I'm warning you. SPOILERS. Are you sure you want to read it? You've waited for so long to find out...are you sure you want to read? Well, I warned you.

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Rand figures out where Graendal's hiding place is in tGS. Rand sends a messenger into Graendal and when the messenger comes out under the influence of compulsion, Rand knows for sure Greandal is in there. Rand takes out the male Choedan Kal and balefires the entire building. Now that's one way to get rid of a Forsaken and not take any chances.

Two questions spring to mind. First, was Graendal still inside, or did she gate out as soon as she compulsed the messenger, but before Rand balefires the place?

If we assume Graendal was still inside the palace, and if we assume that Graendal killed Asmodean, the second question is this: Did Rand erase enough of Graendal's thread to go all the way back to Asmodean's death? Hmmm. We never find the answer to that question in tGS, but I'm guessing that Rand did kill Graendal far enough back and that Asmodean will pop up, alive and well, in the next book. What happens after that is anyone's guess. I'm thinking Asmo tries to go to Rand and Rand sees him and lashes out thinking Asmo betrayed him.

So for all of these years, we've argued about who killed Asmodean. It was Graendal. But because Rand undid what Graendal did, and because I predict that Rand will kill Asmodean in the next book or two, it will actually be Rand who kills Asmodean.

Okay, I get all the credit for this theory. This plot twist just shows how awesome RJ is and how complex, forward thinking he can be. Just like when we find out that Verin is Black Ajah and she joined the Black Ajah just so she could gather names and expose them. Too bad when Verin exposes the Blacks to Egwene that Verin ends up dead. For all of the Egwene haters, Verin's sacrifice will add fodder for your cannons. Basically, Verin realizes that the worth of one soul is not as great as exposing the Blacks and saving many. She sacrifices herself to save many. Anyway, I got off topic...

I predict the following: Because we do not know at the end of tGS who killed Asmodean, but we do have a good idea that Rand balefired Graendal way, way, way back in time that Asmodean's killer is revealed by his re-emergence/re-appearance in a subsequent book. If we see Asmodean, alive and well, then there is no doubt that Graendal killed him the first time. But because Rand doesn't know this, Rand thinks Asmodean betrayed him, and Rand kills Asmodean. Rand ends up being Asmodean's final killer.

RJ is a great writer, and I'm patting myself on the back for figuring this all out. Damn I'm good.

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