"Twice dawns the day when his blood is shed. Once for mourning, once for birth Red on black, the Dragon's blood stains the rock of Shayol Ghul. In the Pit of Doom shall his blood free men from the Shadow."

How can the Dark One be destroyed? He is basically evil incarnate, with as much power as the Creator, balancing the Creator's good with his evil. In CoS, Min talked of balance, how the good balances the evil, and the evil the good. That is how the Wheel works. If the Dark One were to be destroyed, would then the Creator also cease to exist, or would reality unravel due to the imbalance? Can Tarmon Gaidon really be the last battle? Perhaps Rand will not destroy the Dark One. Most likely he will not. But he will probably find a way to seal the Dark One away so that, even six Ages in the future, mankind cannot find him.
The Dark One is sealed beyond the Pattern. The Bore itself is a thinness in the Pattern where the Dark One's presence can be felt. In order to free the Dark One, a tear has to open in the Pattern so that he can slip through. What Lanfear and Beidomon accomplished with the Bore was to thin the Pattern, such as worn material that you can see your hand through, even feel your hand through, but can't pass your hand through. The reason the Forsaken did not free the Dark One in the Age of Legends is due to the fact that they did not know how, weren't powerful enough, needed to conquer something in the world, or didn't have enough time. Which, I cannot say, but I lean towards the latter two. Perhaps they needed as many people converted to the Shadow as possible after all, why go to so much trouble converting people when they had so many Trollocs at hand? So that enough dark threads could be molded to form a breach in the pattern. If it is true that the Forsaken were gathered in Shayol Ghul to herald the passage of the Dark One into the real world, then definitely the last theory holds true. Lews Therin and the Hundred Companions sealed off the Bore just in time.

I wonder if the aforementioned prophecy, at least for the first two lines, truly refers to the Dragon's death at Shayol Ghul. After all, given the tGH and CoS, his blood has been spilt twice. Once for mourning this could refer to Rand's grief at learning he truly is the Dragon Reborn, with all the death and destruction that comes with it. Once for birth this could refer to Rand's assertion to being the Dragon Reborn in the Crown of Swords. After the chapter, The Bath, in which Min comes to Rand and tells him her views of his merging with Lews Therin, he finally begins to accept not only being the Dragon Reborn, but also one and the same with Lews Therin Telamon. After all, once he begins to accept that, he truly can be the Dragon Reborn, fully ta'veren and able to take charge. What does he do from that point on? He goes to the Sea Folk and almost browbeats them into serving him, though the Bargain still had to be made. He goes to the rebels in the hills, disperses them, and just about converts to his side Lady Caraline and Lord Darlin. Then, to fulfill the prophecy, Padan Fain spills his blood, to signify his birth into one full Dragon Reborn.

Now, I am not saying that Rand does not die at Tarmon Gaidon. I fully expect to see him perish one way or another. After all, I cannot discard the prophecy:

"Twice and twice shall he be marked Twice to live and twice to die. Once the heron to set his path, Twice the heron to name him true, Once the dragon for remembrance lost Twice the dragon for the price he must pay."

So, Rand will live twice, and he will die twice. How? I really don't have a clue. Although, to depart from seriousness for a moment, I envision this all as one vast video game, and the person with the controller sends Rand in to face the Dark One, and Rand gets stomped on, so the person with the controller restarts at the beginning of the level and sends Rand in again. Perhaps this isn't a departure from seriousness just a comparison. How will Rand die? Or will it be Rand that dies? Maybe one of his deaths is the final merging with Lews Therin that kills Rand al'Thor and Lews Therin as two separate people. After all, the line twice the dragon for the price he must pay is rather ambiguous. Do we not have two dragons in one person?

So what do we have for possibilities?

1.) He is killed:

-by a Darkfriend (namely Padan Fain, though he is beyond Darkfriend status by now )
-by one of the Forsaken (Demandred/Taim?)
-by one on his own side (mercy killing? Accident? Asha'man? Intent on fulfilling prophecy? Maybe Verin's plan is to see the Dragon Reborn dead so he can fulfill the prophecy.)
-by Shadowspawn (this would be an almost senseless death, though)
-by the Dark One.

2.) He takes his own life (to avoid going mad, or to make sense of what the finns told him, etc.)

3.) He fakes his death
4.) His merging with Lews Therin counts as a death

How does he live again?

1.) He is spun out by the Wheel.

2.) Horn of Valere calls him back (and his final death could be his soul being destroyed, though that is a very nasty thought)

3.) He is ripped from Tel'aran'rhiod

4.) Someone pulls some BS on him like he pulled on Mat in Rhuidean.

5.) He quits faking.

6.) Lews Therin vanishes and he is Rand al'Thor once again.

Any comments?