Particularly the ones who believe they have all the answers about what is needed to "defeat" the Dark One (Egwene and Tuon are the two I have in mind). Both women believe that they should be able to direct the Dragon, to use him as a tool and/or force him to their wills. Both women are as stubborn and arrogant as they come where Rand is concerned, and neither one is willing to allow him to do what needs to be done without them dictating his actions. Egwene is a huge obstacle for him, one who is willing to start a war against him if he doesn't do what she wants, and Tuon is the same. The Pattern may attempt to push people to do things, but it can't force them. No matter how strong the Pattern is, it won't be able to push Egwene or Tuon into following Rand (I use the word follow because it fits the best, though I don't think they truly need to follow/obey him...they just need to let him do what he has to do and either stay out of his way and stop fighting each other and other followers of the Light).



Were Rand to disappear and appear to be dead, I don't think Tuon or Egwene would take that as a defeat by the Shadow. They are both women of ego and action, women who truly believe that they have the wisdom and ability to do whatever has to be done. That, in my opinion, is part of the problem. Since they both see the Dragon as a tool for them to use to kill/contain the Dark One again, rather than as the Creator's Chosen One who must make decisions and act through his own choices and instincts and be the one to make the final call (after listening to other people's input). When you see a person as a tool, as a piece on a board, if you lose that tool you simply find another one. In some ways, Moridin's one-man game of sha'rah reflects how both Tuon and Egwene view the people around them - they are but pieces on a board to be maneuvered and used as the women choose. Rand, especially, fits that bill, and due to their views, they are obstacles to Rand's success. That doesn't mean I think Rand can win on his own - I think Rand, in ToM, told everyone else how it should be when he said he could not fight their battles for them - but he has a task and the others have their own tasks.

Rand manipulated Egwene into doing one of the things she needed to do - gathering the leaders and armies she could in order to get them allied against the Shadow - but he will not be able to manipulate her into backing off in her belief that he should obey her rather than think for himself. She is too stubborn. Tuon, too, is too stubborn, and when Aviendha shows up and tells Rand that the Dragon's Peace cannot be made because of the trouble it will cause, Rand will see that convincing the Seanchan to work with him is impossible, as is getting Egwene to stop behaving as though she should force everyone to her will when, at the Fields of Merrilor, she either tries to attack him or does what she can to turn everyone against him because she wants to stop him from breaking the seals.

The only way to make these two women get it through their thick skulls that their determination to force everyone to kneel to them, instead of attempting to ally the world against the Shadow, is for them to see, firsthand, what will happen if Rand is not there to do what has to be done. The only way to do that, is for Rand to disappear or "die". Personally, I don't think he will die. I think his attempt to inform everyone that they must fight their own part of this war, so he can do his part, was because he understands now. He may see that, with no Dragon's Peace, the only way for Egwene and Tuon to get it is to get the hell out of the way - that may be where Alivia comes in, in helping him "die".

I'd love it if he saw a way to fulfill Min's vision this way, to get Alivia to do something to assist him in appearing dead. If he were to get his hands on that dagger Elayne has, he could hide from the Shadow - save for Moridin, who would allow his disappearance due to the chaos it will cause. The fact that the next book is named A Memory of Light leads me to believe things will get ugly - it makes sense they would get ugly without Rand's help. I think the world would fall into a battle for control to begin with, between Egwene and Tuon, proving Moridin's belief that those who follow the "Light" are no different from the power-mongering jackasses of the Shadow. In the meantime, Shadowspawn would spread across the land and start destroying it, killing people left and right. Egwene would be convinced she could defeat them, as would Tuon, but they would get to a point where it was either a choice between allying with each other - and working together, without worrying about who is kneeling to whom - or die. Both of them need that, to be put in a position where they aren't treated like gods. Perhaps during all of this, Logain comes to his glory, leading the cleansed group of Asha'man as the Aes Sedai should be - doing what they can to protect the world without demanding that everyone kneel to them. They would gain respect and attention. It would irk Egwene to no end, but she is not stupid so she may realize that they need the Asha'man too, and Logain refuses to submit to either of them. Yet another alliance the way it should be - neither Egwene nor Tuon believe they should have to treat anyone as an equal, and it's something they need to learn.

Even then, the three allied groups would not be able to hold the world together for long, not without Rand to do his part (something Logain needs to realize as well, given his attitude toward the man in the past). Once they got that through their heads, Rand could appear again, with Alivia at his side. Once the world was desperate enough for survival, it would be ready for its savior. The allied groups could handle what they had to, could bring true stability and a true alliance between the world's people (instead of conquering everyone or manipulating them into subservience) and Rand could go ahead and finish his task, knowing that the future is secured by alliances that were made in good faith instead of being forced by his Dragon's Peace. That, to me, would make a great deal of sense.