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Your search for the tag 'warder bond' yielded 58 results
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1
Interview: Apr 20th, 2004
TOR Questions of the Week Part I (Verbatim)Week 9 Question
Is it possible to bond a Myrddraal like a Warder? For one of the Black Ajah or a Forsaken, for example? What happens then to such a person?Robert Jordan
It would be possible, but hardly wise because of the sharing of emotions. It is exceedingly likely that anyone who had a knot of Myrddraal emotions in his or her head, even to the small degree caused by the Warder bond, would very soon go insane. Myrddraal may contain human stock, but they are definitely not human. I don't think even Padan Fain could survive that without going madder than he already is.Tags
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2
Interview: Apr 20th, 2004
TOR Questions of the Week Part I (Verbatim)Week 13 Question
Is the White Tower currently aware of any way to completely dissolve/undo the bond between an Aes Sedai and her Warder so that the link no longer exists and all the positive and negative effects of the bond are removed?Robert Jordan
Yes, they are. It is called releasing a Warder, and an Aes Sedai who is very old or injured so badly that she knows she is going to die will, if she has the strength, release him so he doesn't suffer from her death. This does require the two of them to be together, and a little more time that laying on the bond. If they are physically apart, or she doesn't have enough time or strength remaining, touch on him.
It has also been used to get rid of a Warder who proved to be unsuitable in some way, such as a man who is discovered to be a thief or who takes reckless chances, a fighter of duels who won't stop without the bond being used to force him. No sister is going to want a Warder who will risk getting himself killed, with all the attendant results to her, for no very good reason.
Although use of the bond in that way (controlling) was not unknown in the past, it came to be regarded as a form of Compulsion to use it so except in the slightest forms. Besides, using the bond to control a Warder all the time is a lot of work. An Aes Sedai wants somebody who can watch her back and keep it safe, not somebody she has to work on all the time. (Which is one of the reasons Aes Sedai stopped bonding men against their will. Not ethical concerns or ethical growth, I'm afraid; it was just not very practical really.) Better simply to release the fellow who can't measure up and find another who will.
By the by, releasing a Warder except for cause (the Aes Sedai's imminent death, his own unsuitability) or because he has asked for release is something that JUST IS NOT DONE! It would gain the sister considerable opprobrium from other sisters. A sister certainly would be looked at askance if she released a Warder who was dying, for example, just to avoid the effects on her of his death. When an Aes Sedai bonds a Warder, she is expected to buy in for the full ride. For that matter, releasing him for unsuitability is considered to reflect on the sister's judgment. She should have known better about him from the start.
Tags
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3
Interview: Jul, 2002
COT: 'Glimmers' Ebook Q&A (Verbatim)Question
Do you feel that fantasy literature is heading in a more feminist direction? If so, what role has The Wheel of Time series played in that? Did you consciously focus on creating strong female characters? Who do you think is your strongest female character? Who is your favorite female character?Robert Jordan
Whether or not fantasy is becoming more feminist, I couldn’t say. If it is, I certainly don’t know whether The Wheel has played any part. There have been fantasies based at least in part on the feminist struggle for many years, long before I began writing these books. In fact, I have been accused of ignoring the feminist struggle, though that isn’t exactly true. I simply decided to write in a world where the feminist struggle occurred so long ago that no one even remembers it. People in this world may think that a woman acting as a guard on a merchant’s train of wagons is odd, but just because it’s a rare sight. (When weapons depend on upper body strength, as swords, spears, halberds and bows do, the people who end up wielding the weapons are usually those with the greatest upper body strength.) But if a merchant or a magistrate or a dock worker is a woman, that’s just part of the description. I mean, the most powerful single group in this world for the last three thousand plus years is all-female. The Aes Sedai are actually the most sexist bunch in town, in many ways. In the eyes of most of them, a Warder is a man. The very notion of a female strikes them as peculiar and even uneasy-making. Which might just be the remnants of knowledge of what the differences are between a bond that links a man and a woman and the bond that links two women. (RAFO, guys, though the clues are already there. And by the by, a bond linking two men is also different, just not different in the same way.)Tags
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4
Interview: Oct 25th, 1994
LOC Signing Report - Tony Zbaraschuk (Paraphrased)Question
What about Warders? I thought the previous glossaries (up to The Fires of Heaven) said that Aes Sedai couldn't sense the direction of their Warders?Robert Jordan
The link goes both ways. Aes Sedai CAN sense the direction (and, roughly, with some practice) the distance of their Warders. Those earlier glossary entries were an error carried over from a very early version of the glossary. If you read carefully, you will notice references in the earlier books to Aes Sedai sensing the direction of their Warders.Tony Zbaraschuk
[Anyone got a hint as to where those references are??]
[One of the other people at the signing mentioned the 'bonds' that Moiraine tied to Rand, Perrin, and Mat early in The Eye of the World. Those were directional, and I speculated that maybe they were related, in a very small way, to the Warder bond.]
Footnote
Encyclopaedia WoT keeps a list of errata here.Tags
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5
Interview: Apr 3rd, 1995
Letter to Carolyn Fusinato (Verbatim)Robert Jordan
No the Amyrlin did not change five times in seven years. I didn't catch the error before the book was published, though the correct sequence is there in my master chronology. The line in The Great Hunt should have read that "four of the last five" were from the Blue. The correct sequence is: Kirin Nelway (Brown) 922-950 NE; Noane Mosadim (Blue) 950-973 NE; Tamra Ospenya (Blue), 973-979 NE; Sierin Vayu (Gray), 979-984 NE; Marith Jaen (Blue), 984-988 NE; Siuan Sanche (blue), raised 998 NE. The correction is being made in the body of The Great Hunt and in the glossary.
That is the problem with doing books this large; sometimes even with all best efforts, something slips through when I think it has been made right. So there haven't been any lies [in answer to "does the Glossary lie?"]. Not even the "distance and location." You should have heard the howl I let out when that glossary entry was pointed out to me. "No! No, I changed that before the bloody book was published!" I have been working from the start that the Warder bond could be used as a sort of direction finder by both. Either can sense the direction of the other, though it gets more vague with distance, until with long distance the most you have is a general impression of, for example, "somewhere sort of to the west." Not distance, unless they are pretty close, except by using experience, figuring how far you've gone and how much stronger the feeling is. How do you think Moiraine and Lan never had any worries about hooking back up when they were separated? There have been hints at it and oblique references in several places.
Tags
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6
Interview: Jun 27th, 1996
AOL Chat 1 (Verbatim)Rog in CT
Rand recovered very quickly from his dual Healing. Is this because of the way men Heal or because of the Warder bond or both?Robert Jordan
Partly the Warder bond and partly the kind of Healing that was used on him. It should be obvious that Damer Flinn has discovered the same method of Healing that Nynaeve uses and of course, he still is not completely Healed, remember.Tags
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7
Interview: Jun 16th, 1995
East of the Sun Con - Karl-Johan Norén (Paraphrased)Robert Jordan
Regarding if the Warder bonding had similarities with the linking between a man and a woman he answered that there were bits and pieces that were similar, but that they in whole were very dissimilar.Tags
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8
Interview: Nov 11th, 1997
Barnes and Noble Chat (Verbatim)Nansen from Ithaca, NY
Hi, just curious. In the last section of The Eye of the World, Lan says that the bond does not tell him the direction where his Aes Sedai is exactly; it is just a general feeling. But then later in the series, both he and Rand had the ability to tell an exactly straight line direction the location of whom they are bonded to. Is this an inconsistency or is there an explanation? Thanks!Robert Jordan
Yes. There is an explanation. A change that was supposed to be made in manuscript in The Eye of the World and did not get set into type and which [has not] been corrected. I have been trying to get that changed every since I discovered that The Eye of the World has been published with the erroneous information. I hope they are still not printing the books with it.Footnote
Encyclopaedia WoT keeps a list of errata here.Tags
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9
Interview: Oct 19th, 1998
Barnes and Noble Chat (Verbatim)Ramo from Montreal, Canada
Hello, Mr. Jordan. I have enjoyed reading the Wheel of Time series since the beginning. Now throughout your books, we learn more and more about the fascinating relationship existing between a Warder and his Aes Sedai. We learn that even thought the Warder gains some abilities, he is not on equal footing with his Aes Sedai, who can even control to a certain degree his mind. Now, would you care telling us your personal views on "Warderhood," and if such a thing was possible would you be willing to be a Warder?Robert Jordan
Not on your life.Footnote
In a later Barnes and Noble chat, RJ said he wouldn't mind being a Warder.Tags
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10
Interview: Oct 19th, 1998
Barnes and Noble Chat (Verbatim)Stormy Conner from Texas
I would first like to say thank you for writing this wonderful series; it has been a pleasure reading the series and becoming familiar with your characters. My question, I believe, has been answered in the books but I want to clarify it in case I have been reading too much into it. Is the gift the Aes Sedai get from the bonding the ability to take or drain energy from their Warder for their own use? I believe this was stated in "New Spring" at the end, but I didn't know if it was a literal statement or figurative. Thank you for your time.Robert Jordan
That is one of the gifts. She can draw as much strength as she needs—as a matter of fact, she could take it all. In other words, she could kill him.Tags
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11
Interview: Oct 19th, 1998
Barnes and Noble Chat (Verbatim)Caleyna Sedai from Astoria, OR
Is it possible for an Ogier to be bonded as a Warder? I am not asking if it will happen, just if it is physically possible. We know that Ogier can be fierce warriors, so that shouldn't be a problem. Perhaps the bond could somehow reduce the Longing? An Ogier would make the perfect Warder for a Brown, if the bond were possible.Robert Jordan
Such a bond would be possible, but an Ogier would find it a very strange thing to be asked to do. I can't think of an Ogier on this side of the Aryth Ocean who would be willing to accept.Tags
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12
Interview: Nov 1st, 1998
SciFi.com Chat (Verbatim)Erica
Is Tai'daishar the foal of Daishar? Could someone bond Bela?...pause....Why? Any chance that Bela will foal during the series? Exactly how old is Bela supposed to be?Robert Jordan
(laughs) No...nobody could bond Bela. And for the rest of it, read and find out.Tags
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13
Interview: Nov 1st, 1998
SciFi.com Chat (Verbatim)Psilink
Is it possible to pass a Warder or any bond to a non-channeler? Or even a latent channeler?Robert Jordan
Read And Find Out. I have grown so used to that answer, that when my wife asks me if I want to go out for dinner this evening, I sometimes say "Read and find out." That's usually when she hits me.Tags
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14
Interview: Aug 30th, 1999
Sydney Independent Theatre Q&A (Verbatim)Question
Would a Gaidin be aware if his Aes Sedai was Black?Robert Jordan
There are some ways that the Aes Sedai can fuzz, so to speak, the two way nature of the bond. After all, think about it a minute. Do you know many women who'd really like to have this guy looking over her shoulder if she was getting it on with somebody? This minute that she doesn't really want him to know what's going on, what she's doing, she can fuzz the bond to the extent that Elyas Machera has to ask whether the woman who is his... who held his bond has perished. He needs to know. He can't be sure simply by feeling because she fuzzed the bond after he ran away so he wouldn't know until she tapped him on the shoulder.Tags
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15
Interview: Nov 10th, 2000
WH Signing Report - Brandon Downey (Paraphrased)Brandon Downey
Then, I asked my question, which concerned the Warder bond and the stedding.
QUESTION
What happens to an Aes Sedai's Warder bond if she enters a stedding? Can she still detect it? What if I tie off a weave, and enter a stedding? If the weave vanishes, will it reappear when I leave? If it won't reappear, why can't shielded/tied channelers such as Asmodean or Liandrin simply enter a stedding to have their shield dissolved?
Robert Jordan
No, of course not. An Aes Sedai would still be able to detect her Warder in the stedding.Brandon Downey
Then, I asked about going into the stedding with a weave of illusion tied on you:Robert Jordan
The weave would go away, and would not come back when you left.Brandon Downey
Then, of course, I asked: "Why couldn't Asmodean, or Lanfear, or someone else with a tied off shield go into a stedding and get themselves freed?"Robert Jordan
No. That's different.Brandon Downey
So, that's a confusing set of answers. Why is it that when shielded, the bond to your Warder can become faint enough that you don't notice it, whereas in the stedding it's just fine? Why is it that weaves that don't depend on you drawing the One Power don't work, but Wells do? And, why do shields (which are a species of a weave) that are tied off not subject to this constraint?Tags
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16
Interview: Nov 11th, 2000
Barnes and Noble Chat (Verbatim)Bela the Horse from Tel'aran'rhiod
What was the "extra bit" in The Path of Daggers? Was it the kiss or the bonding? Please help settle this long-standing dispute.Robert Jordan
The kiss is necessary, because that's how they learned to do it, because that's how the fellow that developed it did it. The extra bit is something in the bonding, and you'll find out what in Winter's Heart. You should have gotten a clue, I think, in the scene where the bonding took place.Tags
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17
Interview: Nov 14th, 2000
SciFi.com Chat (Verbatim)Linda
If an Aes Sedai links with other Aes Sedai, will or can the others then sense if she is bonded? Also, can an Aes Sedai (at least as far as the Tower knows) 'unbond' a Warder? It's been suggested that they will set a man free/release him if he really wants to leave, but does that mean 'unbond' him or simply 'not pursue' him and release him from whatever oaths he's sworn as a Warder?Robert Jordan
No. They can't sense it. I think you may be thinking about an adaption of bonds.Tags
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18
Interview: Apr 8th, 2001
Elf Fantasy Fair - Gonzo (Paraphrased)Frenzy
Can a Warder bond be passed to a non-channeler?Robert Jordan
"No." He also said that a non-channeler could be included; I think he was referring to Min.Tags
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19
Interview: Apr 6th, 2001
Dromen and Demonen Chat (Verbatim)Sanne-Liandra
You said time after time that Lan will die if Nynaeve dies. What about her? She's Aes Sedai, so she will live very long. And he's much older than her anyway. Would she be able to live without him?Robert Jordan
Lan is undergoing the severing effect of his bond to Moiraine, which means that he has lost the desire and will to live, which is being restored to him by Nynaeve, on top of which he loves her. If she dies he really really has no reason to stick around. As for Nynaeve, and Lan dying, women are always a lot tougher, emotionally, than men are. Nynaeve will cry for a very long time when Lan dies and she will go on living.Tags
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20
Interview: Apr 7th, 2001
Elf Fantasy Fair - Aan'allein (Verbatim)Question
Do Warders have a regular lifespan?Robert Jordan
Yes they do. They hang on to what you would call 'vitality' longer than the average man, but they live a normal lifespan. They do get things out of the bond, but not a longer life.Tags
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21
Interview: Jan 28th, 2003
COT Signing Report - Lady Voldemort (Paraphrased)Lady Voldemort
Is it possible for an Aes Sedai to bond someone Asha'man style?Robert Jordan
Yes, if they learned the weaves. The Asha'man know a lot more about bonding than the Aes Sedai. Some guy figured out how to bond their wives, and then they started concentrating on other things they could do with the bond. The Aes Sedai never experimented, just passed on what they knew.Tags
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22
Interview: Feb 26th, 2003
tarvalon.net Q&A (Verbatim)Question
If an Aes Sedai is stilled and then Healed, what happens to the bond with her Warder(s), if they don't die?Robert Jordan
Once the bond is severed, it's severed.Tags
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23
Interview: Jul 14th, 2005
ComicCon Report - Diomedes (Paraphrased)Diomedes
If I can remember correctly, I asked, "When a Warder's bond is passed is the original bond still intact or is it broken?"
Not the best choice of words, I admit, but I was nervous. A problem that would repeat itself, unfortunately, the following day.
Robert Jordan
In any case, RJ's answer was a terse, "No. It's a transfer. A transfer."Diomedes
Now, I'm sure everyone will have their own interpretation, but I still believe that he's indicating that there is only one bond, and it is passed from one Aes Sedai to another. That is, to extrapolate, Lan is not suffering effects from having his bond with Moiraine broken.Tags
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24
Interview: Sep 2nd, 2005
DragonCon Report - Isabel (Paraphrased)Zaela Sedai
Then she asked if Lan and Myrelle slept together.
Isabel
(I thought it was duh, although it probably happened with tweaking the bond.)
Robert Jordan
And for Jordan is was also duh, yeah they slept together.Tags
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25
Interview: Oct 4th, 2005
Robert Jordan
For Randshammer, you might say that mortals made the Horn of Valere. They certainly weren't gods.No, the story is NOT a dream. Jeez Marie!
A very strong male channeler bonded to a very weak Aes Sedai could not use the bond to control her. Whoever holds the bond is in charge, though she might have a hard time controlling him.
Everybody fears death because the being that is reborn, while possessing the same soul, will not be the same person. The fear is simple. I will cease to exist. Someone else will exist, bearing my soul. But I will cease. I have met many believers in reincarnation, and most of them seem to fear death just as much as anyone else.
Yes, Elayne, Nynaeve and Egwene could pass the test for Aes Sedai with their current abilities, though Nynaeve might be a little hard pressed. Too much specialization.
And finally, as I have said, I would not change anything in the books except the way that I structured Crossroads of Twilight.
Tags
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26
Interview: Oct 5th, 2005
Robert Jordan
For Matrimoni Cauthon, Rand gets only the same benefits as he got from being bonded to one Aes Sedai. It neither multiplies nor divides. Each of a Green's Warders get the same amount of benefits as the single Warder of another sister.
Tags
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27
Interview: Oct 5th, 2005
Robert Jordan
For Roland Arien, a lot of people have asked questions about Alric's death. I should have made matters plainer. As I envisioned it, Alric, having sensed Siuan's extreme shock, came running to her and arrived just in time to be stabbed just before Siuan was taken into the anteroom. She should have sensed the knife going in, but that was masked by her shock. When she sees him lying there, he is dying, though not yet dead. As I said, I should have made it plainer.
Tags
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28
Interview: Oct 24th, 2005
KOD Signing Report - Kevin Dean (Paraphrased)Question
The NEXT guy asked how the bond the Asha'man use is different than the Warder bond of the Aes Sedai.Robert Jordan
He explained that the bond is different because it contains that "extra bit" about obedience. Aes Sedai bound to Asha'man are compelled to comply with the demands of the men. While Aes Sedai can do this to their Warders, it requires work each time. He mentioned that Logain thinks that extra bit can be easily removed, but that the Asha'man feel this is EXTREMELY necessary. A Warder would not kill his Aes Sedai when she turned her back, but the Asha'man have NO such safety with their bound Aes Sedai.Tags
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29
Interview: Oct 24th, 2005
KOD Signing Report - Fomu (Paraphrased)Fomu
One question that I found interesting, although it slipped my mind last evening, if only for RJ's slick response. The question was about the differences between the Warder bond and the Asha'man bonding of an Aes Sedai.Robert Jordan
From a mechanical standpoint, RJ explained that the bonds themselves are very different weaves, but that is more because of the differences in the situations. It is very unlikely that a Warder would ever try and kill their Aes Sedai, but that is not the case for an Asha'man and his bonded Aes Sedai. The Asha'man bond requires obedience of the Aes Sedai because the Asha'man would be in danger of her if she did not obey his every command. The Warder bond is different in that the Aes Sedai can bend her Warder to her will, but only with some effort on her part.
RJ quoted from his own book how Logain stated that the Asha'man bond could be easily modified so that the obedience requirement was removed, and here is the important part and I will quote from memory, "but that has not happened, thus far."
Fomu
Those last two words were said with his head turning away from the microphone and with a pause before they were said. I'm not trying to be a conspiracy theorist here, but maybe this is RJ's way of saying we'll see an example of a more equitable bonding between Asha'man and Aes Sedai in the future.Tags
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30
Interview: Oct 28th, 2005
KOD Signing Report - Frenzy (Paraphrased)Frenzy
But what I DID get to ask, was this: Can a person who hasn't actively channeled yet be severed or stilled?Robert Jordan
Jordan's response (paraphrased) "No, you have to have something to take away something, so a person has to have an active connection to the Source to be able to have it cut."Frenzy
Oh, the mayhem I can have with this little nugget.
small: This explains why the Reds haven't summarily tried to gentle every boy at birth or every man by 30.
big: If it takes an active link to the Source to slow, or to be stilled, then what about all those other attributes that sul'dam gain with use of the a'dam? Where do they come from? How did they get there?
bigger: Is it possible that those attributes are NOT directly linked to the Source? Could it be merely the exposure to the One Power that gives sul'dam that ability? What about a Warder? Could a same-sex non-channeling warder develop those attributes over time?
I need sleep now, I'll ponder this more later.
Tags
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31
Interview: Dec 19th, 2005
Robert Jordan's Blog: THIS AND THAT (Verbatim)Robert Jordan
For David, Warders don't slow. They age at a natural pace, but they do maintain vitality and vigor beyond the levels associated with most ordinary men. That said, I recently saw a photograph of a man in his seventies who had an absolutely ripped six-pack. In fact, from the neck down, if you were told you were looking at somebody in his 20s or 30s, you'd just think he was in incredible shape. And he wasn't bonded to anyone. Also, Aes Sedai can release a Warder from the bond. In fact, I have said that most Aes Sedai who have time to realize that they are dying will release any Warders they have in order to spare them the effects. I'm pretty certain I have said that publicly, by the way.
As an aside, I saw somewhere that I supposedly said that Sharina Melloy will not grow younger. If I did, then I misspoke. Sharina will not grow young, but she will grow younger in appearance, as will any other older women who begin to channel. For Sharina, by way of example, she will "regress" into apparent middle age, but no younger.
Footnote
It's not clear where RJ is purported to have said this, since the only instance we have on record is from 2006.Tags
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32
Interview: Oct 21st, 1994
AOL Chat 2 (Verbatim)Question
Why is Myrelle so heartless? She nearly let Lan die. Why?Robert Jordan
She's dealing with a man capable of taking her head off before even she could blink and a man who's in a mental state where she can't be sure he won't.Tags
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33
Interview: Nov 14th, 2009
TGS Signing Report - Matoyak (Paraphrased)Roga
Does Elayne know that Alanna bonded Rand?Brandon Sanderson
Uh...well...I'll have to check that. MAFO. Good question.
Maria Simons
From Winter’s Heart, chapter 12, Rand speaking to Elayne, Aviendha, and Min: “Anyway, Alanna Mosvani got there ahead of you, and she didn’t bother asking . . . I’ve been bonded to her for months now.”
Footnote—Terez
I asked around about this because I believed that Mato had misheard the name, and that the question was actually about whether Egwene knew about the bonding. (Many people pronounce it egg-WEEN instead of the proper egg-WAIN, so it's easy for those people to hear 'Elayne' when 'Egwene' is pronounced correctly.) The question was asked by Roga, a Stormleader, and he clarified:
Roga
If this question came from the Dallas signing, then it was from me. I asked about Egwene.
The reason behind the question was, I wanted to know: if Alanna's name had been on Verin's list in The Gathering Storm, would Egwene have passed over it? However, Brandon pointed out that Verin knew about the bond, so unless she had some reason to keep quiet, I'd think she should've made some kind of special warning note if Alanna had been in her list.
Maria Simons
Egwene did not know.
Tags
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34
Interview: Nov 17th, 2009
TGS Signing Report - Robert Moreau (Verbatim)Question
Was the Warder bond originally created to control male channelers?Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.Tags
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35
Interview: Nov 17th, 2009
TGS Signing Report - Robert Moreau (Verbatim)Question
Rand is bonded to four people. If one of them was to die, what would be the effect on him?Brandon Sanderson
We know that immediate bonding to someone else helps with the 'Warder rage'—it doesn't completely get rid of it. I would say that your instincts are right, that it would help. I don't think that it would negate everything.Tags
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36
Interview: Jun 10th, 2010
Luckers
Min says she was never able to master the 'ignoring heat/cold' trick. And we've never seen any non-channeler master it. Is it something only a channeler can do?Maria Simons
It shouldn't be. Of course, it's been kept secret from most non-channelers, so that's not really evidence. I think that part of it is that a channeler is used to controlling things more—they have to have more focus and self-discipline just to manage the One Power, so they are better at controlling their reactions in general, and the trick works better for them because of it.Luckers
In the same note is that why Min couldn’t mask her bond?Maria Simons
Yes.Tags
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37
Interview: Nov 2nd, 2010
TOM Signing Report - Matt Hatch (Paraphrased)Matt Hatch
Is there a distance to pain sensitivity with the Warder bond? In essence, would I still know my Aes Sedai was being tortured or would it just be a dull pain if I was at a great distance?Brandon Sanderson
Yes, distance does matter. But no, you would know that she was being tortured, even at a great distance.Tags
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38
Interview: Dec, 2010
Lordjuss
Did Naeff bond Nelavaire or was it the other way around? Where did she come from—was she one of Cadsuane's companions or one of Toveine's assault force?Brandon Sanderson
The other way around, and neither. Nelavaire is one of the 23 Aes Sedai who were captured at Dumai's Wells and later swore fealty to Rand.Tags
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39
Interview: Mar 11th, 2011
Verin Q&A with Maria Simons (Verbatim)Question
Verin ends up in the Two Rivers. Who sent Verin to the Two Rivers?Maria Simons
RAFO.Question
Did Verin's trip to the Two Rivers have anything to do with Verin's plans to betray the Dark One?Maria Simons
RAFO.Question
Did Verin ask Alanna to accompany her to the Two Rivers? If not, why did Alanna accompany her?Maria Simons
RAFO.Question
Has Alanna been keeping an eye on Verin? After all, twice she went to the kitchens after Verin did, plus she went to the Two Rivers with her, and both went to Fal Dara.Maria Simons
RAFO.Question
If it was Verin's choice to bring Alanna, was Alanna's emotional state a factor in that choice?Maria Simons
RAFO.Question
Did Verin ever use compulsion on Alanna?Maria Simons
RAFO.Question
Did Verin ever suspect Alanna of being Black Ajah?Maria Simons
RAFO.Question
Was Alanna's bonding of Rand something she was encouraged to do by Verin?Maria Simons
RAFO.Question
Was Alanna's bonding of Rand something the Black Ajah, Forsaken or Dark One told her to do?Maria Simons
RAFO.Question
Did Verin have any idea the Shadow was going to attack the Two Rivers?Maria Simons
RAFO.Question
Did Verin know who Luc was?Maria Simons
RAFO.Question
Did Verin know of Slayer's unique nature?Maria Simons
RAFO.Question
Have Verin and Slayer ever met, even unknowingly?Maria Simons
RAFO.Tags
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40
Interview: Apr 17th, 2011
Driving Mr. Sanderson - Terez (Verbatim)Terez
Is the sky clear above Alanna or only the harem? (Brandon, who was reading from my list of questions, refused to say 'harem' and said 'THE THREE WOMEN' before I cut him off with my uproarious laughter.)Brandon Sanderson
Was that yours?
Terez
Why is that offensive?
Brandon Sanderson
What's that?
Terez
They are a harem.
Brandon Sanderson
No.
Terez
They are!
Brandon Sanderson
Noooo! Harem...I don’t know if it really does imply...but a harem implies women who sit around and do nothing...
Terez
This is true.
Brandon Sanderson
...until the man, um, wishes...
Terez
It’s an affectionate name for them.
Brandon Sanderson
Yes. But I have seen that um, that phrase before, and...yes. Is the sky clear above Alanna? I’m going to RAFO Alanna. Alanna’s got an interesting thread still, so...
Terez
Yay!
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Interview: Aug 31st, 2011
Reddit AMA 2011 (Verbatim)Terez
Why did Moiraine's bond with Lan break when the doorway burned? Did she intentionally release it?Brandon Sanderson
She did not intentionally release it. RJ has something about this in the notes, but I don't have the quote handy. It basically has to do with the severing of the link between worlds.Tags
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Interview: Oct 15th, 2011
NY ComicCon Report - Ted Herman (Paraphrased)Ted Herman
How did Fain know that the ruby dagger was in the White Tower, since last he knew it was in Falme, and now it is thousands of miles away (when he was in Emond's Field)?Brandon Sanderson
He has a super detection ability for the dagger, like the Warder Bond, so he can know direction and distance.Tags
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Interview: Jan 21st, 2003
COT Signing Report - Ajierene (Paraphrased)Robert Jordan
Ogier can bond with Aes Sedai, it's just a different kind of bond. I didn't go into asking why, since there was a line behind me and I had one more questions.Tags
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Interview: Dec 15th, 2011
Alloy of Law Signing Report - Zas (Verbatim)Zas (Terez)
When Lan tracked down Myrelle in Lord of Chaos, she used the bond to Compel him to come to her, in such a way that he wouldn't detect it. Did she have to use the bond to seduce Lan, or did he just go along because he didn't have anything better to do?
Brandon Sanderson
(laughter) I'd have to look that one up. I don't know. I'd have to look it up. I don't have the answer to that one. We'll call that one a MAFO though. I'm actually curious myself (laughter).
Maria Simons
The question poses a false dichotomous argument: was Lan "seduced" by the bond or did he have nothing better to do? [Terez: it was a joke.] Suffice to say that Lan was psychologically devastated at this point—not in his right mind, his will to live shattered. Myrelle took control of him to save his life; he really had no choice in the matter. And here’s a quote from the notes for you: “She had to use the bond to compel [notice lower case here] him, sometimes, which she found both odd and somewhat insulting.” But one has to put this in the context of her other Warders, who eagerly complied with her desires, carnal or otherwise.
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Interview: Oct 25th, 1994
LOC Signing Report - Edward Liu (Paraphrased)Question
Someone asked him about bonding between Aes Sedai and Gaidin.Robert Jordan
He said that the ability to locate the other is not at all an exact ability. He said something like they can sense distance only in the sense that the feeling of the other person becomes stronger or weaker. I suppose this is nothing new.Tags
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Interview: Apr, 2012
Afternoon Tea with Brandon Sanderson - Luckers (Paraphrased)Luckers
Verin infers that Tomas had to die within an hour of their betrayal of the Dark One, which is odd because he didn’t have that requirement, and she could have released him from the bond, so I was wondering, was Verin playing here?Brandon Sanderson
What you have to understand is Tomas was tired of this world. Without Verin, he didn’t really want to be around...
LUCKERS
So Tomas is dead?
BRANDON SANDERSON
Yes. Tomas is dead. She could have released him, yes, but he didn’t want that.
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Interview: 2013
Twitter 2013 (WoT) (Verbatim)Jourdan Vian (23 January 2013)
What would've happened had Elayne not bonded Birgitte, given how Birgitte's death went in A Memory of Light?Brandon Sanderson (23 January 2013)
I believe she'd still have come when the Horn was blown.Tags
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Interview: 2013
Twitter 2013 (WoT) (Verbatim)Aaron Oster (23 January 2013)
If, hypothetically, there was a body switch in WoT, how would it happen? Would it be an actual switch or illusion?Brandon Sanderson (23 January 2013)
There are far more reasons, worldbuilding wise, to believe it was real than to believe it was illusion.
TJ
Is Rand's soul in Moridin's body?
Brandon Sanderson
Ha. Right to the point, are you? Let's just say that trickery is not likely in this case.
TJ
Can you confirm that Rand's body was burned at the end of A Memory of Light?
Brandon Sanderson
Okay, fine. Yes, I will confirm that Rand's body was indeed the one that was burned. :)
Jonathan MacAlpine
Why didn't anybody notice when a supposedly-dead Moridin got up and walked away?
Brandon Sanderson
I'd say coincidence. But there aren't many of those in the WoT world.
Siraaj
Seems like a conversation between the Creator and Rand was missing where "switch" and Alivia's role in it are laid out—thoughts?
Brandon Sanderson
I believe that RJ included everything he wanted in this sequence.
Jason Cassidy
Why did Rand switch bodies at the end and why is he going incognito now? Did not understand that part.
Brandon Sanderson
RJ wrote these scenes, and intended to leave them as is. I don't think me delving into explanations is what he'd want.
El Brian
Did the bonding between Rand, Nynaeve, Elayne, and Min transfer over to the new body?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, though I don't know how or why.
Kamarile Sedai
Why did the bond survive the body switch at the end of A Memory of Light?
Brandon Sanderson
I don't know. RJ did not explain this one to me.
J Crosby
How were Rand/Elan able to switch bodies?
Sean Duffy
How did Rand wind up with Moridin's body?
James Starke
Could you explain further about the body switch and how it was possible?
Brandon Sanderson
This is one that I'm not answering, I'm afraid. RJ wanted some things about the ending to remain ambiguous.
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Interview: Feb 6th, 2013
AMOL Signing Report - Simka (Paraphrased)Simka
I asked Brandon why Alanna hung onto Rand's bond right up until the moment of her death, especially when it caused her so much grief. I haven't seen any discussion on this issue, and I don't know whether anyone else besides me was curious about it, but there it is.Brandon Sanderson
Brandon paused for a long time, and I actually thought he was going to RAFO me, but I guess he was just considering his answer. Unless I write things down as they happen, I have no short term memory for people's exact words, so I can only paraphrase him. He said that Aes Sedai have trouble letting go of anything [as we are all well aware]; they feel that you never know when something will come in handy. So until Alanna became aware that her death while holding Rand's bond would adversely affect the outcome of his battle with the Dark One, she wouldn't release it. Almost as an afterthought he added that just having a way to locate Rand had had some value [for the Lightside, I gathered].Tags
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Interview: Feb 9th, 2013
AMOL Signing Report - KiManiak (Paraphrased)Birgit (@43)
Will the type of telepathy that Pevara and Androl share through their bond be affected/impacted by distance?Brandon Sanderson
Brandon answered (paraphrasing) that distance would affect the strength of their communication.
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Interview: Feb 22nd, 2013
AMOL Signing Report - Terez (Verbatim)Terez
Was Alanna captured in Tear?
Brandon Sanderson
No. She managed to get away from Tear.
Terez
Okay. Good answer. (crosstalk)
Brandon Sanderson
Good question.
Terez
What happened to her Warder, Ihvon?
Brandon Sanderson
Her Warder Ihvon um, met...
Terez
...(laughs)
Brandon Sanderson
It is not happy.
Terez
Unpleasant fate, okay.
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Interview: Feb 22nd, 2013
AMOL Signing Report - Terez (Verbatim)Terez
Why didn't the bond protect Bryne's dreams?
Brandon Sanderson
Why didn't the bond protect Bryne's dreams!
Terez
The Warder Bond...
Brandon Sanderson
Yes! Um....(pauses to think)
Terez
Is it an active thing?
Brandon Sanderson
What's that?
Terez
Is it an active thing, like...she has to....Moiraine kind of phrased it like it wasn't...
Brandon Sanderson
Yeah. No, no no.
Terez
...like, because of the bond, he's protected.
Brandon Sanderson
Yeah. (long pause) Why don't I MAFO this one so I don't say it wrong, because I had to go to Maria on this one.
Terez
Right. Yeah, okay.
Brandon Sanderson
...if that makes sense. And so, I will tell you wrong. I will MAFO it, because it's one I had to talk to her about. So we'll go back to the source of me being...or me working these things out in the first place.
Terez
Okay.
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Interview: Feb 22nd, 2013
AMOL Signing Report - J. Dauro (Verbatim)Question
How come Lan couldn’t tell that Moiraine was alive, and with the Aelfinn and the Eelfinn? Because he felt the severing of the bond?
Brandon Sanderson
He did not have the bond any more. Since the bond was severed, he couldn't feel her any more.
Question
But why would the bond be severed, she was still alive?
Brandon Sanderson
RJ says it is because she went to another dimension, and when that slice happened, it cut the bond. The bond couldn't function across the dimension there without some sort of connection there, without some sort of opening portal or something like that.
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Interview: Apr 15th, 2013
Reddit AMA 2013 (Verbatim)stagfury ()
I'm also wondering about the several duel with Demandred. Isn't Gawyn a bit too weak in this book? From the previous books, Gawyn was said to be able to easily take down other Warders and even win in a practice against two Warders together. Then with a single Bloodknife ring, the wearer is supposed to have superhuman strength/speed that can't really be matched, and he was using not one but three rings. While Galad has been established throughout the series to be better than Gawyn, I find it strange that Galad was able to hurt Demandred with nothing but a imperfect foxhead medallion copy, while Gawyn with three Bloodknives rings and Warder bond didn't remotely stand a chance against Demandred?Brandon Sanderson
Gawyn is good, but not really, really good. In addition, he has an inflated sense of HOW good he is. He doesn't have the inner control and understanding to be a fully capable swordsman. Beyond that, he mistakes power for ability, and lets himself grow too reckless. Finally, having enhanced abilities, such as the rings grant him, doesn't immediately give you the skill to make full use of those abilities. Gawyn tried, and deserves credit for that, but in the end he had not spent years preparing himself properly to win that particular contest.Tags
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Interview: Apr, 2013
Waygate Foundation Q&A (Verbatim)Question
Did Jain Charin become a servant of the Shadow in part due to Moiraine having bonded Lan? He must have felt it a huge betrayal, the last Malkieri king submitting to being Bonded after the White Tower failed to help Malkier. Was he the one to train Isam once he became a Darkfriend?Maria Simons
No, he didn't become a servant of the Shadow because Moiraine bonded Lan. He did not become a servant of the Shadow of his own free will. The Shadow used him and Graendal Compelled him. He did not train Isam.Tags
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Interview: Nov 1st, 2013
Brandon Sanderson's Blog: The Wheel of Time Retrospective: A Memory of Light: The Black Tower (Verbatim)Brandon Sanderson
Androl and Pevara
In working on the Black Tower plot, one thing I realized early on was that I wanted a new viewpoint character to be involved. One reason was that we didn't have anyone to really show the lives of the everyday members of the Black Tower. It felt like a hole in the viewpoint mosaic for the series. In addition, each Wheel of Time book—almost without exception—has either introduced a new viewpoint character or added a great deal of depth to a character who had only seen minimal use before. As we were drawing near to the end of the series, I didn't want to expand this very far. However, I did want to add at least one character across the three books I was doing.
I went to Team Jordan with the suggestion that I could fulfill both of these purposes by using one of the rank-and-file members of the Black Tower, preferably someone who wasn't a full Asha'man and was something of a blank slate. They suggested Androl. The notes were silent regarding him, and while he had been around, he so far hadn't had the spotlight on him. He seemed the perfect character to dig into.
A few more things got spun into this sequence. One was my desire to expand the usage of gateways in the series. For years, as an aspiring writer, I imagined how I would use gateways if writing a book that included them. I went so far as to include in the Stormlight Archive a magic system built around a similar teleportation mechanic. Being able to work on the Wheel of Time was a thrill for many reasons, but one big one was that it let me play with one of my favorite magic systems and nudge it in a few new directions. I've said that I didn't want to make a large number of new weaves, but instead find ways to use established weaves in new ways. I also liked the idea of expanding on the system for people who have a specific talent in certain areas of the One Power.
Androl became my gateway expert. Another vital key in building him came from Harriet, who mailed me a long article about a leatherworker she found in Mr. Jordan's notes. She said, "He was planning to use this somewhere, but we don't know where."
One final piece for his storyline came during my rereads of the series, where I felt that at times the fandom had been too down on the Red Ajah. True, they had some serious problems with their leadership in the books, but their purpose was noble. I feel that many readers wanted to treat them as the Wheel of Time equivalent of Slytherin—the house of no-goods, with every member a various form of nasty. Robert Jordan himself worked to counteract this, adding a great deal of depth to the Ajah by introducing Pevara. She had long been one of my favorite side characters, and I wanted her to have a strong plot in the last books. Building a relationship between her and Androl felt very natural to me, as it not only allowed me to explore the bonding process, but also let me work a small romance into the last three books—another thing that was present in most Wheel of Time books. The ways I pushed the Androl/Pevara bond was also something of an exploration and experiment. Though this was suggested by the things Robert Jordan wrote, I did have some freedom in how to adapt it. I felt that paralleling the wolf bond made sense, with (of course) its own distinctions.
Finding a place to put the Pevara/Androl sequence into the books, however, proved difficult. Towers of Midnight was the book where we suffered the biggest time crunch. That was the novel where I'd plotted to put most of the Black Tower sequence, but in the end it didn't fit—partially because we just didn't have time for me to write it. So, while I did finish some chapters to put there, the soul of the sequence got pushed off to A Memory of Light, if I managed to find time for it.
I did find time—in part because of cutting the Perrin sequence. Losing those 17,000 words left an imbalance to the pacing of the final book. It needed a plot sequence with more specific tension to balance out the more sweeping sequences early in the book where characters plan, plot, and argue. I was able to expand Androl/Pevara to fit this hole, and to show a lot of things I really wanted to show in the books.
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