layne's Dirty Little Secret
by Captain Cauthon: 2003-01-26 | Not yet rated
It seems like an extreme sideshow, but does anyone else ever wonder what happened in PoD when Elayne was testing the ter'angreal that she got from Ebou Dar? There was only one mention of the embarrassing incident at the time, but it seems that there's another in CoT and possibly one more in WH. Here's what we know of the incident:
POD, Into Andor
She experiments with a ter'angreal that is described as a foot long crimson rod that is wrist-thick, firm rather than hard, and felt, "hot; hot, in a way." Going by that feeling, she tries to use a weave of Fire to test it. Next thing she knows, she's waking up the next day in her shift, surrounded by Nynaeve, Aviendha, and Birgitte. Everyone's amused, but Birgitte feels a combination of relief and extreme hilarity. Everyone else she sees, including Aes Sedai and the Kin, are all greatly amused as well.
WH, A Lily in Winter
Upset about the reflected feelings from Elayne getting intimate with Rand, Birgitte agrees to Aviendha's suggestion to get wasted on oosquai. Birgitte says that she plans on getting, "...drunk enough to...well...to take off my clothes and dance on the table. And not a hair drunker." She and Aviendha exchange a look after that and then laugh about it being a wonderful joke.
CoT, High Seats
Right after Elayne finally gets rid of the Sea Folk who invade her bath, she berates her Guardswomen for letting them in. In doing so, she starts to feel the reflected embarrassment from Birgitte. Picking up on this, Aviendha says, "I think you two will make each other melt, one day" followed by, "But then, you already played that joke, Birgitte Trahelion." Birgitte scowls at Aviendha after that and Elayne feels sudden alarm crushing embarrassment in through the bond.
It seems pretty clear that at least the first and third references are linked. The question is, what did Elayne do that would amuse all of those people, but prove too embarrassing to tell her later? While the description of the rod would seem to suggest something sexual, I'm not entirely sure since I think that most of the Aes Sedai and Kin would be more disapproving than amused if Elayne had been say, making out with every guy in the tavern that they were in. Still though, little else seems to fit with the description of the rod and everyone's reaction to the event. From the reference in WH though, I'd speculate that Elayne probably did exactly what Birgitte aluded to and danced naked on a table in the common room of the inn that they were in at the time.
Of course, I could be wrong and maybe Birgitte found herself a nice ugly guy in the common room while Elayne did something else, but we'll probably never find out for sure.
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1
Tamyrlin: 2003-01-27
It is strange that Jordan added this to the books, but I would imagine that someone made a ter'angreal with other purposes than making war in mind. Probably some Second Age War protester (Make Love Not War). :) I can't tell if Jordan is being coy by describing the item as he did, but it appears that it make her do something that everyone could have seen, so maybe you are right, maybe it caused her to strip down and dance the night away...and her friends stopped her before she embarrassed herself too much.
2
WinespringBrother: 2003-01-27
Regarding the episode in POD with the ter'angreal that Elayne experimented with: in the WOT RPG, there is mention of a ter'angreal that if misused, causes an illusion of the person's fantasies to be broadcast and causing the person to pass out. This is the Ebon Scepter. It is warm to the touch, and activated by fire.
This sounds similar to what happened to Elayne.
3
Therilon: 2003-01-29
While I am not sure if this is the Ter'Angreal, in the WoT Roleplaying Guide Ter'angreal chapter, it descibes a Ter'Angreal, the Ebon Scepter.
"As thick as a man's wrist and 12 inches long, this smooth rod made of polished black stone always feels hot to the touch. It responds to a flow of Fire. When a user channels Fire into it, the rod allows her to create elaborate visual and aural illusions of up to 30 feet in diametre. Touching the illusion, or touching something with it, reaveals its nature. Similarily, a Will save (DC 20) allows anyone viewing the illusion to realize its unreal nature. The scepter poses some dnader to the user, however. When activating it, the user must make a Concentration check (DC 18). If she succeeds, the rod functions normally, with no side affects. If she fails, the rod takes control of her mind. She passes out, awakening 1d6+3 hours later. While sleeps, the rod creates an illusion of here fantasies and/or dreams, broadcasting them for anyone nearby to see."
WoT Roleplaying Guide,pg 296.
If this is it, it might explain why everyone is embarrased. :)
4
Janstince: 2003-03-12
Except that this rod is crimson, not black. True, otherwise it is the same, however, we do know that when it comes to ter'angreal, color matters. Perhaps with this one you can't create an illusion even with concentration because it was mis-made to just knock you out right away, or something. On the other hand, I like the idea of Elayne running downstairs in her birthday suit, singing at the top of her lungs. And we all know RJ is enough of a dirty ol' man to do this kind of thing :P.
On the other hand, I'm not too sure that the last two references were connected to the first. I assumed that Elayne making Birgitte "melt" was when she was making the beast with two backs with Rand, and Birgitte returned the favor by getting extremely drunk, thereby causing Elayne to get drunk. Something interesting from there: "Stretching languorously beneath the blankets, she remembered her abandon the night before-and most of the day as well! She could hardly believe it had been her!-and thought that she should be blushing like the sun." (WH:A Lily in Winter:339 Paperback). Of course, to me this sounds like drunken sex, and Birgitte's revenge for getting it on with Rand in the first place. Interesting to think that it might be related to the rod, tho.
5
Aiel Finn: 2005-04-18
What if the rod did something like the freeing of fantasies thing while at the same time Brigette was drinking enough to kill Mat. Think how Elayne would be with that buzz.
6
Garayur: 2005-04-19
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I just saw this theory. That has been bugging me since Forever. I think that the Terangreal was a way of getting wasted fast. It probably did make her Incredibly drunk.
7
Davian93: 2005-04-20
****. I just saw this theory. That has been bugging me since Forever. I think that the Terangreal was a way of getting wasted fast. It probably did make her Incredibly drunk. ****
I think it's definitely more about a sexual fantasy than Elayne simply getting drunk. I would say she probably did dance naked or do some sort of strip tease for the patrons at the inn. The color and the "fire" reference are infer a sexual connotation for the rod. There are also the reactions of the people present at the time. Just a thought.
8
plink0025: 2006-01-15
just thought i'd throw in my crazy theory about this, since i have one:
the first time i read that passage a about elayne's experimentation with the crimson rod ter'angreal, it's description as "wrist-thick", "firm rather than hard", and "hot, in a way."
"hot in a way" seems to suggest... arousal or eroticism. the rod itself sounds a lot like a certain device that i found in my sister's sock drawer. it is my theory that elayne went into some kind of hypnotic-masturbation using the rod.
i'd guess that while she's out, somebody besides nynaeve, birgitte, or aviendha sees her like this, before nynave & co. can snap her out of it and get her dressed.
word then spreads throughout the camp, but they kin, aes sedai, and wind finders aren't that put off by it: "by the quickly hidden grins she saw from windfinders and kinswoman as well as sisters"
-kin and aes sedai: they're like 200 years old and most of them don't seem to have sex, they must do the same thing quite often. in fact, i think that they would find this much more acceptable than "running around, making-out with every man in sight", for example.
-wind finders: the sea folk seem to be pretty free about sex and stuff, why would they care?
what do you think?
9
Cirrus: 2006-01-16
i think its just more likley it burnt off her dress, leaving her in her shift. because of that surge through the bond, birgette probaly did something incredibly stupid at that time, and everyone present knew about the bond, therefore knew that Elayne was the source
10
snakes-n-foxes: 2006-01-16
Jordan being Jordan, the ebon scepter in the RPG was probably the heterosexual version of the scarlet scepter...who knows !
But it does seem likely all quotes listed in the original post were tied together.
And so why would Birgitte be vastly amused in the first instance (when Elayne wakes up), yet alarmed when Aviendha suggests that Birgitte already made Elayne melt ?
11
Darkdwarf: 2007-08-09
Maybe it showed some scene with elayne and birgitte...
Maybe the vision was Birgitte declarating her love for Elayne...
