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Interviews: Letter to Thomas Howard
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Thomas Howard
A couple weeks after A Crown of Swords was released, I decided to write to Robert Jordan to clarify some of the issues that had come up in the newsgroup and some questions of my own. Well, today, I finally got a response. Apparently his publisher has been somewhat slow in getting his mail to him.Robert Jordan
Now, before I get to the questions I asked and the answers he gave, I'd like to mention that in the letter, Mr. Jordan stated that he is due to turn the manuscript in this coming fall, and that the book is not yet titled. Of course, the letter from him is dated Jan 14th, 1997, so it may have a title by this time.THOMAS HOWARD
OK, on to good stuff. Below are the questions I asked (paraphrased), and his answers, if given. Any direct quotes from Mr. Jordan are placed inside quotation marks, sensibly enough.Tags
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Thomas Howard
What was the deal with that sentence concerning True Power detectability?Robert Jordan
His answer was that the True Power is only detectable by the "single person" wielding it, and it cannot be seen by others, as the One Power can.Tags
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3
Thomas Howard
What does Maisia mean? In case you don't remember, Sammael called Graendal this when they were messing with the Shaido.Robert Jordan
Mr. Jordan stated that it was a name for pets in the Age of Legends, "like Fido or Fluffy".Footnote
Sammael called Graendal by the name Maisia in A Crown of Swords Chapter 20 when he was posing as Caddar.Tags
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4
Thomas Howard
Why couldn't Moghedien escape the leash with the True Power?
I'm just going to quote the whole response to this:
Robert Jordan
"The a'dam would perceive any [emphasis mine] power use and treat it accordingly."THOMAS HOWARD
I don't know about you, but this seems to support the idea that one must be able to channel the One Power in order to use the True Power.Footnote
In case it isn't obvious, the Domination Band is not just a 'male a'dam'—there are several fundamental differences that we already knew about before The Gathering Storm.Tags
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5
Thomas Howard
1. What do Rand's wards on Callandor ward against exactly?
2. Are the black cords on male Forsaken the means to access to the True Power?
3. If so, why don't the female Forsaken have them?
Robert Jordan
"Read and find out" on all three counts.
THOMAS HOWARD
Damn. I still don't think the cords have anything to do with True Power usage though.
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6
Thomas Howard
What the hell is up with balefire (in regards to Nynaeve and the boat)?
The main issue with this was whether or not balefire burned inanimate objects back through time in addition to living creatures.
Robert Jordan
According to Mr. Jordan, yes it does.Footnote
Moghedien attempted to balefire Nynaeve when she was in a boat in Ebou Dar in A Crown of Swords Chapter 31. And Brandon has confirmed that even inanimate objects have threads in the Pattern.Tags
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7
Thomas Howard
Why did Mat think that someone was "holding" the True Source when his medallion grew cold? (That is I thought it only did this when he came in contact with an actual flow. This occurred on page 595 of A Crown of Swords, for reference.)
I'm going to quote the whole response again.
Robert Jordan
"Mat's medallion gets icy cold if someone directs the One Power at him, but it would be cool if the Power was being used near him, and almost cold if it were being used very near him."Tags
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8
Thomas Howard
Why was Cadsuane dropped in out of the blue? (Basically, the problem people were having was that she was supposedly a legend among her sisters, so we should have heard of her before A Crown of Swords.)Robert Jordan
Mr. Jordan's response was that most Aes Sedai hadn't seen hide nor hair of her in twenty years. To quote: "The assumption on the part of nearly everyone was that she had [emphasis his] to be dead by this time."THOMAS HOWARD
Essentially, I take this to mean they didn't bother talking or thinking about her because of this assumption. He also stated that "only a few sisters had seen her" during the capturing of Logain and that her involvement with the incident was minimal.Tags
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Thomas Howard
Was what you said about us having all the necessary evidence to unmask Asmodean's killer true (as of The Fires of Heaven)?Robert Jordan
He still maintains that we should be able to "puzzle out" the killer.Tags
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Thomas Howard
Would you please state for the record that Rand's helper at the end (of A Crown of Swords) was not Lews Therin?Robert Jordan
To quote (and God do I like to hear this): "Lews Therin Telamon is dead, not walking around Shadar Logoth."THOMAS HOWARD
I'm quite sure it's a safe assumption that he isn't walking around anywhere else either.Footnote
Rand's 'helper' in Shadar Logoth in A Crown of Swords Chapter 41 was Moridin.Tags
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