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The way RJ played up everything in the Blight (especially Shayol Ghul) being subsumed in the DO... Joel Send a noteboard - 23/05/2012 09:07:31 PM
If the rock came from Shayol Ghul but it did not matter, it seems kind of odd Jordan would spend any of his precious and fleeting last moments jotting that down for Sanderson to somehow include (or not.)


I don't understand what convinces you so much it's a detail Jordan left in the AMOL outline, drafts and attached notes

Brandon does research the background notes and character files (actually, Maria who knows these notes much better as she indexed them for RJ all those years more likely gathered summarized files of what she found relevant to the finale, for Brandon's sake. For a lot of the notes, Brandon needs to go to Charleston to consult).

You are aware that Jordan's own notes for the series, aside from that bundle TJ have assembled for AMOL, have a larger word count than the novels themselves?

The provenance of the rocks is no doubt mentionned in RJ's basic notes about the BT and its layout/physical description (and yes, he had those for every visited location).

The theory that those black rocks the Asha'man have fetched somewhere to build the BT walls, and that big one Taim used for his little speeches have come from SG is about as old as the Taimandred theory, comparing their description to those of SG and the valley.

Those mysterious black rocks which provenance RJ unusually kept for the readers have long been considered by many to be one of the early clues RJ put of a connection between the BT and the Shadow. And it appears to have been confirmed it was meant as a clue.

The secret is out since KOD that Taim serves the Shadow, so Brandon saw no need to RAFO the question (but he hesitated, wanting to see first if Terez's question related to a big theory that he wasn't aware of but which he may not want to kill. By Terez's answer it wasn't the case, so he answered. Brandon is on his guard when dealing with people from Theoryland - they have tons of pet theories he's not always familiar with).

Brandon candidly admitted a few times he's neither as secretive as RJ was, nor does he enjoy nearly as much having the fans squirm or to mislead them. The theories that make sense to him, or that he considers based on purposeful deceptions by RJ he usually refuse to squash or confirm, but what he considers too much in the left field or crazy, he prefers to put an end to when he can... unless it's a pet theory on a MB and squashing it would kill discussions. Minutia he considers no longer relevant to the finale he also hesitates far less than RJ to give answers about (when he knows the details).

The fact he answered the question at this point is very much a sign it's not of any great relevance in AMOL. It doesn't mean the rocks may not have some properties that will be revealed, but it's very unlikely they'll turn into this big plot point (in the vein of Rand shedding his blood on those rocks...) or Brandon would have RAFOed the question (he's not as secretive as RJ, but he still dislikes spoilers and Harriet plain hates them).

it is difficult to imagine rocks from Shayol Ghul itself are "just rocks." Remember, these are the same rocks that nearly ate a Forsaken, for FUN more than to punish transgressions. As with so much else, Jordan seems to have seized on Sams observation that finger-length thorns are the kind of thing that WOULD grow in Mordor, and taken it to its logical conclusion. That makes it implausible Taim retreived massive slabs of stone from Shayol Ghul out of nothing more than homesickness (for one thing, once again, they are incredibly heavy, and channeling the despised Creators One Power around the DO is a leading cause of Spontaneous Forsaken Combustion.) They do SOMETHING, but I doubt it is anything as simple but earth shattering as providing the key to the "his blood on the rocks of Shayol Ghul" prophecy, nor as arcane as being necessary for a Myrddraal circle to turn channelers (though I may need to re-read Egwenes Accepted testing to examine the rocks just to be sure....)

It just strikes me as a classic example of Chekhovs Gun. Hence my perplexity: The rocks significance rests on Sanderson confirming their source, yet why would he do that if they were significant?
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So apparently the palace at the Black Tower is made of Shayol Ghul stone... - 23/05/2012 12:57:37 AM 2183 Views
I saw that too, but how is that even possible?? - 23/05/2012 03:02:57 AM 1176 Views
Not the palace... - 23/05/2012 03:32:59 AM 1192 Views
That is good logic, but the flip side is: Why would RJ bother to specify that if it were minutiae? - 23/05/2012 11:22:24 AM 1026 Views
Re: Why would RJ bother to specify that if it were minutiae? - 23/05/2012 07:58:50 PM 941 Views
The way RJ played up everything in the Blight (especially Shayol Ghul) being subsumed in the DO... - 23/05/2012 09:07:31 PM 903 Views
Re: Not the palace... - 23/05/2012 02:43:28 PM 915 Views
Re: Not the palace... - 23/05/2012 08:30:46 PM 963 Views
My initial thoughts on it had to do with the properties of SG. - 23/05/2012 10:58:21 PM 870 Views
Taim always a darkfriend? - 28/05/2012 01:17:34 AM 1095 Views
If SG rocks have special properties... - 28/05/2012 01:28:28 AM 841 Views
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