First paragraph of ToM *slight spoilers* - Edit 4
Before modification by Sidious at 03/05/2010 05:13:42 AM
At JordanCon BS read the first paragraph of ToM (he said, though, it might be changed, yet):
"The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose around the misty peaks of Imfaral. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning."
So, it seems for the first time (IIRC) the wind won't rose in the Westlands, but in Seanchan. According to the Guide, Imfaral is a large city in north-central Seanchan and the location of the Towers of Midnight. This might indicate that the actual Towers of Midnight, will play a part in ToM (will Tuon or someone else end there for a time as prisoner?), and that the title isn't only a metaphor. Probably the wind will then go on to describe the Towers of Midnight and the - likely chaotic - situation in Seanchan till it crosses the Aryth Ocean, maybe touching the Sea Folk isles, the west of the Westlands and perhaps end in Caemlyn or another big city.
RJ said on the Towers of Midnight:
Q: We know the Tower of Ravens located in the Seanchan capital city is used as an imperial prison especially for members of the Blood, but there is also a reference to the first marath'damane shaking the Towers of Midnight. Are the Towers of Midnight also a prison? Can you tell us more about them?
RJ: There are thirteen Towers of Midnight. The Towers of Midnight are a fortress complex, and were - at the time this happened, Seandar wasn't the capital and the Towers of Midnight were the center of military might, or the forces that were beginning the consolidation before the conquest of Seanchan.
But also:
Q: You wrote about a very exotic place, called the Towers of Midnight. I think it seems to be an evil place, because as far as I know the Deathwatch Guard is trained there...
RJ [interrupts]: No. The Towers of Midnight are a place that is run by the Seekers: a political prison, a place of execution at least for very high-ranking political prisoners. They can’t shed your blood, so they simply stuff you into a sack and hang you over the side of one of the towers until you die, but very careful. A sack lined with velvet so none of your blood will ever seep out and be spilled. Remember there have been times this has been done - this is not an invention of mine. There are cultures in this world where [for] people of certain classes, it was illegal to shed their blood: you could not, even in an execution. Therefore, they would roll a man in layers of velvet and put him inside a bag and have him trampled to death by horses, but the velvet was there to absorb his blood, and the leather bag to insure nothing seeped out, so his blood was never shed. It was never spilled on the ground. You see? So that’s what the Towers of Midnight are. I won’t tell you a lot more, because I don’t know that I will ever show them in one of the books, but it’s possible, so…
Q [interrupts]: You showed them maybe in the second book, as far as I know, only one sentence I think...
RJ [interrupts]: I’ve mentioned them, but I did not show them; you were not there. There’s a difference between mentioning and actually being there, taking a character there to see them.
It's not really clear if the ToM are a prison now or just a fortress.
"The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose around the misty peaks of Imfaral. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning."
So, it seems for the first time (IIRC) the wind won't rose in the Westlands, but in Seanchan. According to the Guide, Imfaral is a large city in north-central Seanchan and the location of the Towers of Midnight. This might indicate that the actual Towers of Midnight, will play a part in ToM (will Tuon or someone else end there for a time as prisoner?), and that the title isn't only a metaphor. Probably the wind will then go on to describe the Towers of Midnight and the - likely chaotic - situation in Seanchan till it crosses the Aryth Ocean, maybe touching the Sea Folk isles, the west of the Westlands and perhaps end in Caemlyn or another big city.
RJ said on the Towers of Midnight:
Q: We know the Tower of Ravens located in the Seanchan capital city is used as an imperial prison especially for members of the Blood, but there is also a reference to the first marath'damane shaking the Towers of Midnight. Are the Towers of Midnight also a prison? Can you tell us more about them?
RJ: There are thirteen Towers of Midnight. The Towers of Midnight are a fortress complex, and were - at the time this happened, Seandar wasn't the capital and the Towers of Midnight were the center of military might, or the forces that were beginning the consolidation before the conquest of Seanchan.
But also:
Q: You wrote about a very exotic place, called the Towers of Midnight. I think it seems to be an evil place, because as far as I know the Deathwatch Guard is trained there...
RJ [interrupts]: No. The Towers of Midnight are a place that is run by the Seekers: a political prison, a place of execution at least for very high-ranking political prisoners. They can’t shed your blood, so they simply stuff you into a sack and hang you over the side of one of the towers until you die, but very careful. A sack lined with velvet so none of your blood will ever seep out and be spilled. Remember there have been times this has been done - this is not an invention of mine. There are cultures in this world where [for] people of certain classes, it was illegal to shed their blood: you could not, even in an execution. Therefore, they would roll a man in layers of velvet and put him inside a bag and have him trampled to death by horses, but the velvet was there to absorb his blood, and the leather bag to insure nothing seeped out, so his blood was never shed. It was never spilled on the ground. You see? So that’s what the Towers of Midnight are. I won’t tell you a lot more, because I don’t know that I will ever show them in one of the books, but it’s possible, so…
Q [interrupts]: You showed them maybe in the second book, as far as I know, only one sentence I think...
RJ [interrupts]: I’ve mentioned them, but I did not show them; you were not there. There’s a difference between mentioning and actually being there, taking a character there to see them.
It's not really clear if the ToM are a prison now or just a fortress.