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It has always seemed unlikely. Narg Send a noteboard - 03/02/2012 04:53:14 PM
Of course I can appreciate that it was good for RJ's vision of the plot, it just doesn't fit. It is understandable why much knowledge was lost, but that particular bit of knowledge is incredibly unlikely to have been lost IMO.

It is like the Forsaken being able to speak (and write) so well in the common tongue pretty much the moment they are out of the bore despite it being a different enough language from the old tongue that people in the current age can't understand the old tongue unless specifically educated. The difference seems much larger than just the difference between spanish and portuguese for instance.

But it was necessary for the plot for everybody to speak the same language, including the forsaken, though it doesn't fit or make sense.

Likewise, the loss of traveling doesn't make much sense. But it was necessary for the plot. When making up a very complex fake world, there is no way it will all mesh like reality. So some of these things just don't bother me. (Others do bother me)


According to <a href="http://encyclopaedia-wot.org/geography/tar_valon/white_tower.html">Encyclopaedia WoT</a>, construction of the White Tower started in 98 AB. Furthermore, the breaking itself lasted something like 300 years. Hence, it seems entirely possible that at least a few Aes Sedai who were raised during the Age of Legends were still alive when the White Tower was founded. And if not, it seems unlikely that the group of women who created the tower had grown sufficiently large and powerful if they had to start learning channeling from scratch, so it's a reasonable assumption that there is an unbroken chain of women teaching other women to channel that leads from the Age of Legends to the founding of the White Tower, and from then on there has always been Aes Sedai living in the tower.

So how did Travelling become a lost Talent? It seems to be one of those things you don't have to have a particular skill to do, just the neccessary strength. Even among the regular Aes Sedai of today, quite a few are strong enough to Travel, and strength seems to be at an all time low at the moment, seeing as Cadsuane was hailed as the strongest in centuries when she arrived.

It just seems to me that Travelling is such an insanely useful thing, in particular during the breaking when a quick escape could be handy at any time, so why wasn't it taught to every student as soon as they were strong enough?
A little learning is a dangerous thing.
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How did Travelling become a lost Talent? - 03/02/2012 09:09:39 AM 2166 Views
It is a little odd. Maybe because channelers weren't united for a while? - 03/02/2012 02:24:17 PM 1094 Views
Re: How did Travelling become a lost Talent? - 03/02/2012 02:49:02 PM 937 Views
It has always seemed unlikely. - 03/02/2012 04:53:14 PM 1002 Views
i think it could be - 03/02/2012 07:56:18 PM 1202 Views
Re: i think it could be - 04/02/2012 12:56:57 PM 1063 Views
I'm really not seeing it. - 05/02/2012 04:19:38 AM 921 Views
It's always struck me as a tool of the Author more than a good hard fact - 04/02/2012 01:40:06 AM 776 Views
Your theory is based on rather severely flawed assumptions - 04/02/2012 07:34:45 AM 1192 Views
Re: Your theory is based on rather severely flawed assumptions - 04/02/2012 09:48:52 AM 1007 Views
Re: Your theory is based on rather severely flawed assumptions - 04/02/2012 03:04:48 PM 1020 Views
Re: Your theory is based on rather severely flawed assumptions - 04/02/2012 06:58:41 PM 908 Views
Re: Your theory is based on rather severely flawed assumptions - 05/02/2012 12:00:05 AM 921 Views
Re: Your theory is based on rather severely flawed assumptions - 05/02/2012 04:05:57 AM 870 Views
I don't see why people are having trouble believing Traveling was lost in the Breaking - 05/02/2012 05:53:32 PM 890 Views
not to mention - 05/02/2012 07:16:59 PM 909 Views
Re: not to mention - 05/02/2012 08:50:50 PM 1186 Views
Re: not to mention - 05/02/2012 09:33:40 PM 891 Views
Re: I don't see why people are having trouble believing Traveling was lost in the Breaking - 05/02/2012 07:39:51 PM 1090 Views
Medical knowledge... - 06/02/2012 02:15:13 AM 769 Views
My point was that it's surprising only ONE Healing weave survived - 11/02/2012 08:25:02 PM 850 Views
Re: I don't see why people are having trouble believing Traveling was lost in the Breaking - 05/02/2012 09:11:04 PM 782 Views
Rant rant rant - 11/02/2012 08:26:56 PM 921 Views
I agree. I was going to respond but you covered most of the bases. - 08/02/2012 04:13:20 PM 772 Views
Re: Your theory is based on rather severely flawed assumptions - 05/02/2012 09:52:35 PM 954 Views
You really need to read the BWB sections regarding this - 14/02/2012 01:20:20 AM 774 Views
he needs to read it just to see it for his own eyes - 14/02/2012 02:46:44 AM 739 Views
Re: he needs to read it just to see it for his own eyes - 14/02/2012 10:15:46 PM 819 Views
I would agree with you on less structured parts of the series - 15/02/2012 03:38:37 PM 701 Views
Re: I would agree with you on less structured parts of the series - 16/02/2012 09:41:29 PM 860 Views
That I can agree with - 17/02/2012 05:46:49 AM 921 Views
Re: That I can agree with - 17/02/2012 09:26:50 AM 776 Views
Seriously! The Yellow should be ashamed - 17/02/2012 01:49:07 PM 933 Views
Well to be fair to the Yellow (which generally annoy me as an Ajah)... - 17/02/2012 06:20:06 PM 813 Views
Seems reasonable - 18/02/2012 05:49:40 PM 806 Views
Quote found - 12/02/2012 01:35:58 AM 733 Views
My thoughts - 05/02/2012 10:14:59 PM 978 Views
Re: How did Travelling become a lost Talent? - 13/02/2012 12:24:35 PM 901 Views
a few more other factors - 15/02/2012 08:22:02 PM 832 Views

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