Theoryland Chronicles

Members :Eclipse : The Nature of the Dragon

This may get long, but I’ve done what I can to collect all my previous notes and ideas, combine them with my more recent postulations, and then added a few notes from other posters. DennisII must be given partial credit in my latest incarnation of the Nature of Lews: The Dragon. He may have really hit on something here. I also need to credit Gonzo (at least a little). A long time ago (my first exploration into the One/Two Soul debate) he asked, “Who (in the books) suspects that The Dragon Reborn actually means that LTT is born again with original memories?” At that time, I didn’t even understand the question. To the others, thanx for helping me bounce it around in my head to get it all straightened out. I hate it when I confuse myself .

First, souls get born, and then reborn as the Wheel turns. Some, such as the Heros of the Horn, get born more often than others and for very specific reasons. As most agree, it’s easy to give the more prominent ones titles. The Archer. The Trickster. The Dragon...

Part One. Lews Therin: The Dragon

A little over three thousand years ago, there was no taint on saidin. Then a group of men sealed the DO away again, and the DO gave his counterstroke, the taint. From that very moment on, every male that channeled saidin was tainted. Their very souls (as well as their bodies that began to degrade, starting with their minds) were washed in the “slime,” and as Dennis has suggested, it messed with the natural migration patterns of the soul. In the very first scene, whatever Lews Therin did to raise Dragon Mt, I don’t know, I don’t care. The effect, his body died, and his soul went... somewhere. I believe every male from the initial counterstroke on, if they channeled saidin with the taint, followed Lews’s interrupted migration path.

There are, I think, four other specific people mentioned that were false Dragons (not including Logain) from the time of Lews Therin’s death. How important or special they were, we can’t say. But, Guaire Amalason is mentioned more often than the others, and he even played the nemesis of Artur Hawkwing one thousand years ago. Amalason was awesomely powerful, not only as a channeler, but as ta’veren. Most recently, Rand was born on Dragon Mt, and soon after we see he is the Dragon Reborn. As Dennis pointed out, note the Reborn part of the title. It is significant, but I see it a little differently (or maybe I just see more to it) than does Dennis.

Even before Rand channels his first time (which is to make Bela run strong on the first flight from Emond’s Field), we see him having dreams of Shayol Ghul...

Pg. 120 tEotW, “The memory flashed away like quicksilver...but the memory was there.” No channeling. No taint on Rand. But the memory was there. How?

Dennis suggests, and I agree, one effect of the taint (this being on the soul) is disrupted soul migration after death. Lews Therin died on Dragon Mt., but his soul was not “put to rest” as everyone else’s. I won’t make guesses about it being “outside the Pattern” or some such, but it was “put aside” in one fashion or another. Three thousand years after his death, Lews was born again. Lews was. The taint on his soul disallowed the “clean slate” granted to all the others born again over time. It is obvious considering page120 of The Eye of the World. This is also noted in the significance of the addition, “Reborn.” As Dennis says, it’s redundant. None of the others get that addition upon rebirth. But I see it also as an indicator that the Dragon is a one time thing. The soul from the Age of Legends (called Lews Therin this time around) that plays the part of the Dragon, plays that very role for three thousand years. It is that same soul, of course. But not only is it the same soul, but the same “person” that has been reborn. Hence the addition of “Reborn.” This is where the idea of the Dragon only being a one time thing comes from. It begins it’s one and only birth as the Dragon in the AoL, gets tainted, is denied natural soul migration, and is finally Reborn - as the Dragon - three thousand years later when the Pattern needs him to finish what he started. Any other time that soul is born, it is not the Dragon. Lews was the Dragon. Lews will be the Dragon this time (the Reborn part). When it dies this time, the Dragon will be finished, as far as we know. That soul will continue to play its role as ta’veren, as the Wheel sees fit for the Pattern, just as the other Heros do. It will always be the most powerful channeler at it’s time of existence, but it won’t be playing the role of the Dragon until the next time the DO is nearly freed and needs resealing.

Obviously, some of the “cleaning/covering” effects of death and rebirth on the memories of the soul took place. The previous lives (note the use of plural) were not all there at hand (still aren’t), so the lives were not totally “covered over.” Not being covered over very well, or maybe the “lives barrier” was tainted and un-whole, allowed some of the “previous” life to poke through. The taint “rubbing” over whatever is covering the previous life scratched more of the covering away, and is steadily bringing the previous life “to light.” * my pluralization is yet another hint at Amalason.

My initial stumbling block was why everyone called him Lews Therin instead of the Dragon. I pondered and pondered, and more people posted, and I settled on what I like. I’ll just quote Dennis, considering he posted it before I could.

“Why everyone bound to the Horn or affiliated with the Dark refers to Rand as Lews Therin is this: the DO, and his minions, have greater understanding and knowledge of the migration of souls and the reincarnation of souls. The Heros of the Horn have intimate knowledge of the same subject. When they recognize Rand, they recognize the bound/continuation of the soul of LTT, that has not died completely or perfectly, but instead was somehow caught outside the normal migration patterns of a Hero of the Horn. (Ishy or otherwise) says "I win again, Lews Therin" - it's only because all of those lives are also being lived after the Breaking, and after the event that caused a disruption of the normal migration of LTT's Soul.”

I have a few clarifications to mention. Of the DO’s minions, probably only Ishamael actually follows this. Some of the others may believe it’s Lews for some reason or another, and then some don’t believe it at all (Asmodean and Sammael for examples). It must also be noted that Lews Therin is the only manifestation of this soul that the Forsaken have had any connection with (if you follow what’s been written so far). There is nothing else they could call him. For the Heros at the battle in Falme, to them, it still is Lews Therin. That example, too, is a clear indicator that it is Lews born again, not just the soul that lived that life so long ago. One more thing, I don’t say the Dragon is a Hero of the Horn. He may or may not be, but I personally don’t think he is.

Note: the characters with firm grasps on metaphysics, philosophy, history, etc (Verin’s a good example, and soon maybe Min) might have this one figured out (or maybe just suspect).

Pg. 661 tGH. (Artur) “I have fought by your side times beyond number, Lews Therin, and faced you as many more.”

Artur also says, “...if you could but remember when you wear flesh.”

Pg. 661-662 tGH. (Artur) “Something is wrong here. Something holds me... you are here. Have you the banner?... the Pattern weaves itself around our necks like halters... you are here. The banner is here. The weave of this moment is set. We have come to the Horn, but we must follow the banner. And the Dragon.”

What we have is a dead Hero calling Rand Lews Therin. Artur also tells Lews specifically (whether Jordan intended it this way or not, don’t know), he doesn’t remember the times he wears flesh. The first two quotes indicate to me that even more recently than three thousand years ago Lews wore flesh, and he didn’t remember then either.

The third quote (obviously combined with the first two), specifically the, “You are here... we must follow the banner. And the Dragon,” almost solidifies the theory that it is Lews Therin come again, once more forgetting that he is Lews Therin. Lews Therin was the Dragon. If the Dragon is reborn, then so must Lews Therin be. “Rand” is just a new body adding another twenty years experience on top of Lews Therin’s existence, but separately.

Gonzo had a good question. Why does the DO call him his ancient enemy, the Dragon? To the DO, the Dragon role itself would have worn many names through all the turnings of the Wheel. It follows Tamyrlin’s name calling, Archer, Dragon, etc. This does not mean that every time that soul is born it plays the role of the Dragon. The DO’s ancient enemy is the one that keeps sealing him away, the Dragon. That one Dragon that has a funky existence over three thousand years. After this Age ends, and Lews Therin truly dies, I guess that soul will be pulled into the Pattern to fix it however the Wheel sees fit, but unless the problem is sealing the DO away again, it won’t be the role of the Dragon.

Part One Conclusion:

When all is said and done, Rand will not be Rand anymore. Rand will be “taken over,” for lack of a better expression. The taint has been removed. That may have done it. Then again, maybe not. Even still, I expect some seriously altered behavior on “Rand’s” part when he regains consciousness in book ten. Here are some specific dreams, visions, and prophecies that support this theory.

Pg. 195 & 201-202 aCoS. (Egwene) Logain, laughing, stepping across a funeral bier, with Rand on it, but his face breaks apart like a paper puppet.

Pg. 215-216 tEotW. (Min) Three women over a funeral bier with him (Rand) on it.

Pg. 675 aCoS. (Min) Min tells Rand "I saw you and another man. I couldn't make out either face, but I knew one was you. You touched, and seemed to merge into one another, and...one of you dies, and one doesn't."

“Yet one shall be born to face the Shadow, born once more as he was born before and shall be born again, time without end. The Dragon shall be Reborn, and there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth at his rebirth.”

Pg. 325-326 tGH. “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.”

“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.”

Pg 255 LoC. (Nicola) “The lion sword, the dedicated spear, she who sees beyond. Three on a boat, and he who is dead yet lives.”

I realize we the reader have no connection to Lews Therin as we do to Rand, but this is what I guess, sad as it may be. After all, it really is Lews Therin. Rand is only a piece of him. The use of “Twice” so often is a big hint to the validity of the concept of Lews Therin’s nature. The prophecies are pretty indicative of who wins out in the end. Remembrance lost and the price he must pay, I no longer think, relates to the history of the Aiel. After all, that was not lost, just held by a select few. “He who is dead yet lives?” Rand’s face on the funeral bier crumbling like a paper puppet? The price is “Rand” giving up his “life” for Lews (gaining remembrance lost), and the “dead” man living, as “Rand” crumbles away.

Part Two. The Taint

What do we know as fact about the taint’s effects? We know it drives people crazy one way or another (probably in more ways than one all at once), and that it physically deteriorates (rots) the body. These seem to be the only facts we have. However, we have tons of speculation and hints from many different directions throughout the story.

Here are my speculations. First, the physical deteriorations can of course be of the brain, causing all kinds of paranoia, loss of control, schizophrenia, and stuff I’m not even familiar with. Second, as Dennis posted and I agree with, it interferes with the natural migration of souls after they die, should that soul have channeled through the taint. Third, I think the taint itself helps to scrape away the skein covering the “previous” life.

Whatever death and rebirth (the process) does to “cover” previous lives, the taint erodes it over time. Those “dividers” are removed during death, but a new one is placed at birth to separate the entire past from the new life. Note I use the singular form of life. It indicates that for the men that have channeled through the taint, that very life, from its first channeling through the taint, is the one that is “heard,” if a voice is even heard. Just like Rand, those men that have been born again since channeling tainted saidin are hearing the life before (which, just like Lews, is still the same “life”). For the men that have been “fortunate” enough to be reborn in the past three thousand years, those will be the ones hearing “special” voices, not just their own from schizo effects of a deteriorated mind.

A general timeline for one of the Asha’man hearing a special voice would be just like Rand. That person was alive thousands of years ago (or whenever the Pattern decided to toss the soul), and channeled tainted saidin. Now, born again just as Lews Therin, because the taint diverted the soul’s migration, that person is scraping away the barrier between who he really is (that first life that channeled tainted saidin), and the life he is living now. It is possible that there are some souls being born for the first time since the initial tainting, and so they won’t hear the special voice(s). Only the ones fortunate to be reborn at this time will.

Now take the effects combined. Who would be able to determine the difference between their previous life, and the schizophrenia caused voices? It would all be called mad ravings of a man channeling tainted saidin. If you were doing something everyone in the world feared because it would surely drive you mad, would you claim, ever, to be hearing voices? This is why our only first hand evidence is from Rand, and our second hand is from Cadsuane.

Now consider Cadsuane’s hints. She has been studying male channelers. According to the books, she’s very skilled at dealing with them. She asks Rand if he’s been hearing voices. Granted, even if the men she has studied were carrying on with simple schizophrenia or any of a number of maladies from physical deterioration of the brain, some of them must have said something to catch her attention. I guess that at least two of them went on about times and happenings from long ago (possibly even the AoL, if she happened upon some of the Hundred Companions reborn). Mad ravings or not, they said things to make her think. Especially if they spoke (at times) authoritatively on the use of saidin. Keep in mind that a lot of what we the reader know of the histories concerning channeling is not common knowledge. Not even in the White Tower. After three thousand years, the passed down information would be all but gone (outside the Tower), and I don’t expect the Aes Sedai went about preaching it to anyone that asked. Today’s channeling farmers speaking of truths from the AoL would not go unnoticed by someone studying the men.

Here’s the “good” side of the taint. The soul is at least half responsible for the ability to channel. All the male channelers that have been killed, gentled, or died off early because of channeling through the taint will be born again, thus helping to perpetuate the ability to channel and increasing future channelers’ strength. Those souls are just waiting to be born again without the hindrance of the taint. I think there may be a “back up” in the order and timing of male souls that the Wheel tosses out. There will be a rush of males born with the ability to channel in the next several generations to alleviate the “pressure” of backed up souls. This may also mean that some of those souls have been born more than once in the last three thousand years.

Now that the taint is gone, the migration patterns may return to normal even for the next time around, even though the effects on the present life will remain. Those that have been reborn in this day, after channeling through the taint millennia ago, will still hear those special voices. The taint has effected them to this point in their life, first altering their rebirth patterns, and second by wearing down the barrier that divides the one “life” they have been allowed to live more than once since the DO’s counterstroke. This leads me to one more postulation based on the taint.

Pg. 826-827 aCoS. Min tells Rand "It's Cadsuane. She is going to teach you something, you and the Asha'man. All the Asha'man, I mean. It's something you have to learn, but I don't know what it is, except that none of you will like learning it from her. You aren't going to like it at all."

First, I think this lesson has to do with the taint. Also, it makes no mention of anyone helping her teach the lesson, and that would eliminate the idea that the lesson is laughter and tears, of which Sorilea is a party. Too, it must be something specific to Cadsuane. Laughter and tears is not specific in any way. It’s just something she thinks he needs to maintain balance. There is a lesson that Cadsuane, the mighty male-channeler scholar, must teach Rand. Something only Cadsuane can teach. I think it must be taint related.

Being taint related, what could it possibly be that could help them out, yet be hard to grasp? Possibly something they don’t want to grasp or believe. How about the idea that the life they are living is merely an extension of the one they are hearing in their heads? I certainly wouldn’t like being told that the voice in my head is the true me, and that I must accept it as me, and maybe give over to it. This hints that all the Asha’men are actually hearing those special voices, which I guess is possible, if not probable. This is something, based on my theory that Lews Therin will eventually take over, that Rand specifically, and the others in general, must learn. Also, with Min studying Fel’s books, I believe she will also see the truth as Cadsuane tries to spell it out, and support her, even if she doesn’t want to lose Rand to Lews, to help “Rand” accept the truth.

Part Three. Guaire Amalason: The Mistaken Dragon

I will repeat myself. Putting more importance on the Dragon (or the Dragon role) is wrong. I believe Lews Therin came 1000 years ago and lived the life of Amalason. The Pattern needed Artur to be the stronger ta’veren, and so he was. The Pattern was not in need of the Dragon, and so Lews Therin, at this time, was not the Dragon. Lews and Artur met this way and thousands of times before in the same manner. In my opinion, there is no such thing as a “partial” Dragon. The Dragon’s purpose is not to fight Artur Hawkwing. The Dragon’s purpose is to fight the DO, and to see he remains imprisoned.

Take for example Pg. 666 tGH. “I will never serve you, Father of Lies. In a thousand lives, I never have. I know that.” This is Rand.

So we know that the Dragon has never fought on the side of the Dark. If any of the Heros of the Horn have, who can truly say. But I would argue, even without a shred of evidence, that none of them have either. What does this mean? It means, just as Artur says to Lews Therin, they have battled thousands of times in the past turnings of the Wheel, and for reasons that had nothing to do with the sealing away of the Dark One. There is no logic to Artur battling the Dragon. Artur would lose to the Dragon. But Artur would not necessarily lose to that soul as some role other than the Dragon.

Uno has a nice write up on Amalason, and the Big White Book has his history and lists all his amazing similarities to the Dragon Reborn. I will refrain from taking up space to recopy them here. They all point to Amalason being Lews Therin spun out again, only not as the role of the Dragon. As this was also Lews Therin (as Rand is), the Heros from the Horn still call Rand Lews Therin instead of Amalason at Falme.

Tainted or not, the soul that is (of the last three thousand years) stuck as Lews Therin, is a ta’veren no different than the other Heros of the Horn. In general, he may be stronger than most, and most probably the strongest as the Dragon, but that soul has other parts to play that have nothing to do with sealing up the DO. In those lives, it is not the Dragon, and other ta’veren can be stronger. A ta’veren’s purpose is to fix deviations or set distinctive patterns in the Weave. The Wheel needed the Westlands to be setup under one man’s rule, and forcing, a long way down the line, the return of the Seanchan (the K Cycle mentions the Dragon binding the Nine Moons to service). Amalason was the Wheel forcing that Weave. Jordan brought up the "third destroyer" for a reason, and he had Artur say that he and Lews had battled uncountable times before. This, in my mind, is the most logical explanation. Guiare Amalason was another instance when that soul (this time as Lews Therin) was spun out not as the Dragon, but with a different Pattern setting consequence. It was also another one of those times when that soul, not as the Dragon, battled Artur Hawkwing. In case it doesn’t follow easily, Amalason was the “third destroyer.” Lews Therin lived that life too, after all. And quite logically, it is also probably Amalason’s face that is flashing now and again in Rand’s head (part of his joining of lives and memories from Lews).