Well there is one thing to consider about this
darius_sedai Send a noteboard - 21/09/2010 07:32:44 PM
Nice end to Lan's part. Will update soon!
Well, it feels really nice to be right. Partially, at least!
The fact that Graendal had a PoV, and escaped Rand's huge Balefire attack with just a broken ankle to show, was definitely the highlight of this Prologue!
For once, I was actually scared of one of the Foresaken. This woman knows her job, alright! If only she had had a more major role before! Or maybe not, as a surprise big-wig, she's excellent!
So it turns out Rand did surprise her, though she figured out Nynaeve waskind of behind it almost at once. Then, true to character, she played it safe, in an impressive manner. If only Rahvin, Sammael and Be'lal had had this much sense, they'd have beaten Rand long ago! I do wish they'd had her come up with a good reason for using Delana though. That part was a little weak.
And Graendal now wants Nynaeve dead. It seems we'll see an epic fight between Nynaeve and a Foresaken after all!
Perrin's part was actually interesting to me. I'm unsurprised there's some distance between him and Faile. His story looks set to move in interesting directions.
Lan and Galad were nice, though Lan's part was too short, for my liking. I'd like to have had a longer PoV featuring him.
The final scene in the Blightborder was awesome. The dismal landscape and the hopeless bravery... this is the kind of stuff that screams the LB is approaching.
On the whole, a very nice prologue, and I'm very very glad Graendal is alive and seeking revenge. She is the First Foresaken who seems aware of Nynaeve and Egwene. She now has personal cause not only against Rand but Nyn as well. She also seems to plan to kill Min. Can it be that Graendal is part of Rand's entourage now? I doubt she remained behind in Arad Doman.
It is also interesting that she has the use of the TP again. And she can shield Delana and Aran'gar, wrap them in Air, and weave a Gateway all at once. Another little proof that I was right about how strong the strongest women are.
Well, it feels really nice to be right. Partially, at least!
The fact that Graendal had a PoV, and escaped Rand's huge Balefire attack with just a broken ankle to show, was definitely the highlight of this Prologue!
For once, I was actually scared of one of the Foresaken. This woman knows her job, alright! If only she had had a more major role before! Or maybe not, as a surprise big-wig, she's excellent!
So it turns out Rand did surprise her, though she figured out Nynaeve waskind of behind it almost at once. Then, true to character, she played it safe, in an impressive manner. If only Rahvin, Sammael and Be'lal had had this much sense, they'd have beaten Rand long ago! I do wish they'd had her come up with a good reason for using Delana though. That part was a little weak.
And Graendal now wants Nynaeve dead. It seems we'll see an epic fight between Nynaeve and a Foresaken after all!
Perrin's part was actually interesting to me. I'm unsurprised there's some distance between him and Faile. His story looks set to move in interesting directions.
Lan and Galad were nice, though Lan's part was too short, for my liking. I'd like to have had a longer PoV featuring him.
The final scene in the Blightborder was awesome. The dismal landscape and the hopeless bravery... this is the kind of stuff that screams the LB is approaching.
On the whole, a very nice prologue, and I'm very very glad Graendal is alive and seeking revenge. She is the First Foresaken who seems aware of Nynaeve and Egwene. She now has personal cause not only against Rand but Nyn as well. She also seems to plan to kill Min. Can it be that Graendal is part of Rand's entourage now? I doubt she remained behind in Arad Doman.
It is also interesting that she has the use of the TP again. And she can shield Delana and Aran'gar, wrap them in Air, and weave a Gateway all at once. Another little proof that I was right about how strong the strongest women are.
Firstly, let me say that I am not able to access the Prologue as I'm not based in the US.
However, based on what I've read, Graendal apparently shielded Arangar and Delana simultaneously (possibly without using her angreal) wrapped them in Air and wove a Gateway.
Now, it is doubtful that even Ishamael or Rand could do that to a Forsaken strength male and an average Aes Sedai at the same time, while spinning gateways and bonds of Air as well.
Graendal's angreal may explain it - if it doubles her strength, but you'd think that if she can do that to a Forsaken male plus an Aes Sedai, then Verin's little circle really shouldn't have presented her with any trouble.
Sometimes I just feel that Sanderson doesn't grasp the nuances of One Power mechanics that have been carefully constructed over the course of 15 years and 10 books prior to his entry into the series.
Neither Aran'gar nor Delana were actually holding the Power when they had shields placed on them ... and the whole scene from there on took less than a minute so it's also very possible that Aran'gar at least could have shattered the shield put on her very quickly ... just not quickly enough since she was caught by surprise too.
There is also no indication that Graendal could have cut Aran'gar off from the Source if Aran'gar had been holding it.
Personally after having read it now 3 times I think this is more about how Skilled Graendal is with the OP ... she was able to do all this and jump through a Gateway inside of 30 seconds.
Domani Drag Queen in the White Tower ... Aran'gar watch out!
Towers of Midnight : Prologue discussion
- 21/09/2010 04:38:40 AM
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Me Too! Guess who is alive!!
- 21/09/2010 04:44:40 AM
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A dove, that's weird
- 21/09/2010 03:19:10 PM
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Re: A dove, that's weird
- 21/09/2010 03:26:39 PM
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What Ryan said. And we only assumed that they can only use those animals *NM*
- 21/09/2010 06:53:05 PM
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You all can go to heck (and find me a link!) *NM*
- 21/09/2010 05:10:47 AM
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Re: You all can go to heck (and find me a link!)
- 21/09/2010 05:14:26 AM
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Anyone find the audiobook version? *NM*
- 21/09/2010 10:20:22 AM
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If you're in the US, Audible.com. No clue about availability in the UK. *NM*
- 21/09/2010 06:29:45 PM
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Could somebody post a link to where they got it? I want to go to a site where I can download now *NM*
- 21/09/2010 05:39:13 AM
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Regarding Graendal
- 21/09/2010 10:12:42 AM
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a very weak angreal
- 21/09/2010 04:55:15 PM
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Graendal watched Aran'gar get nuked. Aran'gar is gone gone gone.
- 21/09/2010 10:11:41 PM
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The laughter in Perrin's Dream
- 21/09/2010 02:24:14 PM
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Not even Ishamael could shield another male Forsaken and an Aes Sedai at the same time...
- 21/09/2010 06:46:42 PM
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It's different (I think?) but I'm certainly no expert and I'm sure someone else will reply
- 21/09/2010 06:57:18 PM
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OK, I haven't read the scene, so I don't know if Arangar was holding saidin at the time or not
- 21/09/2010 07:00:23 PM
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Re: OK, I haven't read the scene, so I don't know if Arangar was holding saidin at the time or not.
- 21/09/2010 07:11:42 PM
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Thanks. Was Arangar channeling at the time?
- 21/09/2010 07:13:53 PM
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I think so, yes.
- 21/09/2010 07:15:44 PM
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I don't think so actually
- 21/09/2010 07:57:42 PM
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I don't think Aran'gar was channeling
- 21/09/2010 11:00:22 PM
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I don't think she even closed her Gateway. It think it was BF'd *NM*
- 21/09/2010 11:52:01 PM
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Re: I don't think she even closed her Gateway. It think it was BF'd
- 22/09/2010 02:57:02 AM
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So here's what happens...
- 21/09/2010 07:15:03 PM
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Thanks. A few comments...
- 21/09/2010 07:27:33 PM
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I don't rule out the angreal...
- 21/09/2010 07:32:40 PM
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Elayne's weakest angreal doubles her strength. Graendal x2 can easily shield Cyndane+Moggy, so...
- 21/09/2010 07:35:06 PM
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I disasgree. There is no evidence that Aran'gar was holding saidin at the time
- 21/09/2010 07:42:23 PM
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Then why did she gasp at the shield? She couldn't have known what Graendal was weaving.
- 21/09/2010 07:52:49 PM
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because she was surprised that Graendal would put a shield on her in the first place
- 21/09/2010 07:58:45 PM
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How did she know there was a shield?
- 21/09/2010 09:16:59 PM
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Fact: Graendal cannot shield a male Forsaken and an Aes Sedai if they are holding the Source...
- 21/09/2010 09:28:17 PM
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Who said "they"?
- 21/09/2010 09:55:28 PM
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Depends on the level of surprise, I guess. If he was only holding a trickle of saidin, then maybe
- 21/09/2010 10:05:37 PM
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I really don't think you have to be holding the source to know you've been shielded
- 21/09/2010 10:29:20 PM
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Provide evidence?
- 21/09/2010 10:36:36 PM
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Thanks, but like I said, they were both wrapped in air. That's enough for Aran'gar to wonder
- 21/09/2010 10:44:17 PM
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Siuan was distracted by a number of other things going on, not to mention how suspect
- 22/09/2010 02:43:36 PM
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And Aran'gar was fully focussed on Graendal?
- 22/09/2010 03:02:16 PM
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More so than Siuan was on Elaida when they were shielded.
- 22/09/2010 03:33:15 PM
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So?
- 22/09/2010 03:48:11 PM
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It doesn't matter. There are more Shieldings that go unnoticed when not holding the Source
- 22/09/2010 03:55:48 PM
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we don't know that
- 22/09/2010 02:35:50 PM
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Give over, Darius... there's plenty of evidence...
- 22/09/2010 03:45:11 PM
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Give over what? There is no hard evidence that Aran'gar wouldn't notice a shield put on her
- 22/09/2010 05:00:11 PM
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What rot... (also, Egwene and Rand)
- 22/09/2010 05:21:08 PM
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take a pill Fionwe ... no need to go batshit on me for having an opinion.
- 22/09/2010 05:38:21 PM
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Re: take a pill Fionwe ... no need to go batshit on me for having an opinion.
- 22/09/2010 05:45:05 PM
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if it was JUST one shield ... but she's shielding an AS and weaving a Gateway too!
- 22/09/2010 05:48:52 PM
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Well...
- 22/09/2010 07:00:26 PM
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She says...
- 22/09/2010 07:04:32 PM
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no one is arguing that
- 22/09/2010 07:09:17 PM
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Er...
- 22/09/2010 07:19:09 PM
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I'm contending that it's possible Aran'gar snesed she'd been shielded
- 22/09/2010 07:20:48 PM
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Re: I'm contending that it's possible Aran'gar snesed she'd been shielded
- 22/09/2010 07:26:52 PM
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Again, I just find that option completely unlikely since Graendals angreal isn't all that strong
- 22/09/2010 07:39:02 PM
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You've made a long list of channelers "incompetant" and "untrained". Enough.
- 23/09/2010 01:53:25 AM
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Re: You've made a long list of channelers "incompetant" and "untrained". Enough.
- 23/09/2010 03:42:31 PM
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- 23/09/2010 03:54:02 PM
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- 23/09/2010 03:54:02 PM
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Re:
. The evidence is that no channeled is that strong!
- 23/09/2010 04:04:02 PM
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. The evidence is that no channeled is that strong!
- 23/09/2010 04:04:02 PM
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Really?
- 23/09/2010 06:11:00 PM
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Re: Really?
- 23/09/2010 09:56:09 PM
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That's my point *NM*
- 24/09/2010 12:20:45 AM
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Dear God! The sheer amount of replies here just blew my mind, and my window (jk).
*NM*
- 24/09/2010 07:28:14 PM
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*NM*
- 24/09/2010 07:28:14 PM
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The way it reads she is holding open a Gateway, then slams shields on both
- 22/09/2010 07:08:17 PM
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Continue being irrational then...
- 22/09/2010 05:46:19 PM
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Re: Continue being irrational then...
- 22/09/2010 05:53:05 PM
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Re: Continue being irrational then...
- 22/09/2010 07:03:02 PM
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Nope
- 22/09/2010 07:19:30 PM
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Re: Nope
- 23/09/2010 02:06:35 AM
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And you ignore all the evidence in the series that definitively makes it impossible for Graendal to
- 23/09/2010 03:57:49 PM
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Well...
- 23/09/2010 04:31:27 PM
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According to Fionwe she isn't using the angreal
- 24/09/2010 11:18:30 PM
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Re: According to Fionwe she isn't using the angreal
- 25/09/2010 09:38:41 AM
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Possible, but he specifically calls out when she ties off other weaves in the scene
- 25/09/2010 04:28:48 PM
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Re: How did she know there was a shield?
- 24/09/2010 04:42:25 AM
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You can sense the source when shielded. Entering a stedding you can't even sense it. *NM*
- 24/09/2010 02:46:09 PM
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You'[re missing the part about the bonds of air as well
- 21/09/2010 11:06:04 PM
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No. The sequence was shield-gasp-tie off shield-wrap in Air. *NM*
- 21/09/2010 11:14:41 PM
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We have seen people holding the source caught off guard by a shield *NM*
- 22/09/2010 12:10:48 AM
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Well, exactly!
- 22/09/2010 02:01:12 AM
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Aran'gar and Delana were caught with their pants down by Graendal
- 22/09/2010 06:40:41 AM
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What I think happened
- 22/09/2010 09:19:57 AM
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It's not the male/female issue. It's a Forsaken vs Forsaken issue...
- 22/09/2010 10:06:47 AM
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Re: It's not the male/female issue. It's a Forsaken vs Forsaken issue...
- 22/09/2010 01:31:52 PM
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About shielding a channeler holding the Source...
- 22/09/2010 05:51:34 PM
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Re: About shielding a channeler holding the Source...
- 22/09/2010 07:04:37 PM
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The angreal makes this an unnecessary debate...
- 22/09/2010 07:09:20 PM
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she never shielded them
- 22/09/2010 07:22:29 PM
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True...But it made her strong enough to easily overcome both...
- 22/09/2010 07:28:12 PM
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This I can believe ... it's just problematic since the angreal isn't mentioned
- 22/09/2010 07:51:19 PM
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Re: This I can believe ... it's just problematic since the angreal isn't mentioned
- 22/09/2010 07:54:18 PM
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I think we need to place Aran'gar lower too..
- 22/09/2010 07:10:29 PM
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A lot of unsubstantiated assumptions there...
- 22/09/2010 07:13:51 PM
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Mostly agree
- 22/09/2010 07:23:53 PM
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Re: Mostly agree
- 22/09/2010 07:28:42 PM
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Ever wonder why Graendal was given an angreal in the first place...
- 22/09/2010 07:34:21 PM
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Re: Ever wonder why Graendal was given an angreal in the first place...
- 22/09/2010 07:50:55 PM
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I am starting to believe that RJ didn't think quite so literally
- 22/09/2010 08:07:45 PM
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Not sure if you agreed with this before, but I reached this point awhile ago bwahaha
- 22/09/2010 08:53:42 PM
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Well there is one thing to consider about this
- 21/09/2010 07:32:44 PM
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Yes, that seems the most likely answer. That and the use of the angreal.
- 21/09/2010 07:35:53 PM
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Aren't female channelers more dexterous in weaving than male? So her speed could be part of that. *NM*
- 22/09/2010 03:42:56 AM
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Re: Not even Ishamael could shield another male Forsaken and an Aes Sedai at the same time...
- 01/10/2010 12:23:57 AM
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I'm disappointed that the dove was not hidden in a background description in the tGS scene...
- 21/09/2010 08:22:29 PM
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I was thinking the same thing ... was actually just about to go look for it myself!
- 21/09/2010 09:01:34 PM
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I'm happy there wasn't...
- 21/09/2010 09:18:30 PM
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Do you have more detail on Graendal's comments about Aginor's extensive use of the True Power?
- 21/09/2010 09:23:48 PM
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Re: Do you have more detail on Graendal's comments about Aginor's extensive use of the True Power?
- 21/09/2010 09:52:07 PM
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Very interesting. Another case of a character never utilised to his full potential in the series...
- 21/09/2010 09:57:42 PM
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For the record
- 21/09/2010 10:53:16 PM
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I am so glad Graendal is alive. I (& hopefully other "Graendal's Alive" supporters) feel vindicated. *NM*
- 22/09/2010 03:01:07 AM
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Did anyone else feel that the Graendal scene was one big infodump?
- 22/09/2010 03:32:44 AM
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That's exactly what I was thinking the entire time. It didn't ruin my enjoyment though.
- 22/09/2010 07:12:00 PM
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Wait...so NO ONE has wanted to discuss the Sapphic scene at Graendal's place?
- 22/09/2010 03:48:36 AM
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No, not at all. Aran'gar is still a dude at heart. I think. *NM*
- 22/09/2010 08:18:55 PM
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I tend to agree
- 23/09/2010 05:42:52 PM
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Lady parts + Lady parts = Lesbian sex
- 24/09/2010 11:24:36 PM
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Yes, but its still a little off
- 25/09/2010 09:40:16 AM
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What does Graendal think of Rand?
- 22/09/2010 02:00:28 PM
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Aran'gar is a tool
- 22/09/2010 07:31:36 PM
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I would think this argues against your contention that she would hold saidin to the max...
- 22/09/2010 07:36:09 PM
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Re: I would think this argues against your contention that she would hold saidin to the max...
- 22/09/2010 07:51:53 PM
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Remembering the last time male channelers held reversed weaves in the presence of Rand's party...
- 22/09/2010 07:55:12 PM
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Are Fain's resurrected trollocks undead?
- 23/09/2010 01:43:01 AM
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After 13 books you still can't spell "trollocs"...wow...that's just...wow... *NM*
- 23/09/2010 03:41:24 PM
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Thanks for taking up space on this board to point out my shortcomings. Always appreciated. *NM*
- 23/09/2010 05:23:19 PM
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Nice prologue, but not superb, IMO
- 23/09/2010 05:45:41 PM
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Re: Nice prologue, but not superb, IMO
- 23/09/2010 09:54:33 PM
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Well, that is one prediction I made correctly! Etzel would find a way to make it look like Slayer
- 25/09/2010 05:43:20 PM
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- 25/09/2010 05:43:20 PM
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I believe that Sanderson concocted the entire Graendal/Rand/Balefire part
- 23/09/2010 10:24:46 PM
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No way
- 24/09/2010 07:14:35 AM
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I can't see team Jordan allowing any deviation on what RJ would have laid out
- 12/10/2010 08:32:50 PM
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*NM*

*NM*
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