Theoryland of the Wheel of Time

Who did Tam kill to earn the heron blade?

Afraid that, while this might be buried in the notes somewhere, I couldn't find it.

tam

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blademasters

Who wrote the scene in which Aviendha flash-forwards to the future in the glass towers? The scene was beautifully epic because of how it shows the transition of the post–Last Battle Randland, and every time I read it, I feel well and truly sad that I will never see stories set in that time.

(Having said that, what you did with the Mistborn series and the Wax/Wayne novels is a pretty good substitute for reading Fourth Age stories, so there is that. Thanks a lot!)

The glass pillars was me, as I believe some fans have already figured out. One of my big pitches to Harriet and company was that we needed to take risks and chances with these stories, because that's what RJ would have done. If we played it exactly safe, we would have a bland ending to the story.

We couldn't always take the same risks that RJ would have, but we needed to have a dynamic plot where characters, and the world, grew and became something different. They were very scared of this sequence during my pitch, but it's one that—when they read it—they were sold on it very quickly.

As for Wax and Wayne, just wait until we get the Mistborn space opera books.

brandon on writing wot

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towers of midnight

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aviendha

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fourth age

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who wrote what?

For me, I really really want to see Artur Hawkwing's conversation with Tuon.

It is not written, so I can't give it to you. However, let's just say that you would rarely see Tuon as she was in that scene, and she received words about how Seanchan as a kingdom was being handled.

a memory of light

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tuon

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seanchan

Did the body swap take place before Rand stumbled out of the cave, or during the period of time in which Rand and Moridin were in the tent? That first paragraph of the epilogue is quite ambiguous.

This is one of those that I don't actually know. My instincts say that it happened after, as I believe the idea from RJ was "the soul that wants to live finds the body that lives, and the soul that wants to die finds the body that dies." But I can't honestly remember if that's his explanation for why (he wrote most of the epilogue, so this event was done and written before he died) or if it's Team Jordan's explanation after the fact. But it's the one I embraced.

Footnote—Terez

I'm fairly certain that this did not come directly from RJ based on conversations I have had with Maria about this at the "Unanswered Questions" panels at JordanCon 2017 and 2018. Just to be certain, I will ask her at the same panel at JordanCon 2019; she loves this panel and we're going to do it every year.

MatrimRivers (16 October 2014)

Sorry, very late to this party as I just finished AMOL today. So many feels. Just on this topic, as Min, Elayne, Aviendha and Alivia are the only ones who know that Rand still lives, wouldn't Nynaeve etc return to the tent after Rands funeral, see Moridin is gone and be like "oh fuck, the Nae'blis is on the loose. We better hunt him down". Or should we just sort of assume that the important characters are brought in on the secret by those who know?

Brandon Sanderson (16 October 2014)

I am amused imagining Nynaeve's reaction, both to what you just described and to her discovery that Rand is alive. But I DO think she's got an inkling of what's happening, and will bully it out of someone before too long.

a memory of light

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unanswered questions

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bodyswap

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rand

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moridin

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who wrote what?

Well, I think the obvious is: Which parts of the final book were your, and which were Jordan's?

Mine, personally, is why did Egwene not have to experience a fall?

All of the other characters have to confront and learn hard lessons about their own character faults. Except for Egwene.

Let's see.... Isam in the Waste (prologue scene) RJ. Field of Merrilor: Mostly RJ. Epilogue: RJ except for one character.

I believe those are the three scenes actually written, or heavily outlined, by RJ. Many other scenes are mentioned in the notes, but were not outlined. (And many character fates are detailed, but the methodology is not given.)

Personally, I believe that Egwene learned her hard lessons earlier in the series. Her faults and flaws were made very manifest during her time with the Aiel, and I feel she learned the last bits during her captivity. She was the first of the characters to arrive at the place she needed to be.

Now, you may be annoyed that she was very Aes Sedai in where she arrived—but if, indeed, this is a flaw, it is endemic to the society of the White Tower and not Egwene as an individual. In the end, if she had one final issue, it had to do with the person she loved. That came to a resolution in this book.

cornballin (1 October 2014)

Rand, Elayne, and Egwene have parallel character arcs. They are all thrust into leadership position long before they're ready. And initially they all make the same mistake: they try to be the leader that other people expect.

Light, he tried so hard to be iron, to be what he thought the Dragon Reborn must

But then something happens for Elayne and Rand: they realize that they've been put in these positions for a reason, and that's to be themselves.

How had becoming Queen made Elayne less high-and-mighty? Had he missed something? She actually seemed agreeable now!

Lord Rand had come to him, making apologies. To him! Well, Hurin would do him proud. The Dragon Reborn did not need the forgiveness of a little thief-taker, but Hurin still felt as if the world had righted itself. Lord Rand was Lord Rand again.

Egwene ... doesn't ever learn that lesson that I can see.

Brandon Sanderson (1 October 2014)

I see Egwene having something different. She pretends to be Aes Sedai before she is ready, the Wise Ones find out, and then she is beaten down before it gets too far. Rand and Elayne were, by that point, both in positions of power where nobody could really 'teach' them lessons, and so they had to learn later on—when the lesson had to be more dramatic.

Egwene had to learn during her apprentice days. Then, in a reversal from the other two, she is MADE a leader by the other Aes Sedai before she really wants to be. This is different from Rand's taking power or Elayne's being raised to power.

I see Egwene growing into the role she was given more easily because of early lessons mixed with being handed her throne and being left to rise to the occasion. She didn't become the person she THOUGHT she needed to be—she became the person the Aes Sedai as a whole thought she needed to be, even if some of them didn't want it of her.

This is my personal read on it as a fan, with only a little of the author mixed in. Not trying to argue, just explain why I think RJ felt her story arc was complete, at least in regards to this issue. (Egwene was the one that Robert Jordan finished the most work on of all the characters, and his notes indicated to me the sense that she was the farthest along.) Note that she DID still have a lesson to learn at the Field of Merrilor during her confrontation there with Rand and the arrival of the surprise guest.

Feel free to consider her to have not learned the lesson, and instead take another view on it. I think there is a rational argument that she never had to learn a lesson that she SHOULD have learned because of the way the Aes Sedai enabled her through their culture of leadership.

a memory of light

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slayer

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who wrote what?

In Eye of the World, Min sees Perrin standing amongst flowering trees. It's meaning is unknown, but I personally thought it meant he'd help the Tuatha'an find their song. No evidence to the effect, though. As far as I know, it was never definitively settled, but what did it mean? Did RJ leave any notes to that effect?

This image is not about the song, unfortunately. I believe it is, as has been stated, about his family.

The notes do say explicitly that the Tinkers do not find their song.

skylatron (1 October 2014)

That fact makes me pretty sad. I was holding out hope that they'd found it, or at least part of it.

Brandon Sanderson (1 October 2014)

Here's what RJ said—though I can't remember if this is in interviews or if I got this via Harriet.

The song is not something that can be found. Over the years, the "Song" has come to mean something to the Tinkers—it means peace, harmony, everyone getting along. Perhaps even a little touch of Nirvana.

Even if they heard the song, as it originally was, they would not accept it as "The Song." Rand actually knows the song—and everyone who has been through the pillars hears it, I believe. But this is not "The Song."

As long as there is strife in the world, The Song has not been found.

the eye of the world

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rj's notes

Nakomi for sure. Drives me mad we'll never know...

I do know about Nakomi. However, I must honor what I believe to be RJ's wishes in regards to this. Perhaps some day.

I'm more able, ironically, to speak about the pipe—as I don't know the answer, and can theorize like a fan upon its meaning.

There are at least two other things about the ending that people have never asked me, which I expected them to, which involve deep secrets about the series and its conclusion. One is minor, but interesting. The other I consider major. So perhaps someone will someday tease those out of me.

smb89 (1 October 2014)

Interesting about the other points given how thoroughly we've dissected the book over the past couple of years. Now I'm intrigued!

Brandon Sanderson (1 October 2014)

I'm not saying they haven't been dissected—I don't follow HCFF discussions these days as I once did—but I do know I haven't been asked about these things that I remember. (At least, not in a specific enough way.)

archaeonaga (1 October 2014)

Yeah, that is some Jordan-level trolling there, Brandon. Well done.

E: I mean trolling in the nicest way possible, of course

Brandon Sanderson (1 October 2014)

:) I've found that the fandom does enjoy me giving little nudges here and there.

zapfino (1 October 2014)

So even if it was a make-a-wish, you still would not tell that person about Nakomi?

Edit: I should mention that that I'm asking as an extremely hypothetical situation.

Brandon Sanderson (1 October 2014)

In that hypothetical, I would ask Harriet if it's okay, then do it if she agrees that I can.

unanswered questions

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nakomi