First, here's the prophecy in its 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.
Misleading prophecies are not exactly unknown in the series. In many cases when a character thinks that prophecy means something, it ends up meaning something else entirely.
That being said, I agree that Callandor is the most likely suspect for the blade. Though I still maintain the small chance that it might mean Rands anti-dark weave that he used to sever Ishamael and Asmodean from the DO. That was called a "blade of light" too.
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.
I still don't see why it would have to be 1 man and 2 women. I think any link would do including 2 men and 1 women with Rand in control. If this is true then Callandor could be used safely while Rand was still doing the channeling.
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.
I vaguely recall theories that suggest that callandor could be used to "overdraw" on OP allowing for a humongous amount of power to be wielded at the cost of the life of the channeler. We know overchanneling like this is possible. Though personally I doubt this is what the lack of buffer means because if raw power truly was the answer then the CK would have been the answer.
As a sidenote, RJ said that Callandor is flawed because of a manufacturing error. That error could ofcourse have been "arranged" by the pattern as you suggest.
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.
It is possible that when RJ said that angreals would not amplify the TP, he was speaking generally and Callandors flaw makes it a unique and special case.
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.
I too agree that this option is the most likely one. Min's firefly vision and the colour-visions also suggest that it is extremely important for the three of them to be together.
As for how Callandor is related, maybe justs by channeling. Maybe Rand will wield Callandor alone, while Mat and Perrin stand beside him. We know that it CAN be used alone since Rand has already done so. And infact now that the taint is gone, it will no longer cause the mental instability that it used to. And with LTT's full memories and skills I figure Rand should be able to use it alone with reasonable safety.
Maybe Rand will use Callandor to do something while the ta'veren thing does something else. And those things together seal the DO away.
"Three shall be one" ...
- 12/07/2010 05:14:43 PM
1225 Views
Re: "Three shall be one" ...
- 12/07/2010 07:52:28 PM
722 Views
Option 6
- 12/07/2010 09:46:10 PM
502 Views
*NM*
Yeah, he's already bonded to 4 people, so why not a couple more?
Taking a literal interpretation and running with it. WARNING: Ramblings of a madman within.
- 12/07/2010 10:57:00 PM
546 Views
Re: Taking a literal interpretation and running with it. WARNING: Ramblings of a madman within.
- 12/07/2010 11:06:27 PM
567 Views
Another major longshot: 3 = the OP, TP, and Mordeth's power. No clue how they would become one. *NM*
- 12/07/2010 11:00:36 PM
201 Views
I like your style, but you discounted one possibility way too easily
- 13/07/2010 01:27:31 AM
492 Views