"Three shall be one" ... - Edit 1
Before modification by Shishka at 12/07/2010 06:26:53 PM
This K-cycle prophecy has been discussed quite a bit already, but I wanted to summarize the various options for what the "three" are (as I've seen proposed), and offer some comments on the likelihood of each option.
First, here's the prophecy in it's entirety:
He shall hold a blade of light in his hands, and the three shall be one.
In TGS ch.48, Min and Cadsuane concur that the "blade of light" is callandor, and while I've seen it suggested that they are wrong - that the blade is actually Rand's sword Justice, I think we should accept Min & Cadsuane's conclusion as accurate. I just don't see RJ/BS misleading us with a long, but ultimately entirely inaccurate, discussion between the two.
And, the wording of the prophecy implies that the "holding of the blade of light" is a necessary condition to cause the "three shall be one". That is, the two parts of the prophecy are not unrelated.
In my opinion, the only real questions here are who/what are the "three", and how does callandor factor into uniting them?
Here are the options that I've seen proposed:
1. Rand + 2 female channelers (e.g. Nynaeve & Egwene), with one of the women wielding callandor, because that is the only way callandor can be used "safely", due to its lack of buffer.
Min considers this possibility, but eventually dismisses it. Because, she thinks that if callandor is going to play such a (presumably) crucial role in defeating the DO/Shadow, it's highly unlikely that Rand will be, essentially, a bystander while one of the women actually does the work. Consequently, she tells Cadsuane that something is wrong with that interpretation, and that they are still missing something yet-to-be discovered/understood, with respect to interpreting the prophecy.
I agree with Min. If callandor is going to play this critical role, then I believe the Dragon Reborn will be the one wielding it, despite the danger associated with the lack of buffer.
In fact, I think the lack of buffer will turn out to be a crucial aspect of callandor that enables Rand (and the "three" ) to do what needs to be done. My guess is, if callandor were used the "safe" way (Rand + 2 women, one of whom wielding it), or if it had a buffer, the wielder (and/or the "three" ) could not do what needed to be done. I suspect the Wheel ... intervened to ensure callandor didn't have a buffer, back in the AoL when it was designed/built, for that reason.
2. Saidin + Saidar + True Power.
It would be an interesting twist, if callandor could somehow affect or utilize the TP. But RJ said that 'greals can only be used with the OP, not with the TP, so that's out (not to mention that callandor cannot tap into saidar, either). I suppose Rand could link with a woman, wield saidin through callandor, saidar through the woman, and the TP like he did in TGS, into one weave (combining the 3 powers into 1 result). But then the wielding of callandor would not really be a factor in making the 3 into 1, since it would only be affecting Rand's use of saidin. So that idea doesn't really fit the prophecy very well, IMO.
Consequently, I think this idea is highly unlikely.
3. Rand's 3 ladies - Elayne, Avi, and Min (Rand being a 4th person involved, but not part of the "3 shall be 1" group).
I think this interpretation is also unlikely. For one, with Min being a non-channeler, it would seem a bit pointless to include her - what exactly would she contribute? And how could Rand, with callandor, make them into "one", even metaphorically? And for what purpose?
Also, the 3 ladies are already part of the 3-in-a-boat prophecy (in a much more foreseeably understandable way), so they don't really need to be in another one.
This just doesn't sound like the right solution, to me.
4. Rand + LTT + Moridin.
LTT referred to the 3 of them as "destroyers", so the idea that they are "3", and not "2", is certainly valid. And actually, this was my original thought, when I first read that chapter.
But, I now think it's unlikely because ... the split between Rand and LTT seems to have already been resolved, on Dragonmount at the end of TGS (Rand understanding that they've always been one man, and that he will never hear LTT's voice again, etc.). Meaning, if Rand and Moridin do become "one", it will be "two becoming one", not "three becoming one". Which fits with Min's viewing, of Rand and another man (Moridin, almost certainly, even through Rand thought it was LTT) merging, etc.
So the bottom line is ... I think if this prophecy was intended to refer to the merger of Rand & Moridin, it would have said "two shall be one", not "three shall be one".
5. Rand + Perrin + Mat - the 3 ta'veren.
Since TEotW, there has been numerous mentions of the importance of the 3 ta'veren acting together to fight the Shadow. From Min's viewings of the sparks overcoming the darkness, when the 3 are together, to Moiraine's many comments in TEotW re the importance of the 3 ta'veren (not just one) to/vs. the Shadow, to the Shadow likening the 3 to a stool, and how cutting one leg of a stool is all that's needed to topple it, to the Shadow's recently renewed efforts to kill Perrin and Mat, to the visions the 3 have been having of each other lately.
So the idea that the three need to unite, and work as one, to defeat the Shadow has been around since day 1. The question is, how can Rand wielding callandor play a role in uniting the three as one? Well, maybe callandor's lack of buffer will somehow amplify the metaphysical connection the 3 ta'veren seem to share (although why, I have no idea), and that amplification enables them to coordinate their efforts precisely enough to defeat the Shadow. Rand hasn't wielded callandor since he started having the visions of the other two, so we don't know if such an affect is plausible or not.
That's really the only idea I can think of, re this particular option, that (somewhat) fits the prophecy.
So, of the 5 options listed above, I think #5 is the most likely, even though callandor's role, in that case, is not so obvious.
What do you all think? Are there any other options for the "three" that should at least be considered?
One caveat of any (reasonable) option, IMHO, is that it involve 3 resources of the Light uniting to defeat the Shadow. So, for example, the 3 cannot be the DO, Shaidar Haran, and Moridin. That's another reason to dismiss options 2 & 3, since neither the TP nor Moridin is a resource of the Light.
First, here's the prophecy in it's entirety:
He shall hold a blade of light in his hands, and the three shall be one.
In TGS ch.48, Min and Cadsuane concur that the "blade of light" is callandor, and while I've seen it suggested that they are wrong - that the blade is actually Rand's sword Justice, I think we should accept Min & Cadsuane's conclusion as accurate. I just don't see RJ/BS misleading us with a long, but ultimately entirely inaccurate, discussion between the two.
And, the wording of the prophecy implies that the "holding of the blade of light" is a necessary condition to cause the "three shall be one". That is, the two parts of the prophecy are not unrelated.
In my opinion, the only real questions here are who/what are the "three", and how does callandor factor into uniting them?
Here are the options that I've seen proposed:
1. Rand + 2 female channelers (e.g. Nynaeve & Egwene), with one of the women wielding callandor, because that is the only way callandor can be used "safely", due to its lack of buffer.
Min considers this possibility, but eventually dismisses it. Because, she thinks that if callandor is going to play such a (presumably) crucial role in defeating the DO/Shadow, it's highly unlikely that Rand will be, essentially, a bystander while one of the women actually does the work. Consequently, she tells Cadsuane that something is wrong with that interpretation, and that they are still missing something yet-to-be discovered/understood, with respect to interpreting the prophecy.
I agree with Min. If callandor is going to play this critical role, then I believe the Dragon Reborn will be the one wielding it, despite the danger associated with the lack of buffer.
In fact, I think the lack of buffer will turn out to be a crucial aspect of callandor that enables Rand (and the "three" ) to do what needs to be done. My guess is, if callandor were used the "safe" way (Rand + 2 women, one of whom wielding it), or if it had a buffer, the wielder (and/or the "three" ) could not do what needed to be done. I suspect the Wheel ... intervened to ensure callandor didn't have a buffer, back in the AoL when it was designed/built, for that reason.
2. Saidin + Saidar + True Power.
It would be an interesting twist, if callandor could somehow affect or utilize the TP. But RJ said that 'greals can only be used with the OP, not with the TP, so that's out (not to mention that callandor cannot tap into saidar, either). I suppose Rand could link with a woman, wield saidin through callandor, saidar through the woman, and the TP like he did in TGS, into one weave (combining the 3 powers into 1 result). But then the wielding of callandor would not really be a factor in making the 3 into 1, since it would only be affecting Rand's use of saidin. So that idea doesn't really fit the prophecy very well, IMO.
Consequently, I think this idea is highly unlikely.
3. Rand's 3 ladies - Elayne, Avi, and Min (Rand being a 4th person involved, but not part of the "3 shall be 1" group).
I think this interpretation is also unlikely. For one, with Min being a non-channeler, it would seem a bit pointless to include her - what exactly would she contribute? And how could Rand, with callandor, make them into "one", even metaphorically? And for what purpose?
Also, the 3 ladies are already part of the 3-in-a-boat prophecy (in a much more foreseeably understandable way), so they don't really need to be in another one.
This just doesn't sound like the right solution, to me.
4. Rand + LTT + Moridin.
LTT referred to the 3 of them as "destroyers", so the idea that they are "3", and not "2", is certainly valid. And actually, this was my original thought, when I first read that chapter.
But, I now think it's unlikely because ... the split between Rand and LTT seems to have already been resolved, on Dragonmount at the end of TGS (Rand understanding that they've always been one man, and that he will never hear LTT's voice again, etc.). Meaning, if Rand and Moridin do become "one", it will be "two becoming one", not "three becoming one". Which fits with Min's viewing, of Rand and another man (Moridin, almost certainly, even through Rand thought it was LTT) merging, etc.
So the bottom line is ... I think if this prophecy was intended to refer to the merger of Rand & Moridin, it would have said "two shall be one", not "three shall be one".
5. Rand + Perrin + Mat - the 3 ta'veren.
Since TEotW, there has been numerous mentions of the importance of the 3 ta'veren acting together to fight the Shadow. From Min's viewings of the sparks overcoming the darkness, when the 3 are together, to Moiraine's many comments in TEotW re the importance of the 3 ta'veren (not just one) to/vs. the Shadow, to the Shadow likening the 3 to a stool, and how cutting one leg of a stool is all that's needed to topple it, to the Shadow's recently renewed efforts to kill Perrin and Mat, to the visions the 3 have been having of each other lately.
So the idea that the three need to unite, and work as one, to defeat the Shadow has been around since day 1. The question is, how can Rand wielding callandor play a role in uniting the three as one? Well, maybe callandor's lack of buffer will somehow amplify the metaphysical connection the 3 ta'veren seem to share (although why, I have no idea), and that amplification enables them to coordinate their efforts precisely enough to defeat the Shadow. Rand hasn't wielded callandor since he started having the visions of the other two, so we don't know if such an affect is plausible or not.
That's really the only idea I can think of, re this particular option, that (somewhat) fits the prophecy.
So, of the 5 options listed above, I think #5 is the most likely, even though callandor's role, in that case, is not so obvious.
What do you all think? Are there any other options for the "three" that should at least be considered?
One caveat of any (reasonable) option, IMHO, is that it involve 3 resources of the Light uniting to defeat the Shadow. So, for example, the 3 cannot be the DO, Shaidar Haran, and Moridin. That's another reason to dismiss options 2 & 3, since neither the TP nor Moridin is a resource of the Light.