Theoryland Chronicles

Members :Eclipse : The T'A'R Pocket

I was wondering about Egwene's first time in TAR using the terangreal. tDR Pg. 313. Her atmosphere is rather pleasant upon entering. Blue skies, clouds, butterflies, wind, etc. Why does TAR get described as bland and unchanging by the women later in the books (constant twilight or something)? On page 316 she goes looking for the Heart of Stone, and finds it by need. This is before any instruction by the Wise Ones. Then we learn that you can find things you don’t even have a clue where they are just by concentrating on your need. We also learn that once you have done this, you can’t do it again for the same reason. It has to be something new you focus on. So, need, and can only do it once per. Take the Bowl as a good example. The girls had a need and ended up in the White Tower. There is STILL an answer to that need in the Tower, but they shifted their focus of need, and were drawn down to Ebou Dar.

This sounds exactly like the Green Man’s Grove. You must have a need to find it, and you can only do it once. I realize Moiraine did it twice, but there may be a few explanations for that. First, I don’t know why she went there before, but it may have been a need to see the Green Man. The next time, her need was not for the Green Man, but for the Eye. Second, it may have been that the boys’ need was what drew them there, and so Moiraine was able to “tag along.” I have no idea how the Forsaken got there, and I don’t care. That’s not the big part of this idea. Now, if the Grove is actually a part of TAR, then it may answer a few questions, and hint at some future events. This is all a jumble in my head, so forgive me if you don’t follow .

From here, I will state things as “being” a certain way. I’m just doing that to make it easier. I’m not saying that this truly is this way, just what came to mind.

The Grove is a manifestation of TAR in the real world (or something like that). Verin thinks TAR could be all that space between the warps and woofs, possibly “outside” the Pattern. So is the Dark One’s prison. Whatever they did 3000 years ago to drill that hole in his prison may have caused the effect. This gets really out there and I have no explanation for the mechanics of it. The DO has Shayol Ghul, his “prison” in the real world that keeps him OUT of the real world. *shrugs* Well if we can have that effect, we can have my Grove in TAR effect. In the real world, “drilling” outside the pattern to reach the DO may have accessed that place where TAR resides outside the Pattern too, thereby “connecting” it to the real world, someway.

So here’s this pocket of TAR in the real world that may or may not be near or even connected to the DO's prison. Considering both the prison and TAR are everywhere at once, this is probably the truth, and yet not, at the same time. *shrugs again*. The reason I’m putting so much emphasis on the connection of the two is because of the Eye of the World. The way Moiraine describes the Eye on Pg. 746 of tEotW hints that it isn’t finished; it has a part to play at TG.

Consider what all happened at that moment when they finally reached the Grove (and how they reached the Grove for that matter). It’s found by need, and only once. The trick there may be that most relate this finding of the Green Man with need, and so do, but never know that they could do it again by focusing on need of the Eye (which probably wouldn’t work anyway as it was meant to be needed by the Dragon Reborn). Rand battles Aginor, and sees the cord running from him to the Eye. Something he only sees IN TAR that we know of. After he kills Aginor (or Aginor over draws and kills himself), he “shifts” to Tarwin’s Gap. The only way to describe his movement is he used the TP (as RJ has said Tedronai did/does to Travel like he did in the very first scene), or he moved the same way those skilled in the Dream move, simply by thinking themselves somewhere. This gets funky. It seems TAR may have extended its effects to Tarwin's Gap... well, considering TAR is truly everywhere, is it hard to believe if one were standing in the Grove (and it is actually a piece of TAR in the real world), one could follow the rules of TAR everywhere that TAR extended? Note: A possible explanation for the Grove remaining as solid as it seemed no matter how the companions let their minds wander would be the Green Man had dominion over the Grove. Nothing could intrude on his vision of it; he was also guarding the Eye, and his will kept out the effects of being “near/connected to” the sealed bore in the DO's prison. Anyway, Rand thinks himself in Tarwin's Gap and bamf, there he is, without Traveling. He deals with the Dark Army and then Skims, still inside TAR, to Ba'alzamon's lair. This could make sense now. The gateway that Egwene uses later to get into and out of (physically) TAR is different than a Traveling gateway. Later, when Rand chases Asmodean, he reproduces the weave from Tarwin's Gap, thinking to himself of this first Skimming. Now, I don’t know if you even CAN Skim to TAR from the real world (the gates are different, and Skimming is a form of Traveling, not stepping into TAR; Rand learns that trick when battling B'mon in the Stone, and as per his thoughts on it, it’s a new trick), but the weaves would again be different. However, as Traveling within TAR is the same as Traveling outside TAR, so would Skimming be. Rand Skimmed from Tarwin's Gap in TAR to Bmon's lair in TAR, and so could reproduce the same Skimming weave when he chased Asmodean FROM somewhere in the real world TO somewhere in the real world. We all know Ba’alzamon's lair is in TAR, and again we see that black cable extending away from him. My conclusion, the company found the TAR pocket that the Green Man existed in (guarding the Eye), and never left TAR until they walked away from the Grove and it disappeared behind them. That TAR pocket still exists. But, is it accessible IN TAR or do you have to get to it from the real world? The need factor is gone (or already used), so finding it in the real world isn’t possible for the companions. What may still be possible is simply sending oneself there by thinking of it while IN TAR. Then again, if the Eye has played its part and is finished, why bother?

Anyhoo, the T’A’R Pocket Theory helps explain a few things and might hint at possible future solutions. Has anyone heard of this one before? If you have, MAN did I waste a lot of my time...