Except that's nothing whatsoever to do with pride. Everything for Perrin was about fear of losing himself. Believing himself still just "a simple blacksmith" was Perrin's way to hang to his humanity. Lord Goldeneyes was a battle leader, going into frenzies in the field, The Wolf King. He feared that accepting he was this man meant losing himself to the Wolf.

There isn't much about Perrin that's about pride. On the contrary, he's been self deprecating and self conscious since day one, and it's only in TOM he's become proud of who he is, at last. Before then, Perrin barely recognized himself any talent or quality. He constantly had to be told he was intelligent, wise not to act impulsively, skilled at his craft, inspirational to people, well organized etc.

It's very hard to see what the blacksmith's pride could be. The one thing he might call "his pride" (and joy) is actually Faile.

She is also Perrin's greatest strength and his weakness. It's Faile he chose as his anchor to his humanity. Home to Perrin is Faile.

One way to interpret the verses would thus be:

The Fallen blacksmith: The fallen blacksmith reflect the fact once Perrin forged his hammer, and embraced his role as Lord and Wolf-King, he was not a blacksmith anymore. This part of his life is over. "The Last Days" echoes the verse about Perrin in the KC. "When the Wolf King carries the hammer, thus are the final days known".

If Perrin's greatest pride is his wife, then the Dark Prophecy might foretell her death, and this would explain the next verse, as it would shake Perrin's soul to his core, and undo much of what he accomplished in character development in TOM. He would lose his anchor to his humanity, becoming a broken wolf.

"Yea, and the Broken Wolf, the one whom Death has known, shall fall and be consumed by the Midnight Towers. And his destruction shall bring fear and sorrow to the hearts of men, and shall shake their very will itself."

Death is Moridin. The Towers of Midnight represent Seanchan imperial power.

Perhaps this predicts that Faile will die in a battle with the Seanchan, leading to Perrin losing himself to the Wolf - his destruction that will bring fear and sorrow to his followers.

Nothing in there guarantees the Wolf's destruction will be final, however.. that Perrin won't resurface out of this as the Wolf King in truth (maybe after his death). It may herald the fact not only Rand will have to go through, more or less literally or completely metaphorically, the crucible of death soon.


There's a question of timing too.

Mat travels the Halls of Mourning One-Eyed. He became One-Eyed in the Tower of Ghenjei, he didn't travel there One-Eyed. But that could be it nonetheless. Mat is likely to have a lot of mourning to do soon: the Band is at the frontline of the invasion of Caemlyn, a league from one of the gates, and without his genius commander, who might not be heading back to Caemlyn at all... As for the channelling defenses... what Elayne may have left behind are Kin, perhaps the Windfinders if they didn't follow to the meeting (where the Wavemistresses no doubt will go) and the group of mysterious sisters (long thought to have been assembled by Cadsuane) at the Silver Swan. There may also be Logain, if he's closer to the BT than we think... In any case, Mat might lose a lot of the Band in that battle, and perhaps a lot of the Dragons as well (also in imminent danger is Aludra herself...she makes a prime target for DF, as the no doubt now known holder of the secret of gunpowder..) . The Band's salvation could come if Mat tells Moiraine and Thom to join Perrin, but asks Grady/Perrin to provide channellers so he can bring the part of the Band not currently with Elayne to Rand's meeting. That could land Mat, with a mixed gender circle (Perrin's female channelers), right in the middle of the Battle of Caemlyn. Mat has remarked that the palace could be held even if the city fell (but it lacked men). He would have the mean to bring the Band into the palace grounds, where perhaps many of the dragons are stored, and probably where Aludra now has her headquarters - and of course the mean to send an emergency message to Perrin/Rand/Egwene/Elayne and company.

Perrin wasn't a fallen blacksmith before he gave it up after forging his hammer either.

The wording of the prophecy all seems to make these verses come true on the day when Rand breaks the seals... "In that day, when Mat travels the Halls of mourning, and Rand breaks the seals, the last days of Perrin's pride shall come, and the Broken wolf shall be consummed by the Seanchan etcé

It seems Mat may actually have come out of Ghenjei pretty much at the time of the meeting, or very close. "The last days" of Perrin's pride have yet to pass for certain, however - like Rand breaking the seals.

Right now, pretty much everyone is heading north of Tar Valon. Mat is extremely likely to be told to head for the meeting by the Asha'man with Perrin who opens a gateway to look for him every day. That Asha'man is with Perrin, going to or at the Fields already.

The Seanchan are also coming... for the moment it's with all their armies, to conquer Tar Valon... but we haven't yet seen much of Rand's preparations for the meeting. That he makes a new attempt with Tuon before the meeting, just like he did with the Bordermen, sounds extremely likely. Rand needs to, this is the resolution of the Finn's answer. The Seanchan are mobilizing, making the West and South as one. Egwene, Elayne, Rand are finishing to make the East and North "as one", calling everyone to the Fields. Now, the "two must be as one", it's part of the way by which Rand can win the Last Battle. Rand must have figured this out, that's one reason why he isn't alarmed or displeased one bit by the fact Amyrlin is calling any ruler she can put her hands on to his meeting, nor surprised that she called back Nynaeve (though perhaps he is suprised, as I am a little, that she didn't also called back to the Tower Cadsuane and the "fence sitters".

(on a side note, I think the whole thing only makes sense if the Lord of the Evening is Shai'tan. In the prophecy, Shaidar Haran is referred to as His Hand, and Moridin as Death.) :

"And He shall take our eyes, for our souls shall bow before Him, and He shall take our skin, for our flesh shall serve Him, and He shall take our lips, for only Him will we praise. "

This has already started. Shai'tan has made a Myrddraal his eyes, his lips... in Hand. Now, Graendal suggested in TOM he's taking over Moridin as well. He already speaks directly in his mind. If this prophecy is literal, it sounds like the Great Lord is soon to take over all his servants to an extent. When he so wishes, he'll speak, act, see through them.