall
of Malkier, and yet is still wandering around, healthy enough to use
knives and fight and be so active?

3.10 Greek and Roman Mythology:

Someone else has already pointed out the "Sophia/So'fiea" connection.

Also a few things to add, perhaps:

-Was Mordeth once a Gholam?

-What will be odd about Aviendha's children? (Perhaps this could
replace/be right after the "Is Aviendha pregnant?" section...

- Is Dyelin for or against Elayne?

Also, is there a section (I couldn't find one) gathering specific
references toward things that we think will happen? Foreshadowings,
and such? Like all the comments about Nynaeve trying to Heal someone
"three days dead"?  (I ask about this one specifically because on page
214 there is yet another reference, when Halwin Norry says about Rand
"I myself would not believe him dead unless I sat three days with the
corpse.")

-- 
-'-,-'-<<0 Trickster 0>>-'-,-'-  [email-masked]
http://lparkinson.home.mindspring.com

"Be cunning and full of tricks and your people shall never be
destroyed."   -Richard Adams, Watership Down

---

From: [email-masked] (Laura M. Parkinson)
Date: Sun, 12 Nov 2000 07:25:08 GMT

1.1.2 Mesaana:

1.2.3:

2.1.5: Mat's memories