I don't think that creating cuendillar and 'angreals was common knowledge.
Gher Send a noteboard - 20/08/2010 05:06:20 PM
Much like creating modern gadgets isn't common knowledge today. Moggy didn't seem to know how to make Cuendillar, other than the basic theory (unless she was lying, but at that point, I think she was too scared of Egwene). Nor have we seen any of the Forsaken try to make any kind of ter'angreal or angreal. I think it required specialized channelers, complex weaves, links and laboratory/workshop facilities for the more complicated 'angreal.
As for Compulsion and Balefire, it's not surprising that those fell out of common usage, and even there, we don't know how common those weaves were during the AoL. Both sides stopped using Balefire, and were afraid to use it, so they were unlikely to keep teaching it, and Compulsion is heavily frowned-upon, not to mention extremely complex.
Travelling and Skimming are the hardest to understand or accept. But I've seen quite a few theories or explanations put forth. The land could have been in such a constant state of upheaval thanks to the Breaking of the World, that people avoided using Travelling to avoid attracting the attention of insane male Aes Sedai or remnants of the Shadow's armies. Or they were more focused on survival and less on finding and teaching new channelers. Or Ishy suppressed the knowledge. I don't know. I think even a combination of all these answers is still insufficient, but I'll accept it. Maybe Ishy worked very hard to get rid of the knowledge.
But even still, we've seen that some of the weaves were passed down. Moiraine probably learned or figured out the weaves for balefire after visiting Vandene and Adeleas in TGH and reading from their library. And Compulsion seems to be somewhat instinctual, at least in very primitive forms.
As for Compulsion and Balefire, it's not surprising that those fell out of common usage, and even there, we don't know how common those weaves were during the AoL. Both sides stopped using Balefire, and were afraid to use it, so they were unlikely to keep teaching it, and Compulsion is heavily frowned-upon, not to mention extremely complex.
Travelling and Skimming are the hardest to understand or accept. But I've seen quite a few theories or explanations put forth. The land could have been in such a constant state of upheaval thanks to the Breaking of the World, that people avoided using Travelling to avoid attracting the attention of insane male Aes Sedai or remnants of the Shadow's armies. Or they were more focused on survival and less on finding and teaching new channelers. Or Ishy suppressed the knowledge. I don't know. I think even a combination of all these answers is still insufficient, but I'll accept it. Maybe Ishy worked very hard to get rid of the knowledge.
But even still, we've seen that some of the weaves were passed down. Moiraine probably learned or figured out the weaves for balefire after visiting Vandene and Adeleas in TGH and reading from their library. And Compulsion seems to be somewhat instinctual, at least in very primitive forms.
"And it breaks my heart to look around, and see the unimpressed; who can't believe the emperor is dressed"~Fastball
2-7-1
2-7-1
How were all these amazing weaves 'lost' ?
20/08/2010 04:33:43 AM
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You're right. It is merely a plot requirement, made ludicrous by the ease of mastering these weaves
20/08/2010 10:08:10 AM
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Re: You're right. It is merely a plot requirement, made ludicrous by the ease of mastering
20/08/2010 03:40:16 PM
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These are good points. To some extent, it may be because our main characters are "gifted" channelers
20/08/2010 08:57:49 PM
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The bigger problem is minor characters copying the weaves so quickly...
20/08/2010 09:14:25 PM
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Lost Weaves
20/08/2010 01:43:25 PM
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Not logical
20/08/2010 01:50:32 PM
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Re: Not logical
20/08/2010 03:22:04 PM
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All I'm saying, is that Travelling would STILL be a very usefull survival tool during the Breaking..
20/08/2010 03:44:59 PM
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If you go back and read the descriptions of the breaking, and think about the 3000 year cycle
20/08/2010 04:37:02 PM
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I don't think that creating cuendillar and 'angreals was common knowledge.
20/08/2010 05:06:20 PM
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You & Ryan make good points, esp on balefire/compulsion. In a shorter series, it'd make more sense
20/08/2010 08:52:59 PM
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Maybe Aes Sedai treated weaves like Intellectual Property
20/08/2010 09:49:12 PM
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Trademark? Patent? Or Copyright? =P *NM*
20/08/2010 10:19:36 PM
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If they are secretive and protective, it's not a huge stretch that knowledge would be taken into the
21/08/2010 10:27:15 AM
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Idea?
21/08/2010 12:47:52 AM
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But they weren't too weak
21/08/2010 02:48:43 AM
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That's because most of the major people in WoT are powerful channelers.
21/08/2010 04:13:04 AM
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How can you "write a weave down"?
21/08/2010 04:54:28 PM
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How did Moiraine learn balefire then? *NM*
21/08/2010 05:04:27 PM
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figured it out on her own, don't forget that Nyn used it too against the Fades in TDR. *NM*
21/08/2010 05:12:15 PM
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That's a stretch - Moiraine never demonstrated any creative talent with the OP...
21/08/2010 06:15:01 PM
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OK, I'll buy Vandene teaching it, but not learning it from a written description *NM*
21/08/2010 06:35:46 PM
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I disagree - Moiraine's wilder tricks show that she is quite creative with the OP
24/08/2010 03:31:06 PM
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Re: I disagree - Moiraine's wilder tricks show that she is quite creative with the OP
24/08/2010 05:32:11 PM
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We know of her trick with stones and light from 'New Spring' IIRC
25/08/2010 02:40:26 PM
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Passing on useful survival skills trumped esoteric lore during the War of Power and the Breaking
25/08/2010 03:18:47 PM
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