11 replies to this topic

[RedAjahWarder]

Last year, after finishing The Gathering Storm, I shared some thoughts over on Tor.com for a cool scene that I hoped would be in Towers of Midnight. It's not related to Moiraine's rescue directly, but rather its immediate side effects. Picture this:

Nynaeve Travels to Tarwin's Gap to join the Golden Crane in its battle against the Shadow. To her utter horror, she arrives with the battle in progress. Frantic, she searches for Lan, only to find him lying on the ground, mortally wounded. Heartbroken, she kneels over Lan's body (as per Min's viewing), overcome with grief. Her anguish is particularly wrenching because in spite of the Healing skills she is so proud of, she was unable to save her own husband. But just as the last speck of life is about to vanish from Lan's body, his eyes fly open and he gasps, "Moiraine!" because at that very instant, Thom and Mat pull the Blue Sister out of Finnland. Only now, Moiraine is insanely powerful, having received Lanfear's level of power due to the latter's inferior bargaining skills with the Eelfinn. With the warder bond now restored, all that energy surges into Lan, bringing him back from the brink of death.

Once Nynaeve realizes what just happened, any lingering resentment she harbors for Moiraine vanishes: instead of standing between Lan and Nynaeve, Moiraine has just given Lan back to her.

I thought this would have been a very dramatic and effective way to reconcile Moiraine's return with the other two characters, both of which were strongly linked to Moiraine in earlier books: Lan through the Warder bond, and Nynaeve through her old simmering hatred.

Of course, it rested on a number of assumptions that did not pan out:

(1) The warder bond would be somehow restored between Moiraine and Lan upon the former's return, despite Myrelle holding the bond;
(2) Moiraine would be stronger upon her return;
(3) There is s direct correlation between the strength of the Aes Sedai and the benefits that the Warder receives from the bond.

Tenuous assumptions, so the theory was always a bit of a stretch. Still, it would have been cool.

[Marie]

I really hope Lan doesn't die before he sees Moiraine alive and well. Although I've began to think he might be a bit ticked at her for not being dead after all.

[Erika Sedai]

It would have been really amazing if that had happened!

A lot more spetacular than what did.

[RedAjahWarder]

Maybe he'll throw her in a pond again next time he sees her.

The dynamics over Lan's bond was another underwhelming aspect of the series; it had been an outstanding issue for so long that I was sure RJ had more elaborate intentions for it, but in Towers of Midnight, Nynaeve simply goes to find Myrelle, asks for the bond, and gets it.

But I guess we'll see how things go in aMoL.

[Marie]

Yeah that was very anti-climatic. And I suspect Egwene never told Nynaeve what Myrelle told her: that Moiraine intended the bond for Nynaeve.

[Deadsy]

Marie, on 08 January 2011 - 12:51 AM, said:

And I suspect Egwene never told Nynaeve what Myrelle told her: that Moiraine intended the bond for Nynaeve.

That's on purpose though. I'm sure Nynaeve and Lan have both figured it out by now. Myrelle was obsessed with Nynaeve when she arrived at Salidar.

[Marie]

Deadsy, on 08 January 2011 - 01:27 AM, said:

Marie, on 08 January 2011 - 12:51 AM, said:

And I suspect Egwene never told Nynaeve what Myrelle told her: that Moiraine intended the bond for Nynaeve.

That's on purpose though. I'm sure Nynaeve and Lan have both figured it out by now. Myrelle was obsessed with Nynaeve when she arrived at Salidar.

You have more faith in their cognitive abilities than I do. I'm afraid I'm going to have to wait to read a Nyn PoV that states as much to believe it.

[jan]

RedAjahWarder, on 07 January 2011 - 12:36 AM, said:

but in Towers of Midnight, Nynaeve simply goes to find Myrelle, asks for the bond, and gets it.

Oh, I always wondered what was going to happen about that.

I still wait to read the ToM scenes. Someone was supposed to send them to me. *looks at that someone*

[Marie]

And someone still owes me a story with a redeemed character. But I'm not bitter!

[jan]

I didn't know it was a barter deal!

[Sam]

that is so much better than what we got. I love the ToG scenes and all but it was so short and anticlimatic.

[AshSnow]

RedAjahWarder, on 06 January 2011 - 12:33 PM, said:

(3) There is s direct correlation between the strength of the Aes Sedai and the benefits that the Warder receives from the bond.

That is a very interesting idea. Has this been discussed before?
Stronger the Aes Sedai the strong the benefits of the bond with their warder?